It’s no secret that the current 992 generation of the Porsche 911 is compatible with a plug-in hybrid powertrain but the big heads over at Stuttgart appear keen to delay its arrival as much as possible.

Speaking to Top Gear, Porsche’s board member Michael Steiner repeated that the platform of the current 911 is hybrid ready –we already knew that– but added that they are not happy yet with the results.

“We have prototypes, but they’re still at a weight we don’t really think is nice,” Steiner said. “For a two-door, serious sports car the additional weight of battery is not something we are satisfied with today.”

Read More:  Porsche CEO Says The 911 Won’t Go All-Electric

Porsche’s board member added that the only solution at the moment is to either pick a decent EV range or strong performance and that they are not ready to decide which way to go yet.

Frank Walliser, 911 Product Line boss, was more straight-forward with the issues they are dealing with the hybrid 911.

A diagram of the front axle of the older 911 GT3 R Hybrid racer with two electric motors

“The electrification of a 911 is a very tricky point,” Walliser said. “If I consider the footprint, the 2+2 seats, the big trunk and the engine in the rear, it’s really difficult to bring in proper electrification without destroying the character and shape of a 911.”

One could only imagine the nightmare of packaging the extra hardware for a hybrid powertrain into a 911 and keep the ethos of the iconic sports car alive.

“None of the ideas we’ve had are really convincing,” Walliser adds. “Ten years ago we did the presentation of the 918 Spyder; it’s easier to add hybrid into an all-new car than into a 911. I’m not ready to put another 100kg into the car.”

Earlier this week, Porsche’s CEO Oliver Blume revealed that they are not planning an all-electric 911. Walliser backed up the comments of his boss on a battery-powered 911: “It’s the last car that we’ll fully electrify, and maybe the last of all the cars in the world to be electrified will be in a 911. If we can do it, it will not be before 2030.”

Prototype of the 992 coupe