2016 Porsche 911 Goes All-in on Turbochargers

By Christian Moe - September 8, 2015

It is finally happening, guys. Porsche is ushering in a new era by removing the naturally aspirated engine from the 2016 911 Carrera lineup. The new 991.5 refresh is arriving next year, and just as it has been rumored for months and months, there is a turbocharged engine stuffed into both the Carrera and Carrera S. The old 3.4 and 3.8-liter flat six engines have been killed off, and both have been replaced with a new 3.0-liter flat-six and a pair of turbochargers.

I find myself simultaneously screaming “HELL YES” and “DEAR GOD, WHY?!”

Let’s start with the good stuff. Firstly, the cars now make more power. The Carrera is good for 370 horsepower with the S coming in at 420 hp. Torque has been bumped to 331 lb-ft and 368 lb-ft respectively, which is a bump of 20 horsepower and about 40 pounds of twist for both cars. Oh, and all that torque is available from 1,700 rpm all the way to 5,000. It doesn’t stop there though, while torque starts to fall off above five-grand, the engine will still pull hard to a redline of 7,500.

So they gave us the high-revving nature of a naturally aspirated Porsche, but managed to give us the flat torque curve of a turbo. It’s all witchcraft, I tell you. To help make this car even faster, they have added the option of rear-wheel steering from the GT3 to the whole lineup, and the Porsche Active Suspension Management System, with its magic adjustments and lowering ability, was revised and is now standard on all cars.

Now as good as all that sounds, you are still losing some of the character of the machine. Having that instant on torque is great, but it goes against the pure and honest feel that base Carrera so faithfully provided. There is also that underlying truth that all this is not being done in the name of performance or heritage, but rather to appease the various government agencies around the world demanding a crackdown on fuel consumption and emissions. I am not getting a lower level turbo 911 because Porsche thinks it makes for a better car, I am getting a small turbo because it’s better in emissions testing.

To be fair, Porsche has made sure that this new car is definitely faster than the old one, and if anyone knows how to make a performance turbocharged car, it’s the crazy kids at Stuttgart. I just know that I will miss the special character that was found in the old car. Hopefully Porsche has found a way to save that special magic, but we won’t know until we get to drive it.

Beyond all the new drivetrain magic, Porsche did give the 991.5 a tiny visual update with some new headlights, taillights, changes to the door handles, and a new rear deck lid with vertical louvers. In short, it still looks exactly like a 911, and that is a good thing.

This new German sports car will be officially revealed at the Frankfurt Auto Show next week.