911, Nothing To Worry About

LET’S FACE IT, THE IDEA OF A HYBRID 911 IS anathema to the fiercely passionate Reddit moderator that is your average motoring purist. But hybridisation was as inevitable a pit stop in the 911’s evolutionary journey as turbocharging it was nearly half a century ago. Except with the new 911 Carrera 4 GTS, Porsche has found the most surreptitious way to introduce electrification to the 911’s pedigreed powertrain.

That’s because with the new 992.2 911 GTS (it really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?), what you get is a T-Hybrid system, short for turbo-hybrid, which means one of the two electric motors is used purely to help the turbo spool faster. The other is a 54bhp unit placed at the end of Porsche’s proprietary PDK gearbox and is powered by a tiny little 1.9 kWh battery that uses regenerative braking to recharge itself, existing purely to assist with speed and not efficiency. So really, it’s a hybrid but it’s also not, because the sterilising effect of electric performance—an effect that’s cost Porsche dearly—has been thwarted-away by the use of clever engineering.

The 911 GTS remains untarnished by the machinations of electrification because it is still a thoroughbred petrol supercar that has used electrification, not to assist with performance, but to iron out the creases in turbo-assisted power.

Analogue Still

Unlike some of its V-shaped rivals, the flat-six isn’t about the rumble—it’s about an aristocratic, velvety smoothness that’s immediately palpable and addictive. Always composed, but should you allow the throttle-gates to open fully, visceral, brash and full of bombast. Unlike the 3.0-litre flat-six, the higher displacement allows the engine to feel a bit more muscular. But the true appeal lies in how analogue the driving experience feels, despite all the cleverness at work.

Thanks to the hydraulic nose-lift feature, the 911 Carrera GTS is almost daily-driver levels of practicality. I say almost because it’s impossible for Porsche to fully prepare the car for the topographic curve-balls Indian roads throw at it, but by supercar standards, it still feels surprisingly easy to live with. And it does so without turning the 911 into another plug-in hybrid from rival carmakers. And that’s because it isn’t one. It does not even have an “electric only” driving mode, thank heavens.

Supercar For The Soul

Even with the new T-Hybrid system underneath, the 911 remains unmistakably faithful to its original design language. Sure, all 911s aren’t as compact or svelte as they used to be, but the scalpel-like precision of the steering and the lightning-quick upshifts ensure that the GTS doesn’t dilute the 911 experience. The bone-crunching ride, however, still takes some getting used to on our roads, even in its softest setting.

Having driven the 911 Turbo S on a racetrack, I’m convinced that no greater daily-driver supercar currently exists. Nothing quite matches its mix of explosive power, top-tier grand touring comfort and restrained lavishness. It is the benchmark all Carreras and forced-induction torpedoes are measured against. But for a car that costs ₹1 crore less, the GTS doesn’t feel like the lesser supercar. Sure, 534 bhp isn’t superlative by modern supercar standards, but with a sub-1,600 kg kerb weight and turbo lag annihilated with military precision, the GTS is still a lot of car by any standard.

Primordial Power

In the pantheon of supercars, the 911 has always stood apart for its steadfast resistance to the forces of planned obsolescence. Which is why it remains fundamentally identical in concept—a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car (with 4-wheel drive variants like this one, of course) serving as a benchmark for handling, for maximum driver engagement and the winning combo of everyday driveability and durability that other rival brands must either match or best.

The cabin of the new GTS isn’t big on novelty, but it feels refreshingly gimmick-free. The gauge cluster, now digital, is highly customisable so you can rotate the tachometer to display the redline at 12 o’clock. Still, things aren’t thankfully entirely digital. You can still control drive modes, aircon settings, damping, etc from manual controls in what remains a highly driver-centric cabin. This is a supercar at its most sensible and sober.

A lot of the inherent boyishness of a supercar has been stripped away by digitisation, but the second you thumb the starter button, that 3.6-litre flat-six roars to life, channelling through it something wonderfully primordial. The flat-six assisted by the electric turbocharger produces 534 bhp of power and 610 Nm of torque, which works its way through the 8-speed PDK to hit 0-100kph in 3.6 seconds. Mash the throttle and power kicks in fast. Engaging “Launch Control” feels like a reminder of why the world needs supercars. Switch to “Sport Plus”, mash the throttle, squeeze the brake only to release it when the gauge flashes “Launch Control Activated” and the immediate ascent to triple-digit speed provokes a deep, visceral form of joy.