We can no longer deny the inevitable.  Like many other automakers, Porsche is having to make big changes in order to become compliant with stricter fuel economy and emission requirements. We are well past the stage of rumors, and like it or not, we must embrace the fact that the 911 is going all turbo* starting December of this year. For those who haven’t read the teaser articles regarding the 991 mark II or had the chance to attend the tech brief in Atlanta, here’s a quick rundown of what to expect:

• Following the path carved by the Macan S and Macan Turbo, both the base 911 and 911S will now share the new generation 3.0L boxer engine with bi-turbos. The base 911 delivers 370hp and 450Nm of torque, while the 911S generates 420hp and 500 Nm of torque by means of modified turbos and engine tuning.
• Sport Chrono now includes a rotary switch on the steering wheel (akin to the 918) which can be used to select driving modes (normal, sport, sport plus, individual). The individual setting allows you to additionally control PASM, PADM, PDK shift strategy and sport exhaust.
• PDK vehicles now include a “Sports Response” mode, which selects the optimum gear and stages the drivetrain for 20 seconds of “maximum acceleration”.
• When coupled with PDK, adaptive cruise control (ACC) now includes a coasting function – disengaging the clutches for unpowered coasting.
• PASM (Active Suspension Management) is now standard.
• A new PCM that includes a 7” multi-touch screen, online navigation, real-time traffic, Google Earth/Streetview, voice control, Apple CarPlay and wifi (for phone to PCM connectivity) is now standard.
• The center armrest will now incorporate a smartphone tray with charger and “optimized reception”.
• All variants now carry 11.5” rear rims; the 911S now carries 305s in the rear, up from 295.
• Optional rear-axel steering adopted from the 911 Turbo and GT3.
• Optional front-axel lift adopted from the GT3.

In this list of new features I’m especially excited to so what the new PCM has in store. Not much has been said about the elimination of 7MT in the refresh, so I can only speculate that it’ll remain an option in the 991 mark II. Despite all of this new functionality (read: weight) being added, I still can’t help but shed a tear for the passing of the naturally aspirated flat six.

Images courtesy of the Porsche Newsroom and Porsche AG .

*excluding the GT3 variants.