Porsche 911 Gts Review: The First Hybrid 911 Is Better With A Battery

When Porsche first unveiled nan caller 911 GTS, it's safe to opportunity that location weren't galore group connected satellite Earth pining for a hybrid 911. The thought of 1 of nan world's astir iconic sports cars taking a cue from nan humble Toyota Prius is simply a conception that's a small difficult for nan mean car enthusiast to get their caput around.

But they should try, because nan exertion that Porsche has deployed successful nan caller 911 GTS, Porsche's first hybrid sports car, is decently impressive. This is simply a hybrid strategy that exists not to amended substance consumption, but to genuinely make a sports car amended acknowledgment to nan injection of a small precocious voltage and a batch of boost.

Tech meets tradition

The 911 has maintained its stubborn rear-engined layout since nan beginning. Its centrifugal is slung betwixt and down nan backmost wheels, not because it's needfully nan champion spot for handling, but conscionable because that's really it's ever been done. That doesn't alteration pinch nan 911 GTS. What is new, though, is nan summation of an electrical centrifugal into nan mix, augmenting that gasoline motor successful nan way-back. That caller centrifugal sits neatly wrong nan eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, adding 54 horsepower and 29 pound-feet of torque.

Those numbers are hardly remarkable, but nan existent magic is what other nan car does pinch its caller high-voltage system. There's really a 2nd electrical centrifugal here, a mini 1 tin of surviving ridiculously basking temperatures. That's needed because it lives wrong nan turbocharger.

A turbocharger is simply a elemental instrumentality that is spun by exhaust gas. This successful move spins different instrumentality that forces aerial into nan engine's intake. It's a elemental exertion developed good complete 100 years ago, but since those early days of forced induction, there's ever been an rumor erstwhile it comes to automotive applications: lag. The reliance of exhaust gases to rotation nan turbocharger creates an intrinsic hold betwixt nan driver requesting acceleration and nan car really delivering it. Internal combustion needs to build unit to rotation nan instrumentality to suck successful much aerial to supply much power.

Porsche short-circuited that pinch this caller electrical centrifugal that spins nan turbocharger up to 120,000 RPM successful little than a second. Lag isn't wholly eliminated, but it's truthful radically reduced that you hardly cognize it. Pair that pinch nan extra, instant footwear of torque provided by nan electrical centrifugal successful nan transmission, and you person thing magical: a car powered by gasoline that accelerates pinch each nan instant ferocity of an EV.

Design sensibility

Porsche calls that full system, positive nan 1.9-kWh artillery that powers it, T-Hybrid. The nett consequence successful nan 2025 911 GTS is 532 hp and 449 lb-ft of torque. That's a substantial, 59-hp boost complete nan aged GTS.

Yet nan only evident motion that there's thing different astir this car is nan subtle T-Hybrid badges mounted down debased connected nan doors. And that's a bully thing, because I'm of nan sentiment that nan current-generation 911, internally called nan 992.2, is 1 of nan prettiest cars connected nan road. Even successful this decidedly understated Chalk color, it is perfectly striking. The colour pairs perfectly pinch nan 20-inch beforehand and 21-inch rear achromatic wheels and different ebony highlights astir nan car.

The interior is likewise minimalist, monotone to an extreme. But location are conscionable capable subtle highlights of materials for illustration c fibre and Alcantara to make it consciousness racy and purposeful, not basic. And, if you like, you tin spell pinch galore much chaotic interior combinations. Porsche is happy to fto you customize to your heart's content, but beware that it's going to costs you.

The car's interface is simpler than 911s of yore, too. Most of nan controls person been consumed by nan car's petite 10.9-inch touchscreen, serving some wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, while a curved, 12.6-inch virtual gauge cluster lives down nan steering wheel. What beingness controls stay are good positioned, delivering beardown tactility for your predominant tasks. Perhaps nan astir important is nan thrust mode dial that’s mounted astatine nan 4 o'clock position connected nan steering wheel. It's really you dial up nan strength of nan 911 GTS. Or, push nan shiny small reddish fastener to spell afloat manic.

Driving

The GTS isn't Porsche's astir powerful 911 of nan moment. That grant lies successful nan 640-horsepower 911 Turbo S. But nary different 911 delivers powerfulness for illustration this one, offering a sensation of nan instant shove of nan electric Taycan mixed pinch nan soul combustion fury and high-speed acceleration you'd expect from a 911.

It is, suffice to say, rather intoxicating. And to get nan champion sensation of it, push that aforementioned crimson button. That gives you 20 seconds of Sport Response mode, pinch nan car's physics turbocharger assistance doing its damndest to support maximum power. The exhaust opens fully, nan transmission drops a cogwheel aliases 2 and abruptly that instrumentality you were idling done postulation perfectly comes alive.

Put your ft down successful this mode and nan 911 GTS surges forward, without a moment's hesitation. You tin perceive nan turbocharger down your caput whistling arsenic it useful to build intake pressure, hauling successful aerial from nan situation and jamming it correct into nan combustion enclosure for nan adjacent squeeze and bang.It's addictive, but if you've go utilized to nan silent surging powerfulness of an EV, it's possibly a spot much. In Sport Mode, nan modular athletics exhaust connected nan GTS is large capable to terrify anyone you spell soaring past connected a two-lane road.

Thankfully, nan GTS is easy to silence. One pat of nan exhaust fastener mounted beneath that touchscreen and nan GTS becomes quiet. It's not-quite EV quiet, but very hushed. Despite having electrical motors and a battery, this is not a plug-in hybrid. You'll struggle to moreover get retired of your driveway without that motor firing up. But that's okay. Remember: This isn't an ratio play.

In Normal mode, nan suspension softens and nan ultra-fast transmission transitions into thing that smoothly slips from 1 cogwheel to nan next, keeping revs arsenic debased arsenic imaginable to maximize substance consumption. That nets nan 911 GTS a 19 mpg mixed standing per nan EPA. Despite immoderate bits of driving exuberance, I substantially bettered that, managing 25.1 mpg.

But moreover astatine its astir tame, nan GTS is not a luxury expansive tourer of nan likes of an Aston Martin DB12 aliases Mercedes-AMG GT. At its softest, nan suspension is still firm, nan roadworthy sound from those prodigious tires is grating and moreover nan upwind sound astatine precocious velocity is simply a fuss — truthful overmuch truthful that nan middling Bose sound strategy struggles to flooded it.

So, contempt nan GTS moniker, it's much of a sports car than a expansive tourer. Instant powerfulness is this car's statement trick, paired pinch astonishing feel, effortless handling and nan benignant of prodigious grip that will make your favourite driving roads consciousness tame.

Those are each nan much reasons to find your caller favourite roads. Despite punishing you connected nan road and complete surgery asphalt, nan 911 GTS ne'er feels flustered and ever leaves you wanting more. It's a car you won't want to get retired of, which possibly explains why I'm penning this very condemnation from nan driver's seat.

Cost of entry

At complete $170,000 to start, aliases $196,185 arsenic configured, it's not an affordable machine. Were I buying, my GTS would beryllium a small cheaper. I'd instrumentality pinch nan rear-drive GTS model, alternatively than nan all-wheel thrust Carrera 4 you spot here, simply for nan fun-factor. I'd besides skip nan sunroof, which adds some $2,980 to nan measure and weight to a car that already gained complete 100 pounds compared to nan anterior GTS.

Those 2 deletions unsocial would trim astir $10,000 from that still-soaring price. Expensive, yes, but nan exertion present feels worthy it. This is simply a caller attack to electrification, making a sports car sportier pinch hardly immoderate compromise. It is simply a genuinely desirable machine, nan benignant of hybrid that Porsche fans whitethorn not person known they needed, but 1 they decidedly request to try.