It's All Turbos From Here: 2017 Porsche 911 Comes Boosted Out of The Box
Porsche announced on Sunday that when its new 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera and Carrera S go on sale in March 2016 they’ll be force-fed air through twin turbochargers — and not naturally aspirated like nature intended.
Instead of a 3.6-liter flat-six behind its rear wheels, the new 911 Carrera and Carrera S will sport a twin-turbocharged, 3-liter, flat-six engine. (Porsche didn’t directly specify in its statement the engine’s number of cylinders, so if you want to play a fun game today, read how some outlets have written around it.)
As our own Tim Cain points out, the output of the new turbocharged Carrera and Carrera S, which is 370 horsepower and 420 horsepower respectively, is shockingly close to the 415 horsepower produced by the 996 Turbo from 2000.
Unsurprisingly, Porsche boosted the price too — a new Carrera will run $89,400 before delivery and options, which is more than $5,000 dearer than the current generation.
According to Porsche, the Carrera and Carrera S will share virtually identical engines, but the S model will sport a slightly different turbo and exhaust system to achieve the 50 horsepower delta over the Carrera.
By switching to the turbocharged mill, Porsche says that its engines will produce more torque — up 44 pounds-feet in the Carrera and 43 pounds-feet in the Carrera S — and spin up to 7,500 rpm.
The Carrera S’s price will now swell to $103,400, and the cabriolet versions will start at $101,700 and $115,700 for the droptop Carrera and Carrera S cars respectively.
The Carrera S will also sport rear-axle steering as an option for the first time in 2016, adopted from the current Turbo and GT3. Porsche says its active suspension management will be standard for all Carreras and will lower the car by 10 millimeters to improve handling.
The redesigned car also sports slightly new headlights, and a redesigned rear tail with retro-looking rear vents.
More by Aaron Cole
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So they've separated the tail lamps again, which is sad. 911 tip! The 911's worth the most money later always have joined tail lamps. Get a 2015 before they're gone!
Actually, this sounds like a good implementation of forced induction. By choosing a 3.0 engine displacement, two turbos and output no higher than 420 HP this should translate into low pressure boost, low turbo lag and good throttle response even off-boost. A gain in power, torque, efficiency and speed is progress - no matter what the so called "purists" and Internet forum dwellers think.