Next generation Porsche 911 spotted testing
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10 Nov, 2016 3:30pm James Brodie- google+
Development mule for next Porsche 911 spied testing at the Nurburgring in Germany, but it's some years away yet
Spy photographers have caught sight of what could be the next generation Porsche 911, snapping a development mule of the 991 generation car’s successor testing at the Nurburgring in Germany.
The next 911 is still a couple of years away, so there’s no new bodywork to gauge. The mule uses a 991 Carrera 4 body with some slight modifications, most notably the wider wings and extended wheel arches.
Conventional wisdom suggests Porsche is plotting a wider track for its next 911, increasing stability for better handling and driving dynamics, but it also hints at the potential for hybrid technology.
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It’s thought that the next 911 could spawn a plug-in hybrid model, so a wider track may be necessary in order to accommodate a hybrid drivetrain.
Porsche already has its fingers in the hybrid pie, and has a confirmed its commitment to electric technology given the Mission E – Porsche’s all-electric concept car from the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show – will reach production.
The next logical step would be a hybrid version of its iconic sports car.
Speaking to Auto Express at the Detroit Motor Show this January, 911 engineering boss Dr Erhard Mossle confirmed that Porsche is looking at plug-in hybrid powertrains for the 911, but the challenge of packaging hybrid tech under the 911’s skin means that it’s still a maybe for the next generation model.
Hybridising the 911 means that it’ll be much more economical and will reduce CO2 emissions, but It’ll still be a performance orientated model, and will likely stick with a six-cylinder engine, Mossle added in January.
The current generation 911 has some life in it yet, and it’s assumed that Porsche still has some new 991 models up its sleeve. As such there’s still a good few years at least until the hybrid 911 arrives.
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