The Next Porsche 911 GT3 Might Not Be Turbocharged After All

Remember the sad day two weeks ago when we brought you news that the next Porsche 911 GT3 will be turbocharged and automatic only? Things might not be as clear-cut as they seemed.

In an interview with Australia’s Drive website, Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Porsche’s head of motorsport, said that the original Automobile report wasn’t true. The plot thickens.

He denied the claim that the engine would be turbocharged. It doesn’t mean it won’t be, of course, but even if it is, Porsche doesn’t want us to know about it yet. A separate report in Road & Track said that the 911 will move to the chassis used by the R8, but Dr Walliser denied that, too. It seems unlikely – that platform puts the engine in the middle, after all, and squeezing rear seats in would be less likely than Kermit the Frog entering this year’s Le Mans.

The good doctor is quoted as saying that he’d “like to continue with [the naturally-aspirated flat-six] as long as we can do it.” He’s clearly a fan of boost, having led the engineering development for the latest GT2 and the 918 Spyder, but he understands the unique appeal of the GT3 – especially as a manual.

It remains to be seen whether Porsche can gradually lower the emissions across enough of its range to let the last high-revving, non-turbo 911s sneak through the overall programme. We know it’ll be dead in the water in many countries by 2040 at the latest, but for now let’s hope there’s more life in the iconic GT3 recipe yet.

This news is said not to affect the plans to shoe-horn the current GT3’s 4.0-litre glory-fest into the upcoming Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder. Those, we’re really looking forward to.