Here’s how Porsche plans to electrify the 911

Porsche

has revealed some of the technical details of the upcoming electrified versions of the 992-generation 911. The 992 will serve for seven years, and the technical basis of the car will have to support both mild

hybrid

and PHEV versions during that time. Earlier reports have timed the plug-in 911 for a late 2020 reveal, and Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has said the hybrid version would be

“the most powerful 911 we’ve ever had, 700 horsepower might be possible.”

Porsche’s August Achleitner told Autocar

that experience from

Cayenne

and

Panamera

hybrids as well as the

918 Spyder

has been used to package the 992 with hybrid tech, and prepare it for more. “In the future, this will allow us to offer it with pure-electric capability,” said Achleitner.

The eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox of the 992 can now incorporate a disc-shaped electric motor in its rear section: It is not easy to shoehorn electrified tech into the limited space available in the engine bay of the 992. While the gearset in the renewed PDK is shorter than in the old boxes, it can also handle the massive torque from an electrically assisted powertrain.

Autocar

also adds that the four-wheel-drive system of the car has been upgraded to deliver as much as 50 percent of the power to the front wheels, and that the new brake booster, taking after the one in the 918 Spyder, is now fully electric instead of electromechanical, allowing for better energy recovery.

The battery in the hybrid 992s would be mounted in the front, its weight used to improve the car’s weight distribution — the Carrera S is rear-heavy by 39/61. Achleitner wouldn’t speculate on power figures, but he mentioned the Panamera S E Hybrid as a comparison point: The electric drivetrain of the Panamera accounts for 134 hp of the 671 total horsepower.

Autocar

surmises that the hybrid Panamera’s electric tech, if coupled with the powertrain of the 992 generation Carrera S, would grant it a theoretical 578 hp and 686 lb-ft: the teased 700+ horsepower figure is likely to be based on the

Turbo

S gaining hybrid boost.

As for the electric-only range, the Panamera is almost 2,000 pounds heavier than the Carrera S, and it can do up to 31 miles using just electric power — the lighter 911 models could go further.

Related Video: