The new Porsche 911 hybrid has finished testing ahead of its reveal on 28 May.
Porsche has released the first official images of the debut electrified 911 as the global testing programme comes to an end, and confirmed that it has clocked a Nürburgring lap time of 7min 16.934sec.
That time, says Porsche, is 8.7sec faster "than the corresponding version of the predecessor model", but it didn't say specifically which model that refers to.
For reference, the current Porsche 911 Turbo S, with 641bhp and a 0-62mph time of just 2.6sec, clocked a lap time of 7min 17.3sec in 2021 - less than a half a second ahead of the new hybrid.
Details of the precise nature of the 911's hybrid system remain under wraps until the end of the month, but Frank Moser, who heads the 911 and 718 model lines, said it's an "innovative performance hybrid" system that gives "spontaneous response" and "makes the 911 even more dynamic".
"We left nothing to chance during development and tested the new 911 under all sorts of conditions all over the world," he added.
"From the freezing cold to scorching heat, as was the case during the final stages of testing in Dubai. Whether at a high drivetrain load in the demanding conditions of mountain passes or in the stop-and-go traffic of an urban environment, the new 911 has mastered even the most difficult challenges with aplomb."
During testing, said Moser, engineers and test drivers clocked up more than three million miles behind the wheel of the prototypes.
Due on sale by the end of the year, the hybrid will be added to the line-up as part of a mid-life facelift for the current 911; the ‘992.2’-generation car will receive a host of mid-life revisions, including subtly altered exterior styling, a reworked interior and updated six-cylinder petrol engines.
It is one of four new Porsche models arriving in 2024 – one of the German marque's busiest years on record for new product launches – alongside the new Panamera, Taycan and electric Macan.
The changes are intended to sustain the 911’s appeal through to 2027, when an all-new ninth-generation model will join the increasingly electrified Porsche line-up.
The most significant change to the 911 in its sixth decade of production, however, is the adoption of that unique petrol-electric hybrid system.
It combines a tuned version of Porsche’s turbocharged six-cylinder engine with a specially designed electric motor housed within the front axle assembly. The petrol engine provides drive to the rear wheels, while the electric motor drives the front wheels.
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