First Look: Porsche 911 GTS Goes Gas-Electric Hybrid

Porsche's latest Carrera GTS is the firm's first road-legal 911 hybrid.

Porsche

Porsche's latest Carrera GTS is the firm's first road-legal 911 hybrid. I've included a video presentation below by the chief engineer so you can see what we see. Expect to see them in late summer or perhaps September.

Engine decklid grille with five strakes per side forms a visible unit with the rear window and flows ... [+] seamlessly into the automatically extending, variable rear spoiler.

Diffusor fins are clearly seen. Carrera GTS has its own sport exhaust system.

Porsche

Our story begins with a totally new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission (Porsche Doppelkupplung, or PDK) that integrates a 40kW electric motor, adding up to 110 lb.-ft. of torque.

By itself, the new boxer engine develops 478 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque. Add the electric ... [+] motor and total power is 532 and 449 lb.-ft.

Compared to outgoing 911 Carrera GTS models, that's another 59 horsepower.

Porsche

Porsche has replaced the bi-turbo system with a single electric turbocharger that provides boost to a newly enlarged flat-six engine, displacing 3.6 liters. As we've seen in other recently introduced German performance cars, an electric turbocharger is something of a hybrid itself, working like an electrically driven supercharger at low revs--an electric motor will instantly spool up the blades and shove air into the engine--eliminating the ancient notion of turbo lag. In the original 930 Turbos, you tramped the throttle and counted to three, then wallop.

This engine should be utterly seamless, easy to exploit.

Porsche has replaced the bi-turbo system with a single electric turbocharger that provides boost to ... [+] a newly enlarged flat-six engine, displacing 3.6 liters. An electric turbocharger on the passenger side works like an electrically driven supercharger at low revs--an electric motor will instantly spool up the blades and shove air into the engine--eliminating turbo lag.

Porsche

The electric motor in the turbocharger also functions as a generator and can develop up to 11 kW using the exhaust gas stream. Typical of Porsche, the new component must serve multiple functions, multiple levels of efficiency.

Both the electrically driven turbocharger as well as the electric motor housed in the transmission are paired with a high-voltage battery that can retain up to 1.9 kWh of energy and operates at 400 volts. It is located under the front hood, supplanting the 12-volt battery. The lithium-ion 12-Volt battery that serves most other functions is now placed behind the parcel shelf in the rear, balancing and offsetting the added weight up in the nose.

Critically, the powertrain battery in the nose weighs no more than the 12-Volt.

GTS is available in coupe, Targa and cabrio. Engine decklid grille with five strakes per side forms ... [+] a visible unit with the rear window and flows seamlessly into the automatically extending, variable rear spoiler. Diffusor fins are clearly seen.

Carrera GTS has its own sport exhaust system.

Porsche

By itself, the new boxer engine develops 478 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque. Add the electric motor and total power is 532 and 449 lb.-ft. Compared to outgoing 911 Carrera GTS models, that's another 59 horsepower.

Carrera GTS front fascia has five vertically aligned active air flaps as well as a further flap that ... [+] closes off the bypass on each side.

They are complemented by adaptive front diffusors in the underbody, which are being used for the first time and work together with the cooling air flaps.

Porsche

In great part because of that instant-on electric motor torque, the 911 GTS smashes the 3-second barrier, reaching 60 mph in 2.9 seconds--0.3 seconds quicker than before. Any car that hits 60 mph under 3.5 seconds is truly impressive. But busting into the high 2-second range will prove...visceral.

In supercars, a drop of 0.3 or 0.4 second in the sprint really is stunning.

As with all 2024 Porsches, the dash panel and the entire approach to man-machine interface has been ... [+] redefined. A 12.6-inch curved display offers seven different display views, including a classic display based on the historic five-tube 911 design with a centrally positioned tachometer. Every control of importance is within a hand's-breadth of the steering wheel.

Once underway, all focus is on the drive itself. Center console storage includes an inductive phone charging area and is chilled.A QR-code makes logging in using the Porsche ID in the PCM easier. Apple CarPlay(R) is also integrated more deeply into the vehicle and information from the system can be displayed in the instrument cluster if desired, directly from within the Apple(R) ecosystem; for example, via the voice assistant Siri(R).

For the first time, video streaming is offered as an option and available for use while the car is parked. Apps such as Spotify(R) and Apple Music(R) can be used as native apps in the PCM without connecting a smartphone.

Studio Goico GmbH

The price of adding another battery, an electric turbo and an electric motor in the gearbox is 103 lbs. Not a bad trade-off to achieve acceleration once reserved for the most outrageously engineered and utterly impractical hypercars.

Like any 911, this new GTS can be an everyday car, not just a Saturday night delight.

An optional Aerokit is available to further increase performance of the 911 Coupe models. It ... [+] includes a SportDesign front fascia with a unique front spoiler lip, special side skirts and a weight-optimized, fixed rear wing, all of which reduce lift. Porsche delivers the new 911 coupe models as a pure two-seater with no rear seats.

Optionally, a 2+2 seat configuration is available for no additional cost.

Porsche

The electric turbo, electric hybrid motor and the incredible sprinting capability are the main storylines. But there is more. Rear axle steering is standard, as it should be.

This helps cornering stability at speeds much over 40, but it is important when angling for a spot in a downtown parking garage between a supporting concrete pillar and the flanks of that monster SUV looming above you. This being a Porsche, there is a lengthy options list. The best investment is not embossed headrests, but in advanced engineering.

The optional roll-stabilization system called Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC--the Germans love their acronyms) is integrated into the high-voltage system of the performance hybrid. PDCC is a prudent investment. GTS suspension includes adaptive dampers (PASM) and a ride height reduction of 10 millimeters compared to the standard 911 Carrera.

As with all 2024 Porsches[4] I've covered, the dash panel and the entire approach to man-machine interface has been redefined. A 12.6-inch curved display offers seven different display views, including a classic display based on the historic five-tube 911 design with a centrally positioned tachometer. Every control of importance is within a hand's-breadth of the steering wheel.

Once underway, all focus is on the drive itself.

References

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  4. ^ https://www.forbes.com/sites/markewing/2023/04/17/cayenne-turbo-gt-first-look-at-porsches-super-suv-moneymaker/?sh=5b86877363ef (www.forbes.com)