[VIDEO] Porsche Debuts its ‘E-Ray,’ Makes Corvette Buyers Even Happier with Their Purchase

Almost eighteen months after Chevrolet pulled the cover off of the first “electrified” hybrid member of its 70-year-old sports/halo car family, Porsche has followed suit with the new 992.2 911 Carrera GTS. The GTS becomes the first member of the facelifted seventh-generation (992) 911. It kicks off the second half of 992 production with an all-new 3.6L single-turbo flat-6. For the first time in the 911’s history, dating back to 1964, that gas-burner has been supplemented by a secondary electric motor.

On its own, the 3.6 makes 478 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque – up just five ponies and zero torques from the twin-turbo 3-liter from the 992.1 GTS. More displacement and half of the turbos allowed the GTS’ engineering team to slightly build upon the outgoing version’s peak power rating while reducing emissions across the rev range, even at full throttle. To mitigate the significant lag intrinsic to single turbo engines, the apparatus itself was made narrower from top to bottom in order to make room for the electric half of Porsche’s new “T-hybrid” system. Unlike the Corvette E-Ray, which keeps its signature V8 and batteries on separate axles, the GTS keeps the bulk of its motivation in the trunk, in true 911 fashion. Now, this is where Porsche’s hybrid system gets complicated.

That plus-sized Borg-Warner turbo has its own 27-horse electric motor sitting between its compressor and exhaust. This not only mitigates turbo lag, but it also gets rid of the wastegate and instead turns access boost into power that feeds directly into the electric motor – like a generator that can gather up to 15 HP during high-RPM driving. Likewise, the mandatory 8-speed PDK automatic transmission is fitted with another electric motor/generator system that can supply an additional 54 ponies and 110 lb-ft basically from idle. The main battery is a 1.5-kWh lithium-ion unit, and a smaller secondary battery provides 12 volts of backup power for when the engine isn’t running – unlike the E-Ray, the GTS Hybrid isn’t capable of electric-only movement.

All told – and we didn’t check Porsche’s math here – the 992.2 GTS makes 532 horsepower and 449 lb-ft. Factoring in the 110 pounds that Porsche claims the electric components added to the bottom line, that means each of the first-ever 911 hybrid’s horses is saddled with 6.3 pounds of mass vs. the old, ICE-only version’s 7.2. The sprint to 60 is quoted by the company at a conservative 2.9 seconds (vs. the 992.1 GTS’ stated 3.2), and top speed is up one MPH to 194. At its infamous 12.944-mile home track, the Hybrid 911 was clocked at an impressive 7:16.9 by its makers, which gives it another mark in the “improvements” column, with the outgoing model lagging that number by 8.7 seconds.

That’s the encouraging news. On the other side of the coin, the new GTS also outdoes its predecessor in the window sticker department, and not in a good way. Its MSRP is up some $14,000 year-over-year, with the 992.2 now asking a whopping $166,895 before a single (notoriously expensive) option box is checked. Meanwhile, its most obvious rival, the oft-mentioned Chevrolet E-Ray, undercuts even the base 911’s new $122,095 floor by some $15 grand while bringing 123 extra horses – which is achieved by outdoing the Porsche in both engine HP and electric HP – to the go-fast party with its total output of 655. It also leverages its power advantage into a superior power-to-weight ratio of 6.05, allowing it to handily beat the 911’s on-paper acceleration numbers, as well. It will be interesting to see these innovative takes on the world’s two most celebrated sports cars meet in the real world, but in just looking at numbers, early adaptors of the Corvette E-Ray have a lot to feel good about – and that’s before they even consider the extra $60k in their account!

Source:
Porsche

Related:
It’s Almost the Perfect Time for a ‘Singer’ Corvette
[VIDEO] Corvette Z06 Takes on Cleetus McFarland’s Twin Turbo Porsche
[POLL] Time For The Corvette Z06 To Get Back To The ‘Ring

Subscribe Now: