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The 2025 Carrera GTS Is NOT Porsche's First Hybrid 911

We look back at the forgotten GT3 R from 2010, where Porsche dabbled with the idea of a 911 hybrid for the first time

by Amreetam Basu on June 18, 2024, 14:00

With the introduction of the 992.2 Carrera GTS for the 2025 model year, Porsche’s iconic 911 sports car enters a new era of hybridization, or at least that’s what people are saying. But it’s technically not the first hybrid 911.

The Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid debuted at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. It’s based on the 997 generation GT3, so it had a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine rated at 480 horsepower. Additionally, Porsche partnered with the Williams F1 team to borrow a trick from their Formula One playbook. Two e-motors on the front axle, powered by an energy-recovering flywheel, pushed out 219 horses.

Over a decade ago, the iconic sports car introduced Porsche’s first hybrid system, which wasn’t solely used for testing but also competed at numerous endurance races. The 911 GT3 Hybrid made its racing debut at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2010, and even though it faced some challenges along the way, it proved that hybrid technology could hold its own in the world of racing. In fact, it snagged its first VLN four-hour endurance win in 2011 at the ’Ring and even managed to outpace the entire GT fleet at the 2011 American Le Mans Series at Monterey.

With hybridization in mind, a few years later, the first Porsche PHEV arrived as the 918 Spyder supercar, which was later joined by the Panamera luxury sedan and the Cayenne SUV, both plug-in hybrids. And now, we have another hybrid Porsche, the 992.2 Carrera GTS. So it begs the question. How exactly has Porsche evolved from its early hybridization technology? How different is the current 911 Hybrid’s technology than the 911 GT3 R Hybrid? Let’s uncover all that you need to know.

  • The 911 GT3 R Hybrid was the first hybridized 911
  • Two e—motors in the front axle gave it all-wheel-drive traction
  • It had a flywheel energy storage system instead of a traditional battery pack

The 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid: a technological leap

The 2025 Carrera GTS Is NOT Porsche's First Hybrid 911 storyboard - image 180606

Creating high-performance hybrid sports cars wasn’t a thing back in 2010, and Porsche took the opportunity to build a hybrid race car and use it as a rolling laboratory to experiment with the technology for its future race cars and road cars alike.

So, what made this hybrid system so special? Well, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid utilizes a revolutionary flywheel energy storage system instead of a traditional battery pack. Besides keeping the overall weight in check, the flywheel captures and stores kinetic energy from the front e-motors.

When fully charged, the flywheel could unleash short bursts of the combined 161 horsepower to the front wheels for about seven to eight seconds. Meanwhile, the 480-horsepower rear-mounted 4.0-liter flat-six engine independently powers the rear wheels only and has no physical connection to the front axle. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid isn’t a full-time all-wheel drive race car, and using a flywheel for storing electricity is similar to the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) from the Williams F1 race car.

The 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Hybrid: evolution on the road

The 2025 Carrera GTS Is NOT Porsche's First Hybrid 911 Exterior storyboard - image 176542

After a decade and more advanced hybrid powertrain technologies later, Porsche is introducing a unique hybrid powertrain with the 992.2 911 GTS. The hybrid technology used here completely differs from what the carmaker has used all these years. It’s not about fuel efficiency here, you see. Porsche’s new "T-Hybrid" system is all about churning out more juice.

Under the hood, we’re talking about a complete engine overhaul, ditching the twin turbochargers from the earlier 3.0-liter flat-six for a single turbo 3.6-liter flat-six. The turbocharger features a 27-horsepower e-motor sandwiched between the exhaust sides and the compressor. The electrified turbocharger cuts turbo lag, giving you instant power off the line. Then, as the revs climb, the e-motor inside the turbocharger shaft transforms into a generator, feeding excess energy back to the front-mounted 1.9 kWh battery.

There’s another e-motor nestled inside the eight-speed PDK gearbox, feeding 54 horsepower and 110 pound-feet of torque. However, there is no clutch between the e-motor and the flat-six, which makes the 992.2 911 GTS devoid of any electric-only propulsion. With a combined output of 532 horsepower and 449 pound-feet of torque, you’re looking at a robust 59 horsepower and 29 pound-feet of torque upgrade compared to the outgoing 992.1 911 GTS.

A tale of two 911 hybrid beasts: past vs. present

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While both the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and the 992.2 911 Carrera GTS are hybrids, they both employ unidentical hybrid systems and engine configurations. Since the 911 GT3 R Hybrid was based on the 997 GT3, it features a naturally aspirated engine, unlike the 992.2 911 Carrera GTS, which benefits from a turbocharged block.

As for the hybrid technologies, the GT3 R Hybrid employs dual e-motors on the front axle, making it an AWD race car. The combined output is close to 641 horsepower, identical to the supercar-killer 992.1 911 Turbo S. On the other contrary, the 2025 911 Carrera GTS is rear-wheel-drive by default, and there are two e-motors: one inside the eight-speed PDK and another working out the turbocharger. When combined, this "T-Hybrid" system unleashes 532 horsepower, almost 109 fewer horsepower than the GT3 R Hybrid.

Feature 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2025 Porsche 992.2 911 Carrera GTS Hybrid
Engine Type 4.0-liter flat-six + 2 electric motors 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six + electric motor
Total Power Output 641 hp (480 hp engine + 161 hp electric) 532 hp (478 hp engine + 54 hp electric)
Electric Motor Output 161 hp (120 kW combined) 54 hp (40 kW)
Weight 2,976 lbs 3,536 lbs
Focus Racing performance Performance road car
Energy Storage Flywheel Lithium-ion battery
Drive Type All-wheel drive (RWD) Rear-wheel drive (RWD)
Transmission Sequential manual 8-speed dual-clutch automatic (PDK)

However, the GT3 R Hybrid’s e-motors don’t always produce the combined 161 horsepower. Thus, the power will drop to the flat-six’s default 480 horsepower. Another major difference between the two 911s is the way in which they store energy. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid uses a flywheel to store kinetic energy and push short bursts of power, while the 2025 911 Carrera GTS features a proper 1.9 kWh battery pack, which provides constant power to the e-motors.

Amreetam Basu

Amreetam Basu

While Amreetam hustles during the week, free time means one thing: hitting the open road. He dreams of cruising the Alps in a German masterpiece – a Porsche 992 911 GT3 RS or an F87 BMW M2 would be ideal! This 26-year-old automotive journalist loves every part of the job. Read full bio