Good news, purists: Porsche says the 911 will never go fully electric
The most important sports car in the world is staying true to itself
Porsche has just said the words 911 fans wanted to hear. CEO Michael Leiters has confirmed there will be no fully electric 911, with the icon keeping its combustion engines and gaining hybrid power instead. After years of uncertainty about the 911's electric future, the answer is now refreshingly clear.
What Leiters actually said
Speaking on 23 June 2026, Porsche boss Michael Leiters left no room for doubt: "there will be no fully electric 911." Instead, the 911 will carry on with combustion engines alongside hybrid options, and Leiters made clear how central electrified-but-not-electric power is to the plan, describing the performance hybrid as "a fundamental building block, a sort of elixir of life for the future." In other words, the flat-six is staying, with electric assistance rather than electric replacement.
Part of a bigger rethink
The decision is one piece of a broader strategy shift. Porsche admits its portfolio had become too complex, and is now streamlining it to refocus on what it calls its sports car DNA and to stay "the brand for people who want to drive themselves." That same thinking has already seen it drop the Taycan Cross Turismo and Sport Turismo in the US and trim model variants in certain markets, with Leiters acknowledging that "selling more cars doesn't automatically make Porsche stronger."
Porsche still believes in electric, just not for the 911
This is not Porsche abandoning electrification. The company still sees a big future for EVs, with the upcoming Cayenne Electric earmarked to "play a key role for Porsche in the electric age." The point is simply that the 911, uniquely among Porsche's cars, is being protected from full electrification. The context is financially tough, too: Porsche recently took a reported five billion pound hit from cancelling its planned all-electric Cayman, and is working hard to restore healthy profitability.
AutoNext Take
This is the right call, and Porsche clearly knows it. The 911 is not just another model, it is the emotional and historical heart of the entire brand, and an electric one would have been a technical marvel that still left the faithful cold. Keeping combustion alive and leaning on hybrids for the extra performance is the smart, pragmatic path, and it lets Porsche chase electric growth where it makes sense, in the Cayenne, without sacrificing its halo. After watching the C 63 backlash and Porsche's own painful electric Cayman saga, this is a company that has finally read the room. The flat-six lives, and that is exactly how it should be.
