Porsche’s best daily driver 911? The 2025 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid review.

Porsche 911 enthusiasts tend to be obsessive about their engines. Some won't touch anything that isn't air-cooled, convinced that everything went wrong when emissions and efficiency finally forced radiators into the car. Others love the "Mezger" engines; designed by engineer Hans Mezger, they trace their roots to the 1998 Le Mans-winning car, and no Porschephile can resist the added shine of a motorsports halo. I'm quite sure none of them will feel the same way about the powertrain in the new 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid (MSRP: $175,900), and I think that's a crying shame. Because not only is the car's technology rather cutting-edge—you won't find this stuff outside an F1 car—but having spent several days behind the wheel, I can report it might just be one of the best-driving, too. T-Hybrid This is not just one of Porsche's existing flat-six engines with an electric motor bolted on; it's an all-new 3.6 L engine designed to comply with new European legislation that no longer lets automakers rich out a fuel mixture under high load to improve engine cooling. Instead, the engine has to maintain the same 14.7:1 stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio (also known as lambda = 1) across the entire operating range, thus allowing the car's catalytic converters to work most efficiently. Jonathan Gitlin The 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid at dawn patrol. The 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid at dawn patrol. Jonathan Gitlin Manthey names the different entrances at its HQ after different race tracks, which is why that sign says Spa-Francorchamps. Manthey names the different entrances at its HQ after different race tracks, which is why that sign says Spa-Francorchamps. Jonathan Gitlin The matrix LED headlights were very good at night, but I'm not entirely sure they're legal in the US. The matrix LED headlights were very good at night, but I'm not entirely sure they're legal in the US. Jonathan Gitlin Manthey names the different entrances at its HQ after different race tracks, which is why that sign says Spa-Francorchamps. The matrix LED headlights were very good at night, but I'm not entirely sure they're legal in the US. Jonathan Gitlin Because the car uses a hybrid powertrain, Porsche moved some of the ancillaries. There's no belt drive; the 400 V hybrid system powers the air conditioning electrically now via its 1.9 kWh lithium-ion battery, and the water pump is integrated into the engine block. That rearrangement means the horizontally opposed engine is now 4.3 inches (110 mm) lower than it was before, which meant Porsche could use that extra space in the engine bay to fit the power electronics, like the car's pulse inverters and DC-DC converters. And instead of tappets, Porsche has switched to using roller cam followers to control the engine's valves, as in motorsport. These solid cam followers don't need manual adjustment at service time, and they reduce friction losses compared to bucket tappets.