Move over, 911 Turbo: Porsche’s 911 Carrera and Carrera S could get turbocharged, too

By Stephen Edelstein Published October 20, 2014

The names and numbers on your car’s trunk lid are becoming increasingly meaningless.

The Porsche Macan Turbo, for example, may feature a turbocharged engine, but so does the Macan S. If that wasn’t confusing enough, Porsche is thinking of doing the same thing to the 911.

Recommended Videos

The 911 Turbo is arguably the car that started the turbocharged revolution, but soon it may not be the only mass-market car (the limited-production GT2 is on hiatus) in the 911 lineup sporting a turbine.

Britain’s Car magazine reports that the 911 Carrera and Carrera S could get turbocharged as part of an upcoming refresh.

To keep up with tightening emissions standards, Porsche is reportedly downsizing the Carrera’s flat-six from 3.4 liters to 2.9 and fitting the turbo to compensate.

The sportier Carrera S will apparently keep its 3.8-liter boxer engine, but still get a turbo to boost peak output from 400 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque in the current car to 530 hp and 520 lb-ft.

Related: 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera vs 2014 Audi R8 V8 Manual

That’s pretty monstrous for a car that’s supposed to be on the lower-key end of the 911 range, but it will help the Carrera S reassert itself against cheaper rivals like the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Porsche’s own Cayman S.

The updated Carrera and Carrera S are expected to kick off a mid-cycle refresh for the entire 911 lineup. Originally revealed back in August, it was supposed to be fairly extensive and include a new GTS model.

Porsche’s plans have proven a little less grand since then. The GTS will be based on the current version of the “991” 911 platform, and the refresh may be a little less comprehensive.

Still, it looks like there are big changes in store for the Porsche faithful, particularly current Turbo owners, who will have to get used to that trunk lid badge being a little less significant.

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Costco, Electrify America add EV-charging stations in three states

costco electrify america add 50 ev charging stations in three states ea chargers 1280

Costco, which had abandoned offering EV charging 12 years ago, is getting serious about resuming the service.

Over a month ago, the big-box retailer once again put its brand name on a DC fast-charging station in Ridgefield, Washington, that was made by Electric Era .

Cars

Mini’s infotainment system is very charming, but still needs work

Main screen of the Mini infotainment system

When you think Mini, you probably don’t think of infotainment. Personally, I think of the British flag taillights, the distinct exterior, and the surprising room on the inside. But after driving the Mini John Cooper Works Countryman over the past week, infotainment might well be something I think of more often when it comes to Mini. It’s charming.

It also, however, suffers from all the traps that other legacy automakers fall into when it comes to software design. Mini has something on its hands here — but it still needs some work.
Bringing the charm
The first thing that stood out to me about the system when I got in the car was how fun it was. That all starts with the display. It’s round! No, it’s not curved — the screen is a big, round display sits in at 9.4 inches, and I found it plenty large enough for day-to-day use.

Cars

Plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular. Why? And will it continue?

Kia Niro EV Charging Port

There's a lot of talk about the idea that the growth in electric car sales has kind of slowed a little. It's not all that surprising -- EVs are still expensive, early adopters all have one by now, and they're still new enough to where there aren't too many ultra-affordable used EVs available. But plenty of people still want a greener vehicle, and that has given rise to an explosion in hybrid vehicle sales.

That's especially true of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be charged like an EV and driven in all-electric mode for short distances, and have a gas engine as a backup for longer distances or to be used in combination with electric mode for more efficient driving.