It's All Turbos From Here: 2017 Porsche 911 Comes Boosted Out of The Box

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

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.





Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Sep 08, 2015

    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!

  • Carguy Carguy on Sep 08, 2015

    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.

    • Sportyaccordy Sportyaccordy on Sep 08, 2015

      I agree that this is about as ideal an implementation of turbocharging as one could get (though I would have liked a higher redline), but objective progress is not always subjective progress. The old Carrera was hardly slow or inefficient; this move is being done purely to deal with impending emissions regulations.

  • Slavuta Inflation creation act... 2 thoughts1, Are you saying Biden admin goes on the Trump's MAGA program?2, Protectionism rephrased: "Act incentivizes automakers to source materials from free-trade-compliant countries and build EVs in North America"Question: can non-free-trade country be a member of WTO?
  • EBFlex China can F right off.
  • MrIcky And tbh, this is why I don't mind a little subsidization of our battery industry. If the American or at least free trade companies don't get some sort of good start, they'll never be able to float long enough to become competitive.
  • SCE to AUX Does the WTO have any teeth? Seems like countries just flail it at each other like a soft rubber stick for internal political purposes.
  • Peter You know we’ve entered the age of self driving vehicles When KIAs go from being stolen to rolling away by themselves.
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