Porsche 911 Carreras confirmed with 3.0-litre turbo engines

PORSCHE has confirmed its new-generation 911 Carrera will debut an all-new twin-turbo flat-six engine at the Frankfurt motor show, which it says will bring more power and acceleration while being more thrifty with fuel.

The updated 911 is due in Australia in the first quarter of 2016. Visual tweaks will include new bumpers and horizontal louvres over the engine cover.

The headline, though, is the twin-turbo engine that will power the Carrera and Carrera S, which will be of 3.0-litre capacity as Wheels predicted last month.

The first-ever turbocharged entry-level Carrera will have 272kW, a 15kW increase over the 3.4-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six it replaces. Torque increases 60Nm to 450Nm, and the new engine’s rev range is 100rpm wider, topping out at 7500rpm.

The new Porsche Carrera S, which will have 309kW and 500Nm thanks primarily to a more intense turbo tune, is able to hit 100km/h from rest in 3.9sec, three-tenths quicker than Wheels’ best in the current 991-series car.

Porsche claims the new engine delivers fuel economy improvements of up to 12 percent, depending on transmission.

All Carreras will also come with rear wheels half an inch wider, and on the Carrera S the rear tyre width also increases 10mm, to 305mm.

The update sees the Carrera S get the option of the active-steer system used in GT3 and Turbo variants, which counter-steers the rear wheels at speeds up to 50km/h for added manoeuvrability. At speeds above this, the system increases stability by providing up to three degrees of lock in parallel with the front wheels.

There are minimal changes inside, mostly extra equipment.

Pricing for the Carrera will start at $217,800, an increase of almost $10,000, but that includes Porsche’s PASM active suspension (which will be standard), front park assist and a reversing camera.

Cabriolet versions will arrive alongside the coupes in early 2016.

Despite the proliferation of turbocharging across all 911 models – bar the GTS and GT3 that reports suggest will remain non-turbo for now – the fastest and most powerful 911 Turbo will be the only one to have Turbo in its name.