Real Talk From Walter Röhrl On Porsche's New Smaller 911 Turbo Engines
Porsche has confirmed that pretty soon, just about every 911 will be a 911 with a turbo. (Where that leaves the 911 Turbo is unclear.) Like everyone, their engines are going smaller and turbocharged, and legendary racing driver Walter Röhrl, of all people, let loose with the details.
Speaking at an event in Sweden to Australia's Wheels Magazine, Röhrl said that testing is already underway for the facelifted 991 and its fancy new smaller turbo engines. He said he's driven them, and that the new 911 Carrera will get a 2.7-liter turbo flat six, and the Carrera S will get a 3.0-liter turbo flat six.
That's quite a bit smaller than the current engines. A base 911 Carrera now has a 3.4-liter six, and the Carrera S has a 3.8-liter six. Both are naturally aspirated, obviously.
Röhrl also disclosed how much power the new engines will make: about 350 horsepower for the 2.7 and about 430 horsepower for the 3.0. The first is on par with the current car, and the latter is a nice 30 horsepower bump over today's Carrera S. No word on torque yet.
Porsche is downsizing for the same reason everyone else is, to boost fuel economy and reduce emissions. But like a lot of folks, Röhrl isn't too thrilled about the move to an all-turbo (save for the GT3 and GT3 RS) lineup.
"But no matter how good a turbo engine is, it can never have the pure response of a naturally aspirated engine. This is the reason I bought a Boxster Spyder, because engines like this won't be made anymore."
Speaking of sound, he didn't have nice things to say about the forthcoming turbo flat fours in the next Cayman and Boxster, at least in their current phase:
"At least it's not a four-cylinder turbo like in the next Boxster. That sounds like a Volkswagen Beetle, I'm not kidding you! I tell the guys, 'You're joking with this sound, right?' But they just say they are working on it. I'm sure they will get it right."
Some real talk from Walter Röhrl.
Hat tip to K-Roll-PorscheTamer on Oppotown!