Porsche Eyes 4.0L Flat Six With 9,500 RPM Redline

Porsche is hopeful that its naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six engine will live on and is even investigating an evolved version with a sky-high redline of 9,500 RPM.

Speaking to Australian publication Which Car, Porsche’s head of GT road car engines, Thomas Mader, said he does not think the 991.2 GT3 RS’ 4.0-liter flat-six will go away. He said they are investigating ways to improve its power and drivability, including raising its redline from 9,000 RPM to 9,500 and increasing the stroke. None of these theoretical improvements are for sure, though, with Mader saying such decisions are left to Porsche engine designers.

Mader also said Porsche will “look at the things we have on (the) racetrack to put it in the street car.” This appears to further allude to the high-revving 4.0-liter engine, as the mid-engine 911 RSR’s 4.0-liter powerplant revs to 9,500 RPM and emits an unforgettable flat-six scream. Mader explained that the engine lifetime for a road car is different, though, so the RSR’s 4.0-liter would have to be heavily adjusted for use in road legal car.

SEE ALSO: Porsche 911 GT2 RS Based Cup Car Looks Wildly Fast at Monza

And as for efficiency, Porsche says there are still gains to be made with naturally aspirated engines like its 4.0-liter. Rather than focusing on turbocharging, Porsche will study efficient fuel burn techniques to ensure that its engines run as lean as possible. “I would work on precise internal combustion,” he said. “It must be very precise with timing, the amount of fuel you put in the engine, then you have very low emissions engine.”

So the naturally aspirated flat-six isn’t dead yet. In fact, it sounds like Porsche is finding ways to give it more power and better drivability whilst keeping it emissions compliant. Hooray for German engineering!

[Source: WhichCar]

Discuss this story on our Porsche Forum.