After 54 years, the 1 millionth Porsche 911 rolled off the assembly line. At an event to celebrate the car’s storied history, August Achleitner, head of 718 and 911 development, confirmed to Car and Driver that development of a plug-in hybrid 911 has been canceled. In fact, the project was scrapped sometime late last year. It seems the car brought with it too many compromises, which is a shame for those looking for a production version of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid racecar.
Last year, Porsche said it was working on a hybrid version of each one of its models. We expected a plug-in variant of the upcoming 992 generation 911. It seems that the weight, packaging, and price of a hybrid system was insurmountable without severely compromising what makes a 911 a 911. The focus now is to make the current model even more efficient.
The backlash from enthusiasts may have been another factor. The move to turbos still doesn’t sit well with many Porsche fans. Then again, people have been complaining for nearly two decades about the move to water-cooled engines.
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