New Porsche 911 officially revealed

Just days after it revealed the final member of its 991.2-series, the 2018 911 GT3 RS, Porsche has released the first official image and information about its eighth-generation 911 Type 992.

With only a week or so to go before the Geneva motor show, where the GT3 RS will debut, the timing of the start of Porsche’s 992 reveal campaign is interesting, given the new model was not expected to appear until the Paris show in October, ahead of a global rollout next year.

The image of this camouflaged 992 911 Carrera follows a series of spy shots of versions including the next 911 Turbo, and a leaked image posted on Instagram (pictured here in yellow), which has since been deleted but showed the 992’s bold new rear-end design with full-width light bar and black engine cover with longitudinal vents.

An active front spoiler could be part of the new 911’s aero package, but a full-width retractable rear wing is evident in the unofficial pics.

Indeed the 992’s rear-end appears to be the most revolutionary part of the next 911’s exterior design, but changes under the skin will be more than evolutionary.

Driver in charge

No firm details have been announced at this stage, but Porsche did drop a few hints about the first autonomous and powertrain electrification technologies to appear in a 911.

Apart from promising it will be “the best 911 of all time”, Porsche’s 911 model line director for the past 20 of its 55 years, August Achleitner, all but confirmed it will bring autonomous functions like lane-keeping assist for the first time.

However, the man described as “the keeper of the Porsche grail” also said the 911 is “the heart of the company” and promised the new version will carry on that tradition without rushing into unnecessary new technologies.

“We know where we’re from and where we want to go,” he said. “The decisive factor is that the 911 generates a driving feeling that no other car can impart.

“With each innovation, the decisive factor for me is whether it suits the character of the 911. We don’t necessarily have to be the first in this regard with the 911. What’s crucial, rather, is that every innovation be offered in a typical Porsche manifestation.

“Even when it comes to the individual assistance systems, they have to fit with the 911. Those are convenient and useful things. But the customer has to make the choice to use them and, above all, be able to switch them off when they’re not desired.”

“That’s why a 911 will always have a steering wheel. Then the 911 will be one of the last cars to drive autonomously.”

Ready for electrification

That the 992 will be the first 911 to be offered with a hybrid powertrain has already been confirmed, but Porsche now appears to have left the door open to a zero-emissions, battery-electric 911 in the future too.

Just as Porsche fans embraced the first water-cooled 911 in 1998 and the first turbocharged 911 Carrera in 2015, Achleitner expects them to also accept the electrified 911.

“Some fans rushed the barricades; it was all gloom and doom for many,” he said. “And then the same thing happened as always: nothing.

“That encourages us to think about fundamental innovations in the future as well.

“Two years ago I’d have said no way [to an all-electric 911]. Today I wouldn’t categorically rule it out.

“I drove the prototype of our coming electric sports car, the Mission E, and it was a very compelling experience. And the performance of the Porsche LMP race cars with hybrid drive systems is quite simply sensational.”

Porsche’s first 911 hybrid will join the 992 range in 2020, when strict new European CO2 laws will come into force. In addition to a flat-six petrol engine, it will incorporate an electric motor that brings extra performance and a limited all-electric driving range.

Further afield, however, it now seems there’s the prospect of an all-electric 911.

“Just to preclude any misunderstandings: the Porsche 911, Type 992 is not an electric sports car,” said Porsche.

“But it could be an option somewhere down the line. Although he [Achleitner] admittedly clings to the flat-six engine, he can, nowadays, imagine an electric motor in the 911.

“So there will be a next step in terms of drive technology -- if it fits Porsche and the specific character of the 911.”

All-turbo powertrains

The next 911 will eventually be topped by a brutal new GT2 RS, the current 991.2 version of which is just about to hit Australia.

But in a radical departure, the 992 range is expected to debut in Turbo S form that, unlike the standard 911 Turbo, will feature a wide-body rear-end and fixed rear wing, plus trapezoidal exhaust outlets.

Borrowing parts from Porsche’s existing 520kW 911 GT2 powertrain, the uprated 3.8-litre twin-turbo six of the Turbo S is expected to deliver up to 470kW – up from 427kW and close to the Ferrari 488 GTB’s 492kW.

Even the standard 992 Turbo is expected to deliver 441kW (up 43kW) and, while both models will crack 320km/h, the standard model should hit 100km/h in less than three seconds for the first time.

The next 911 Turbo S, meantime, will better its predecessor’s official mark of 2.9 seconds, making it the fastest production Porsche ever – until the pure-electric Mission-E sedan arrives in 2020.

In another break with tradition, the entire line-up – including the next 911 GT3, which will top 500hp/373kW – will be powered by turbo engines, signalling the end of the naturally aspirated 911.

The entry-level 992 911 Carrera and Carrera S are expected to punch out an extra 10kW or so from their 3.0-litre turbo flat-sixes, which currently offer a respective 272 and 309kW.

Lighter, wider, more digital

More performance across the board will be ensured by a development of the current 911’s MMP chassis architecture that will bring wider wheel tracks and broader use of high-strength steel and aluminium.

While its suspension configuration, wheelbase and overall length are not likely to change, the stiffer, lighter and broader body should not only bring better acceleration but improved high-speed stability and extra interior width.

As seen in recent spy shots, the new 992 interior will be inspired by the latest Cayenne SUV and Panamera sedan, featuring a large central tacho and larger central touch-screen that bends around into the digital instrument cluster.

The latter is likely to bring the high-resolution configurable display functions as the Virtual Cockpit technology offered by in Porsche’s sister brands Audi and Volkswagen.

Perhaps the biggest news is a rear-sloping centre console with several toggle switches, a stubby rectangular-shaped gearshifter (in auto models) and, for the first time, a cup-holder – although it’s likely to foul the driver’s elbow.

Coupe and soft-top cabriolet body styles of the new 911 will again be joined by the glass-roofed Targa model, and elements of the rear-engined 992’s upgraded modular structure will once again be donated to the next mid-engined Cayman and Boxster.

For the first time, they’re also likely to form the basis of Audi’s next R8 and Lamborghini’s Huracan replacement.

When it arrives Down Under next year, expect the new 992 line-up to bring price hikes over the current 991.2 series, which is priced between $220,900 (911 Carrera manual) and $645,400 (911 GT2 RS auto).