Porsche isn’t going to offer a 911 Carrera with a naturally aspirated engine ever again according to Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, the man responsible for the 911 and 718 model series. That privilege will remain exclusive to models like the 911 GT3 and GT3 RS.
The recent return of a naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine in the 718 Boxster and Cayman GTS models caused many to speculate the return of a N/A engine in the 911 Carrera range but apparently, that’s not the case.
In a chat with UK’s Evo magazine, Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser said that it simply isn’t feasible to offer the 4.0-liter 718 GTS engine in a 911 Carrera.
Read More: 2021 Porsche 911 Targa 4 And Targa 4S Land With Retro Looks
“The 4-liter engine in the GTS can’t be rotated through 180 degrees to fit in the 911. We will not see them again [naturally aspirated engines in the Carrera models]. I’m sorry about that,” said Walliser.
“The R&D costs are too high to develop such an engine for the Carrera. And producing individual engines for different markets such as China, the US and Europe isn’t viable. The Carrera will always be turbocharged for the future,” added Walliser, putting an end to the rumors and speculations.
However, purists will be pleased to know that Porsche will continue offering a manual transmission option to 911 customers, as long as there’s demand.
“A manual gearbox offers feedback that our customers enjoy when they drive their cars. It’s important for the experience,” Walliser said. “We had to go to the board I think seven times to explain why we need to offer a manual gearbox. We will offer one [a manual gearbox] as long as possible, but one day it will not be possible to do so. But I hope that day is a long way away.”
Porsche recently added a seven-speed manual transmission for the 911 Carrera S and 4S models as a no-cost option over the eight-speed PDK dual-clutch gearbox.
