Sportscar iconograffiti

1 of 6

PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

The Porsche 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid at the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden in Chiang Mai, Thailand — PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

Interviewing Porsche Asia Pacific Head of PR and Communications Brendan Mok — SCREENGRAB BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

Instrumentation and infotainment are both digital affairs. — PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

The author poses with a ‘conventional’ 911 Carrera on the left and the 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid. — PHOTO FROM PORSCHE ASIA PACIFIC

Porsche’s GTS models are said to offer both everyday usability and on-track performance. — PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

For the first time ever, the Porsche 911 is, gasp, electrified

WHEN YOU HAVE such an iconic car in your stable, to engineer its evolution and change is truly a task fraught with peril — mainly coming from purists, pundits, and ardent fans alike. In fact, it can seem, as elucidated by Porsche Asia Pacific Head of PR and Communications Brendan Mok, akin to “designing something new without designing something new.”

The classic profile; the beloved headlamp shape; the familiar width, flanks, and curves — these are all what seared the sports car onto our psyche as one of the most revered models in the automotive world. For the Stuttgart brand, there is clearly no straying from the script.

Or is there?

Throughout its history spanning eight generations, the 911 has indeed reaped its fair share of controversy and hate. The pursuit of innovation, which Porsche engineers proudly engage in, can of course also result in the wrath of naysayers uncomfortable with change. The first 911 itself, derived from the 356, Porsche’s very first production model, drew criticisms as it was deemed too small, too complicated, and too expensive. But Mr. Mok said that, eventually, “the world kind of warmed up to it, and it became a darling of the brand for a very long time.”

Other eyebrow-raisers included the first appearance of the Targa (1965), the front spoiler and ducktail on the Carrera RS (1972), the debut of turbo in the 930 (1974) which was also derisively known as the Widowmaker, the four-wheel-drive 911 Carrera 4 (1988), the infamous 996 with its “fried egg” headlamps (1997).

Now, Porsche is springing the biggest surprise (well, not really, if you think about it) of them all: an electrified 911. The electric writing has long been on the wall — most legibly executed in the Taycan, where Porsche showed its ability in conceiving of and delivering a high-performing battery electric vehicle model.

But still, this is a dip in the electrified pool for the revered 911. This is not a full-on splash as in the aforementioned Taycan, and even the Macan crossover.

In Mr. Mok’s estimation, the 911 always has to appeal to a wider breadth of buyers — the old guards and the new initiates. “It’s a sort of engineering conundrum, right?” he said at a product briefing in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “And the 911 throughout the years has always attracted a little bit of controversy, a little bit of criticism as well, right?” Nothing that Porsche couldn’t handle, apparently.

Behind the wheel of the once-improbable but now very real 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid — yes, a hybrid — the undulating roads in the hinterland of Chiang Mai, Thailand were a blur. I tried to string together a good spiel for a video I was making, but it was a tough ask to concentrate on the twists and turns on the two-lane, two-way road. Besides, I thought to myself that I should stay in the moment and savor the drive which was turning out to be almost a stint on the track.

The sleek Vanadium Gray Metallic GTS inhaled each turn exquisitely with the 3.6-liter, six-cylinder boxer mill. Even when taking corners at speed, I didn’t feel especially challenged — no doubt an offshoot of the GTS-exclusive rear-axle steering which eased vehicle into turns.

Even when going uphill, the 911 was composed and competent. Overtaking was a cinch, the e-turbo i making short work of passes and sprints. I do not doubt Porsche’s claimed standstill-to-100kph of three ticks on the GTS with the Sport Chrono Package, as with its published top rate of 312kph. The car’s bark matches its bite. Even on the proving ground of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the GTS T-Hybrid passes the sniff test. Porsche reported that it slashed a hefty 8.7 seconds off the time of the older GTS, completing a lap in seven minutes, 16.93 seconds.

“The T-Hybrid system really eliminates the lag. What we’ve got is a three-part system: a 1.9-kWh lightweight battery in the front, an electric motor inside the transmission that supplies some 54hp, and an electric turbo supplying 15hp that’s on the side of the engine, and the engine itself has 475hp. Combined, that’s 541hp,” shared Mr. Mok to “Velocity” in an exclusive interview.

He maintained in a media briefing on the eve of our drive, “The coolest part about the GTS now is the drivetrain. First of all… there are no more belt drives, no more pulleys. Why? Because with the hybrid system, (the GTS is) able to run the steering, power steering; I’m able to run the A/C, all these auxiliary systems.”

The PAP executive stressed that pundits need not worry about the 911 T-Hybrid “losing its soul.” “From Porsche’s perspective, (the electrification of the 911) was somewhat inevitable. We are always looking at the need for elevating power and performance while reducing emissions. Some countries are phasing out conventional ICE models, that’s why we went with the controversial decision to go hybrid.”

When you press the start-stop button, the GTS does not hesitate; its engine simply roars to life. “The T-Hybrid system is really innovative and revolutionary in the sense that there’s no more cranking because the engine now does not have a starter,” explained Mr. Mok. “What it results in is more power, you push the start-stop button and the engine just fires to life.” There are also a lot of upgrades and improvements inside and out over the outgoing GTS that should make car browsers even more interested in the T-Hybrid.

This 911’s hybrid system is not like ones customers usually encounter. “The purpose of this hybrid system is not so much for efficiency — of course, it’s also there — but mainly, the (electric energy) is used to fill in the gaps,” he continued. Additionally, the e-turbo and electric motor veritably round out the edges to make the 911’s power delivery instantaneous.

“The initial burst of energy from this GTS is absolutely out of this world,” insisted Mr. Mok.

I asked if this version of the 911 shows the way forward for Porsche. “This is the first time that Porsche is implementing a hybrid system in the 911,” he began. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see where this goes afterward. If the fans love it and enjoy it, then why not? It could continue. Going back to the 996 where we tried to change the shape of the headlights, and the public said no, so we went back to round headlights.”

There have been customer deliveries in Singapore already, and the GTS T-Hybrid was also recently launched in the Philippines. “Feedback has been absolutely positive,” boasted Mr. Mok. “And it won the 2025 World Performance Car award. This hybrid system is really delivering as intended.”

He concluded: “With this hybrid technology, hopefully, from the performance that you’ve seen today, even purists can accept the fact that the 911 can be a hybrid and still retain that Porsche soul — and be a true 911 at heart.”

After our dreamy drive in Chiang Mai, it’s hard not to agree.