The T-Hybrid flat-six in the 911 Carrera GTS has made the 2026 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems list, published by WardsAuto in Detroit on 13 October 2026. Porsche Cars North America, the brand’s US subsidiary, followed up with a release from its Atlanta headquarters.
This is not a showroom trophy. WardsAuto has run the programme since 1995, and its judges drive every nominee in real-world conditions before scoring it on five criteria: horsepower, torque, noise and vibration management, observed fuel efficiency and new technology. Only all-new or significantly improved powertrains are eligible, alongside the previous year’s winners. Twenty-six nominees were in contention this year.
Ten winners, all electrified
WardsAuto itself calls the 2026 list a historic shift. All ten winners use some form of electrification, and none relies on a combustion engine alone. The 911 sits in the hybrid group with the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X and its 5.5-litre turbocharged V8, the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid and the Nissan Rogue Hybrid. Four battery-electric vehicles make the cut: the Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4Matic Electric, Rivian R2 Performance, Subaru Trailseeker and Volvo EX60 P10 AWD. Two plug-in hybrids round it off, the BMW M5 Touring and the Toyota RAV4 PHEV GR Sport.
That makes for odd company. A sports car from Zuffenhausen shares the podium with family SUVs; seven of the ten winners carry stickers averaging under 55,000 dollars, according to WardsAuto.
What the judges liked
Porsche’s release quotes Robin Warner, the programme manager and one of the judges. He found it « quite clever » that Porsche uses the turbocharger as a generator, and pointed out that the system does without a wastegate altogether.
That is the heart of the design. On the 911 Carrera GTS revealed on 28 May 2024, an electric motor sits between the compressor wheel and the turbine wheel of the turbocharger. It spins the turbo up instantly, without waiting for exhaust pressure, so lag disappears. At high revs and under load it works the other way round, recovering up to 11 kW from the exhaust flow. That energy either tops up the small high-voltage battery or goes straight to the electric motor in the gearbox. One electric turbo replaces the two conventional turbos of the previous car.
The rest of the system lives in the eight-speed PDK. A permanent-magnet synchronous motor adds up to 150 Nm from idle and a power boost of up to 40 kW. The 400-volt battery stores 1.9 kWh gross and is roughly the size and weight of a conventional 12-volt starter battery. On its own, the 3.6-litre engine produces 357 kW (485 PS) and 570 Nm. With electric help, system output reaches 398 kW (541 PS) and 610 Nm. The GTS Coupé covers 0 to 100 km/h in 3.0 seconds and tops out at 312 km/h. It weighs 50 kg more than its predecessor.
Two e-turbos in the Turbo S
According to Porsche Cars North America, T-Hybrid technology now powers seven variants across the 992.2-generation 911 GTS and 911 Turbo S ranges. The GTS uses one electric turbocharger. The Turbo S, unveiled at IAA Mobility in Munich in September 2025, gets two, with redesigned turbines and compressors.
Porsche’s official Turbo S figures: 523 kW (711 PS), 800 Nm from 2,300 to 6,000 rpm, 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, 0 to 200 km/h in 8.4 seconds and a 322 km/h top speed. Its Nordschleife lap of 7:03.92, set in autumn 2024 under notarial supervision, is about 14 seconds quicker than the previous model. The weight penalty is 85 kg. The Wards list, though, names only the Carrera GTS.
Timo Resch, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, said the company was excited to see T-Hybrid win such a longstanding and respected award. He described the power delivery as « instant, urgent, and feels almost endless », and argued that it has to be driven to be fully appreciated.
The flat-six still runs the show
For purists, the award matters for a simple reason. It rewards hybrid hardware that serves the flat-six instead of replacing it. The engine keeps its sound and its place behind the rear axle, while the electrics work in the background to kill turbo lag. If you read French, our long read on why the flat-six became a cult engine covers the backstory, and our piece on Porsche and turbocharging goes back to the first 911 Turbo of 1975.
The timing suits Porsche. The 911 was the only model line to grow in the first nine months of 2026, as our report on Porsche’s nine-month deliveries showed, and the only electrified 911 in the range in October 2026 is a hybrid.
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