Prototype of Porsche’s next performance car flagship spotted testing in frozen north and anticipated to feature MHEV tech
A pre-production prototype of the 2024 Porsche 911 Turbo has been spotted cruising between frozen driving facilities in northern Sweden, flaunting what can only be described as the biggest bum ever fitted to a 911.
At first glance it appears very little else will change for the facelifted 992.2-series version of Porsche’s flagship 911, but that’s because it’s still wearing the current model’s front-end design in a simple yet effective move to disguise it.
But there’s no hiding the upgraded 911 Turbo’s significantly wider rear-end, which is rumoured to house one – if not two – new electric turbochargers.
The 911 Turbo has long been used as the basis for the rabid rear-drive 911 GT2, the new version of which is expected to debut in 2026 with tech from Porsche’s Le Mans 24 Hour-winning 919 Hybrid racer.
Before then, however, the facelifted 911 Turbo and Turbo S will probably give us a slightly tamer, all-wheel drive preview of what’s to come from the new-generation 911 GT2, which will share its hard-core rear-drive chassis with the 911 GT3.
The theory goes that 992.2-series 911 Turbo variants will feature a new mild-hybrid system designed primarily to power up to two electric turbochargers, thereby removing any lag and increasing power.
Any form of electrification adds weight and any kind of new plumbing or mechanical hardware needs to fit within the engine bay – hence the new Turbo’s swollen booty.
Not only is the rear-end more voluptuous, it’s also adorned with a new flat-deck wing, completely new (squarer) bumper and rhomboid quad exhaust exits.
Little else about the rear-engine speed machine looks to have been changed at this point, but an entirely new front bumper is also likely to be in the works to help the Turbos stand further apart from their lesser brethren, before the GT2 emerges with an inevitably more aggro design.
But while speculation continues to bubble around Porsche’s new e-turbo tech, the trail of a fully-fledged plug-in 911 Turbo S E-Hybrid has gone cold since a disguised prototype was spotted lapping the Nürburgring in late 2021.
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Keyword: Porsche 911 Turbo might get electric turbos