► New 992-generation Porsche 911
► Pictured on test
► All you need to know in detail
It’s nearly that time already. Porsche is prepping a facelift of its 992-spec 911, and we’ve caught winter testing. In fact, our spy photographers have snapped the naturally-aspirated 992.2 GT3 car, but we can still tease out some clues about the rest of the range. This isn’t the first time we’ve see the car – just a few months ago we the ultimate manual 911 testing at the ‘Ring.
The pictures show a black prototype car with the same aero furniture and exhaust exits as the current 992 GT3, but there are some key differences: the front and rear bumpers have been disguised, suggesting Stuttgart engineers are tweaking those areas in particular. We’ve no pictures of the interior yet and it could be subject to further refreshing.
Porsche has also confirmed all cars from late-2023 onwards will feature a new, redesigned logo – so that’s one change we can be sure of.
Returning to naturally-aspirated
It’s possible the refreshed 992.2 will be returning with a 4.0-litre nat-asp flat-six. Take a close look at the exhaust system on the new 992.2 mules shown here, and you’ll see they clearly resemble the system on the current Cayman GT4 and GTS 4.0. No turbos in those.
GT-models aside, the 911 has been turbocharged for a while, with a forced-induction 3.0-litre engine in the back of most models. However, CAR understands that buyer demand for a larger, purer engine has meant Stuttgart has reintroduced a non-turbocharged option after all. The fact the Cayman had a larger displacement powerplant than the 911 could have been an issue, too. It’s likely this NA engine could exist as a seperate model or in the GTS only, sitting alongside the current turbocharged lump we see in the majority of the range.
The move will surely generate increased demand for the new 911, and it won’t cost much in R&D either. It seems Stuttgart engines will essentially be using the same engine already seen in the Cayman.
What else do we know about 992.2?
The biggest challenge for project 992.2 – to be presented late this year, before deliveries start next February – is to prepare the engine line-up for the upcoming EU7 emissions regulations.
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The need to meet the repeatedly tweaked legislation while simultaneously maintaining or even increasing power output and torque entails several different actions, including a bigger displacement, more potent turbochargers and multitier hybridisation.
Also in the works is Porsche’s first outright performance hybrid powertrain (an e-boosted twin-turbo six) since the 918’s, which should power the range-topping GT2 RS due in 2026 at the latest, two years before the 992.2 bites the dust.
In an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Oliver Blume confirmed the debut of the new high-performance model, which is a hybrid but not a plug-in (the correspondingly smaller battery helps keep weight, a modern 911 bugbear, down). Instead, the brawniest-ever roadgoing 911 rated at a still unconfirmed 750bhp or so (the briefly available peak output is claimed to be even higher) will almost certainly share key tech elements with the 963 LMDh endurance racer.
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