The 2026 Porsche 911 GT2 RS will reportedly be the first of the 911 clan to be offered with a hybrid drivetrain.
Sources have told Autocar the hybrid system will use the same type of technology employed by the 919 Hybrid that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as its 963 LMDh successor.
At this stage it seems as though the GT2 RS hybrid will have a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre flat-six engine at its core.
If current prototypes are anything to go by, the turbocharged boxer-six will be aided by an electric motor built into the rear-mounted gearbox and connected to a lithium-ion battery pack nestled low behind the front seats.
991-generation GT2 RS pictured throughout
To keep weight down, the lithium-ion battery will be part of a 400V electrical system and have a relatively small capacity, meaning the GT2 RS won’t be a plug-in hybrid.
Instead, most of the charging will be via regenerative braking. There might also be a small turbine within the exhaust to generate some electricity during acceleration.
Further weight savings will come from the battery pack being air cooled. A patent filing suggests air from the electric turbo could be used to keep the battery from overheating.
It’s said the 911 GT2 RS hybrid will be able to manage a small amount of driving on electric power alone, but the main focus of the electric addition to drivetrain will be performance.
The new hybrid drivetrain is said to develop “significantly more power” than the 991-generation GT2 RS, which had a 3.8-litre twin-turbo six-pot boasting 515kW at 7000rpm, and 750Nm between 2500 and 4500rpm.
The engine drove the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automated transmission.
Naturally the new model should accelerate faster than the old car. According to its official numbers, the 991 GT2 RS has a 0-100km/h time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 340km/h.
Porsche 911 GT2 RS
Back in 2020 our performance editor Chris Atkinson managed to hit in the century in 3.19 seconds.
After being deployed in the track-focussed GT2 RS, the hybrid system will be used in more affordable, and less powerful, models in the sprawling 911 range.
As the GT2 RS will be one of the last variants of the current 992-generation of the 911, it probably means hybrid technology will be more widely used in the next generation of 911 models.
MORE: Everything Porsche 911
