- The Porsche 911 GT3’s raw, high-revving naturally-aspirated flat-six will be killed off by emissions rules in 2026.
- Incoming Euro 7 regulations will reportedly make it virtually impossible for the GT3 to continue without hybrid or turbo tech.
- Porsche GT boss Andreas Preuninger claims the new 911 GTS’s hybrid pack isn’t suitable for the GT3.
The 4.0-liter, naturally-aspirated flat-six in the 911 GT3 is one of the world’s greatest engines, but we better enjoy it while we can. The man responsible for the GT3 and its even more hardcore RS brother say emissions regulations will kill the 9,000 rpm screamer off in its current form in 2026.
Porsche GT boss Andreas Preuninger revealed the GT3’s engine has only two years left before incoming Euro 7 emissions regulations will force it from the new-car lineup.
Related: 9 Things You Need To Know About The 2025 Porsche 911 GT3
“It could live forever without the laws coming,” Preuninger told Autocar. “I don’t think we can handle Euro 7 without electrification or without turbos. We can sell this car for another two years, but it depends on the markets.”
Porsche introduced its first hybrid 911 engine in the 2025 GTS, but Preuninger told the magazine he didn’t think the same system was right for the GT3 despite it making the cheaper car potentially quicker off the line.
“The [GTS] system itself is the right approach to put electrification in a sports car, but there’s a reason we don’t use that on a GT3,” the GT boss said. “We would have had to use the PDK II – the gearbox we have in the standard Carrera, which is more than 20 kg (44 lbs) heavier than our ‘Sport’ PDK.”
Preuninger’s team has already been forced to turn down the 4.0-liter’s wick a little for the facelifted 992.2 GT3 revealed earlier this month. Although the engine makes the same 503 hp (510 PS) as before and still winds to 9,000 rpm, torque is down fractionally from 346 lb-ft (470 Nm) of torque to 331 lb-ft (450 Nm).
A shorter final drive masks the reduction, so the 2025 911 GT3 matches the pre-facelift car’s acceleration: zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.2 seconds when equipped with the PDK paddle-shift transmission and 3.7 seconds in six-speed manual form. Both versions lose a couple of mph of top speed because of the shorter axle ratio but can still top 190 mph (306 km/h).
The 2026 cut-off explains why Porsche released the GT3 so early in the 992.2’s lifecycle. Previously, GT3 buyers have always been forced to wait a couple of years after the launch of the base 911 before getting their hands on a more extreme derivative.
There’s no suggestion that the GT3 won’t continue after 2026, but it sounds like when the successor to the 992.2-generation 911 makes its debut towards the back end of this decade the GT3 will get a very different kind of engine. Hopefully one with a manual transmission option – the GTS hybrid is PDK-only.
Which direction would you like to see Porsche go with the GT3 engine? Stay naturally aspirated but add hybrid power, or go the whole hog and throw a turbocharger or two into the mix? Leave a comment and let us know.