The names and numbers on your car’s trunk lid are becoming increasingly meaningless.
The Porsche Macan Turbo, for example, may feature a turbocharged engine, but so does the Macan S. If that wasn’t confusing enough, Porsche is thinking of doing the same thing to the 911.
The 911 Turbo is arguably the car that started the turbocharged revolution, but soon it may not be the only mass-market car (the limited-production GT2 is on hiatus) in the 911 lineup sporting a turbine.
Britain’s Car magazine reports that the 911 Carrera and Carrera S could get turbocharged as part of an upcoming refresh.
To keep up with tightening emissions standards, Porsche is reportedly downsizing the Carrera’s flat-six from 3.4 liters to 2.9 and fitting the turbo to compensate.
The sportier Carrera S will apparently keep its 3.8-liter boxer engine, but still get a turbo to boost peak output from 400 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque in the current car to 530 hp and 520 lb-ft.
Related: 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera vs 2014 Audi R8 V8 Manual
That’s pretty monstrous for a car that’s supposed to be on the lower-key end of the 911 range, but it will help the Carrera S reassert itself against cheaper rivals like the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Porsche’s own Cayman S.
The updated Carrera and Carrera S are expected to kick off a mid-cycle refresh for the entire 911 lineup. Originally revealed back in August, it was supposed to be fairly extensive and include a new GTS model.
Porsche’s plans have proven a little less grand since then. The GTS will be based on the current version of the “991” 911 platform, and the refresh may be a little less comprehensive.
Still, it looks like there are big changes in store for the Porsche faithful, particularly current Turbo owners, who will have to get used to that trunk lid badge being a little less significant.
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