00:00Maybe it's Porsche's fault. Maybe if it hadn't remained so loyal to the 911's original mechanical
00:11purity ethos for so many decades, it never would have gained such a hardcore loyalist following
00:18for its brand-defining sports car. Maybe without that likely, even, there wouldn't be the histrionic
00:24hand-wringing from certain corners of the superfan base whenever the German carmaker deigns to
00:29interrupt the in-the-moment accepted view of what the 911 Carrera is. Be it water-cooled engines or
00:36widespread use of turbochargers, or now a gas-electric hybrid powertrain, introducing new
00:42technologies and features that nudge the 911 nearer any given moment's mainstream automotive
00:47philosophies ensures one thing. A lot of discussion, debate, and pontification is about to go down.
00:54So we expected as much with the 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTST Hybrid, the first-ever electrified
01:02production 911. But actually, Porsche nuts, and admittedly there's more than one on the Motor Trend
01:08staff who fit the description in their personal time, are such a pedantic bunch. Other new things
01:14found in the 2025 911 Carrera GTST Hybrid-like push-button start, no more physical key to turn,
01:21and a digital tachometer seem just as polarizing, at least according to the social media and other
01:27commentary we've seen. And, ahem, by some of our own previously published comments. But perhaps one
01:34upshot of so many automakers funneling so many fully electric vehicles down the car-buying Publix
01:40collective throughout the past few years is that the idea of hybridization doesn't carry the same
01:46mark of a green weenie outcast as it not so long ago did to serious car-slash-driving enthusiasts,
01:53Porsche fanatics, or otherwise. If that's even partially the case, we say good, because after running the
01:59new 911 Carrera GTST Hybrid, T stands for turbo, if that wasn't clear, through our performance testing
02:07gauntlet. It's more than a little difficult to turn our noses up at it out of some misguided sense
02:12that Porsche has somehow ruined its flagship performer by daring to give it more of everything
02:17we liked about the 992 Series, 911 in the first place. Briefly, before we get into said performance,
02:25click here if you want to read more of our subjective thoughts about the car following our first drive
02:31report, or here for a deeper dive into its hybrid powertrain. The 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTST Hybrid
02:40and the new 992.2 base 911 Carrera and 911 Carrera S comes only with an 8-speed twin-clutch automatic
02:49gearbox, though that might change. As we've speculated despite Porsche refusing to say anything of the sort.
02:57You'll just have to forget the noise for now and focus on what the GTS has rather than what it doesn't,
03:02and it has a lot. It begins with peak output figures of 532 horsepower and 449 LBFT of torque,
03:12or 59 more horsepower and an additional 59 LBFT of torque compared to the non-hybrid 2025 Carrera S.
03:20Compared to the 992.1 Series 911 GTS, the new version betters it by the same 59 horsepower golf and 29 LBFT.
03:32Hold the brake pedal with your left foot, stomp the throttle pedal with your right one,
03:38wait for the revs to stabilize, and well, whoosh just about covers it. The launch control-assisted GTS
03:45T-Hybrid accelerated from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 2.6 seconds in our hands. The quarter mile?
03:5310.7 seconds at 129.7 miles per hour. You don't need to be even 20 years old today to recall when
04:01numbers like these were the exclusive domain of hypercars. Just one such example, a mere 10 years ago,
04:08nearly to this very day. We tested a Ferrari LaFerrari to the tune of 0 to 60 in 2.4 seconds
04:15and a quarter mile performance of 9.7 seconds at 148.5 miles per hour. Yes, it was quicker and
04:24faster than this Porsche, but not by a margin that would make a drag race between the two a slaughter,
04:30at least not until you crested past 150 miles per hour. And don't forget, LaFerrari pricing started at
04:38$1.4 million, today's equivalent of something like $1.9 million. Suddenly the 2025 911 GTS T-Hybrid's
04:48base price of $166,895 and this particular car's as tested sticker of $205,285. Dollars isn't quite as
05:01shell-shocking as it was before we dug into our own numbers database. Full transparency and something for
05:07new GTS buyers to know, the fat 315 30 21-inch rear tires need to be damn warm for you to have any
05:14hope of matching our best time. Otherwise, attempting to launch this 911 on even moderately cold rubber
05:22is a one-way ticket to wheel spin city, something we've heard Porsche itself has had to manage in its
05:28own testing. And in our direct experience, the tires still lose grip after the 1 to 2 upshift.
05:35Which isn't great for producing the absolute theoretical best times, but sure as hell is a
05:40grin-making characteristic for drivers who appreciate a bit of drama in their lives. That said, remember the
05:46number, 2.6 seconds to 60. No, it doesn't nearly match the basically unfathomable 1.89 second time of
05:55the all-electric Taikung Turbo GT-Y sack we tested recently. But regardless, the accelerative prowess of
06:03modern-day automobiles has reached a point of borderline absurdity. You probably won't hear many
06:08people bragging about a car's braking performance over beers, but it's as important as speed, even more
06:15so in a car this quick and fast. After what seems like 100 years of similar results from testing
06:21Porsches, it's no surprise the new 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid feels like nothing can stop it from stopping.
06:29We ratcheted it down from 60 miles per hour to zero in 95 feet, funnily enough precisely the same
06:36distance as the LaFerrari a decade ago. For broader and fresher context, the T-Hybrid's stopping distance
06:43is just 3 feet longer than the killer 911 GT3 and GT3 RS models that ride on stickier rubber.
06:52It's worth noting, just as with the tires during our acceleration runs, our test car's optional carbon
06:58ceramic brakes predictably needed a few hard applications to warm up and produce their best
07:04results. In other words, you probably will need another 5 feet, give or take, to come to a halt if you
07:11have to panic stop from 60 miles per hour in a more common real-world situation. If you want world-class
07:17handling, the 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid delivers more than you'll ever need in that department.
07:242. Sure, talented or not so talented, drivers will find ways to exceed the grip limit on race tracks,
07:32but you can forget about running out of stick on dry public roads. Unless you're suffering from a
07:37debilitating closed-head injury or are trying to get yourself incarcerated. If you're still thinking
07:43a 911's character somehow must suffer from carrying a hybrid system, we experience nothing on our test
07:50track to suggest the electric bits are detrimental to the experience. The 400-volt, 1.9-kilowatt-hour
07:58battery pack that powers the electric motor and single turbocharger weighs just 60 pounds, with the car's total
08:05curb weight registering 3598 on our scales. Yes, that's 126 pounds heavier than the standard Carrera we
08:15weighed recently, but that model's engine makes only 388 horsepower and 331 lbfd of torque, meaning the GTS
08:26hybrid makes up for its extra heft with its significantly more powerful powertrain, at least in the thrust
08:33department. We haven't yet weighed a Carrera S. Porsche says it checks in at 174 pounds less than the T-Hybrid,
08:41but official manufacturer weight figures rarely match what we find when we weigh cars ourselves.
08:48Regardless, weight is always the enemy of nimble handling, but you don't feel it in this GTS from
08:54behind the wheel. The car's performance when braking into corners is borderline unreal,
09:00given how much speed you find yourself carrying on the approach to them, and it was super easy and intuitive
09:05to dance on the grip limit. Our official numbers. It recorded a 1.11 g average on the skid pad and roasted our
09:13figure 8 course in 22.4 seconds with a 0.99 g average. We never ran the LaFerrari through those tests,
09:22so for perspective let's consider the mighty lap time at all costs 911 GT3 RS instead. It averaged 1.18 g
09:31around the skid pad and completed the figure 8 circuit in 21.9 seconds at 0.97 g, the latter number
09:38being worse than that of the GTS. Better overall? Yes. A galaxy apart? No. Of course, our tests occur at
09:47relatively lower speeds and, speaking generally, reward mechanical grip rather than aerodynamics.
09:54The RS would obliterate the GTS on a fast racetrack simply because of its far superior
10:00aerodynamic downforce levels alone, but the GTS makes a lot more sense for almost any other situation.
10:08Its overall performance is unlikely to ever leave you wanting for more unless you're a professional
10:13race car driver who's decided to go brains to feet on public roads. Perhaps this additional
10:18comparison makes the point even clearer. The non-RS 911 GT3 we named our 2023 performance vehicle of the
10:27year was significantly slower to 60 miles per hour, 3.4 seconds, than the new GTS hybrid. That GT3 model in
10:36fact bested the even more focused GT3 RS on the skid pad at 1.19 g and while its 22.1 second figure 8 time
10:45was 0.3 second quicker than the GTS, its 0.95 g average was, also like the RS, worse than what the
10:55T hybrid car managed. From a traditionalist standpoint, we certainly understand why some 911 buyers will still
11:02prefer to choose the non-electrified variants. If nothing else, such cars will strike them emotionally
11:09as simply what they imagine when they think about driving one. Frankly, a base Carrera delivers dynamic
11:15performance the likes of which no one can sanely deploy more than about 50% of on public streets.
11:22But don't think the GTST hybrid changes the fundamental 911 experience, other than boosting that
11:28performance past its Carrera siblings. If you want even more bona fides to brag to your friends about
11:34over drinks, you need to look at the big boy turbo or GT3 models. Anyone who still isn't convinced should
11:41know the hybrid system is seamless, imparting no ill effects on the feelings and noises you get when
11:47driving. Speaking of the latter, you hear a clear whine or whistling sound when you smash the gas,
11:53and a PSS-SHH noise when you lift off the throttle. However, since the GTS doesn't feature a turbocharger
12:01wastegate, Porsche attributes those sound effects to airflow into the turbocharger and then the
12:07pressure reduction in the turbo's inlet when you lift off throttle. It's a small thing reading about
12:12it here, but it tangibly adds to the fun. Speaking objectively after our full test of the car,
12:18the 2025 Porsche 911 GTST hybrid is the most capable, complete, and best Carrera model for real-world
12:27and daily driving duty. And it absolutely rips on racetracks, too. No, maybe about it.
Comments