The engines in the Porsche 911 have come a long way in the last sixty years and now have twice the displacement and four times the power of the original. The drive technology has evolved constantly, but the basic concept has remained the same, whether naturally aspirated, turbocharged or, in the future, a supersport hybrid engine.
Birth of a concept: the first 911 with a horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive.
Each generation of the 911 continues to set new milestones in terms of drive technology. in the early 1970s, Porsche tested the power of turbocharging in motorsports with great success. in 1974, the technology was ready for production, and Porsche launched the 911 Turbo (codenamed 930). With a maximum power of 260 PS, it was one of the fastest cars of its time. Technically, Porsche was one step ahead of its competitors, using for the first time a controllable valve on the exhaust side to regulate boost pressure and thus control power output, making the turbocharged engine suitable for everyday driving. With the increase in displacement to 3 liters, turbocharging became the method of engine suction in the 911. Thanks to the unique combination of turbocharger and fuel injection, the 911 Turbo met the stringent US emissions regulations from the very beginning.
In 1974, "turbocharging" became synonymous with Porsche. The first 911 Turbo would revolutionize the world of luxury sports cars
The 993rd generation of the 911 Turbo was the culmination of the development of the air-cooled six-cylinder engine in the mid-1990s and ushered in the era of twin turbochargers in the 911 lineup. The two small-inertia turbos are positioned very close to the three cylinders on each side, allowing them to respond faster to every throttle change than the single turbocharger of the previous generation. This high-performance engine produced 408 PS, breaking the four-hundred horsepower mark for the first time. For exhaust gas aftertreatment, Porsche engineers equipped the sports car with two precious metal catalytic converters, four oxygen sensors and an intelligent engine management system, making the horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine of the Porsche 911 Turbo the world's lowest-emission production engine in 1995. Two years later, the engineers achieved the next milestone in engine development. In order to further improve exhaust performance, they developed a four-valve-per-cylinder engine head for mass production, which required a change in engine style: changing the six-cylinder horizontally opposed from air-cooled to water-cooled.
"This was our ticket to utilizing the new technology." August Achleitner, a certified engineer who had been in charge of the 911 model line and was responsible for technical product planning at the time, recalled, "The air-cooled two-valve engine had no more potential." The elimination of the air-cooled engine angered some of the 911's die-hard owners, but was soon put to rest. 996 generations of the 911 were a huge success, with groundbreaking results in terms of emissions, sound and fuel consumption.
With the switch from air-cooled to water-cooled, the six-cylinder engine broke with tradition and set new technological benchmarks
The 911 Turbo of the 2006 997 generation took an impressive leap forward in terms of performance, increasing power and torque by more than 10 percent and climbing to a new high of 98 kW (133 PS) per liter in terms of displacement-to-power ratio. Thanks to the new turbocharging technology, the vehicle's agility has been significantly improved. For the first time, a Variable Geometry Turbo (VTG) supplies compressed air to the 911 Turbo engine. the VTG turbocharger is a world first in the field of gasoline internal combustion engines, and only the development of nickel alloys with extreme high-temperature resistance made it possible to manufacture a VTG supercharger with the necessary fatigue strength and service life. This technology allows the turbocharger to utilize the exhaust gas flow most efficiently at any speed. The need for bypass valves is eliminated by altering the supercharger's variable geometry to ensure it can handle the maximum exhaust mass possible. "With this groundbreaking achievement, Porsche has once again asserted its position as a pioneer in turbocharging technology." Frank-Steffen Walliser, who is responsible for the 911 and 718 model lines from 2019 through 2022, said, "The VTG supercharger has helped the six-cylinder turbocharged engine of the 911 GT2 RS to achieve a significant jump in power of up to 515 kW (700 PS). "
The Porsche 911 Turbo (997) with variable geometry turbocharger (VTG) takes turbocharging to a new level
Some developments, whether in engines or transmissions, take time to mature. In the 1980s, Porsche built the first dual-clutch gearbox for motorsport and won races with it. What was missing in the production car was an electronic control unit with sufficient power. Porsche developed this technology again in the age of CNC. The first dual-clutch transmission for a production sports car made its debut in 2008 in the 911 Carrera. The Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) combines the driving dynamics and impressive mechanical efficiency of a manual gearbox with the quick gearshifts and driving comfort of an automatic transmission. Even at the time of its debut, the PDK transmission shifted gears up to 60 percent faster than the more common automatic transmissions of the time, which shifted gears via a torque converter. It also allowed seamless gear changes without interrupting wheel drive and reduced fuel consumption. The new gearbox has been a roaring success. More than three-quarters of all Porsche 718 and 911 models delivered today are equipped with the PDK.
Looking to the future: Supersport Hybrid to make six-cylinder engines even faster and more efficient
The next major step up for Porsche is just around the corner in 2024, as the company has already developed the Supersport Hybrid system seen in racing cars for some derivatives of the 911 model line. "The high-performance hybrid system will seamlessly continue the innovative development of the 911 drive system." Frank Moser, who currently manages the 911 and 718 models, said, "The driver benefits from the new technology whenever he accelerates. As a result, we have a technology that is capable of meeting future emissions standards." This is typical of the Porsche 911.