This is big news for Porsche fans and owners, and if it turns out to be true, will be a great loss to the car world. Road & Track reports that the Porsche 911 facelift, which has been spied testing and is set to debut later this year, will drop the naturally-aspirated flat-six in the Carrera/Carrera S for a turbocharged engine.
Yes, they're saying that the 911's famous NA flat-six will be out of the revolving engine door, and a turbo flat-six will take its place. Currently, the Carrera is powered by a 3.4 litre flat-six (350 hp), while the Carrera S (400 hp) and Carrera GTS (430 hp) have a 3.8 litre flat-six at the back. Should these engines go the forced induction route, the only way one will be able to savour a Porsche boxer engine that breathes normally will be via the 911 GT3 and GT3 RS, which are very high up the range, and pretty hardcore.
The report adds that Porsche's seven-speed manual gearbox will continue to be offered on entry-level 911s alongside the dual-clutch PDK transmission, but that's scant consolation.
The US mag says that according to sources familiar with the project, the next-gen '992' Porsche 911 is likely to have a plug-in hybrid variant with a turbo-six. The 'green 911' will draw from tech developed for other Porsche models such as the next-gen Panamera, and will allow Zuffenhausen to slash fuel consumption and emissions figures in European tests, which favour electrified cars.
It's clear that nothing is too sacred in the car world. BMW, maker of the Ultimate Driving Machine, is now a maker of a front-wheel drive MPV; and its much-storied line of naturally-aspirated motors in M cars has given way to turbo power. And now this. What's soul when you can't count it, eh?
Porsche 991 facelift spied testing at Nurburgring
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