What is the next step for the Porsche 911? Perhaps, it’s these 2016 Porsche 911 Turbo Hybrid prototypes caught testing at high altitude in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado?
The current 911 Turbo is already an incredible performance machine. The Turbo produces 520 horsepower and is capable of 3.0 second 0-60 mph sprints with the Sport Chrono package. If that’s not enough, the Turbo S version bumps the output to 560 horses and acceleration time falls a tenth to 2.9 seconds. Is it possible to make the 911 accelerate faster or perform better than this? If anybody can do it, it would the folks from Stuttgart.
Porsche engineers spent an enormous amount of time and effort developing the 918 Spyder hyper car, which possesses mind-blowing performance and a highly advanced gasoline-electric power train. Why not apply this intellectual property to the 911? This could raise the total power output close to 700 hp, and also provide an all-electric driving ability. The EV-only mode is becoming more and more important as some major European cities begin to ban gasoline burning cars from entering.
The test prototypes you see here were caught high altitude testing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. They are not wearing much camouflage, although all had tape covering the areas around the tail lights and the front lower valance. Some of them were covered in tarps or had their steering wheels concealed. It’s possible that the steering wheel contains the drive-mode select switch, similar to the 918 Spyder.
This 911 model will likely carry the E-Hybrid name. We will be watching this space closely as the major Auto Show season is fast approaching.
Check out this classic TFLcar mashup video review that features the Porsche 911.
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been writing and reporting at TFL since 2011.
