There are no two ways about it, Porsche knows turbocharging. They've been playing with that setup since the mid-70s and have a good handle on how to get great power and reliability out of a boosted motor. Consider the current lineup if you will: The 911 Turbo S makes 530 horsepower from a twin-turbo 3.8-liter flat six and they manage 620 horsepower from it in the GT2 RS. Not bad numbers for a car that gets 19 mpg combined (1 better than the Z06) and has a 50,000 mile warranty.
Now, having fully mastered the twin-turbo setup, Porsche is rumored to be following BMW down the tri-turbo path. Earlier this week, BMW officially announced that their line of M performance diesels would be powered by a tri-turbo motor making 376 horsepower and an incredible 545 pound-feet of torque and now Autocar is reporting that Porsche is working on a similar system. The new system is undergoing final testing (see our Spy Video of the 2013 911 Turbo) but they're already predicting power figures of over 525 and increased fuel economy.
While all of this sounds great, there are complexities with a tri-turbo system including that of packaging three turbos and all associated plumbing -- wastegate(s), inter-stage ducts, bypass valves actuators, linkages, oil lines etc into an already cramped space.
(Autocar)
yellowbal says:
02:20 PM, 01/27/12
Why is that man trying to fart on that Porsche?
agnh says:
03:09 PM, 01/27/12
So, if one turbo is good, twin turbos are great, three must be....more better, I guess.
No comment on the reasoning for a Tri-Turbo set up?
explorerx4 says:
05:33 PM, 01/27/12
I'll pay you a dollar if you can put your hands in your pockets and stand up straight for 10 seconds.
"Ok, watch this."
blueprint1 says:
06:30 PM, 01/27/12
It's the famous "dance to hide the prototype" guy from a lucky encounter between an IL editor and a Porsche test team awhile ago.
blueprint1 says:
06:31 PM, 01/27/12
Veyron has four turbos. Piech probably won't allow more than three at Porsche.
iancar says:
04:50 AM, 01/28/12
The auto world is finally splitting apart. Americans are focusing on supercharger, Germans are focusing on tri-turbo, and Japaneses are focusing on hybrid assist.
church123 says:
12:46 PM, 01/28/12
Not really iancar. Outside of the Vette, CTS-V and Mustang GT500 there are no supercharged cars in the US makers' lineups. But Ford is offering a turbo in the Focus, Explorer, Flex, Taurus, F150 and their diesel lineups. They are apparently going to offer a turbo Mustang as well. GM is offering a turbo Cruze, Sonic, Regal, the new Caddy ATS (rumor has it the V will by a turbo 6) and may have more on the way. I think only Chrysler has really eschewed forced induction save for their diesel trucks.
And don't forget that Audi offers a 3.0 liter supercharged engine across the lineup, and in Europe VW offers a twincharged 1.4 in several platforms.
heartlessbstrd says:
02:49 PM, 01/28/12
1 turbo - more power, but turbo lag
2 turbos - A bit more power, and a lot less turbo lag
3 turbos - less power, but reverse turbo lag, giving you more power before you even touch the pedal
Reason dictates
kyolml says:
03:05 PM, 01/28/12
don't forget bmw gotten twin turbos down to single turbo on N55. No need to make all three turbo if they don't make money, so expect its going to cost extra extra additional arms and legssssssssss
juan_mx says:
08:48 AM, 01/29/12
@church123
You are forgetting that the Dart will have a 1.4 turbo engine, and it is very likely they will offer a SRT4 version using either the 2.4L turbo (from the Caliber and Neon SRT4) or the 1.8L turbo (from the Giulietta QV). So, Chrysler is in the turbo game too.
allthingshonda says:
01:08 PM, 01/29/12
Why?
Why would you need more than one turbo for each bank of cylinders?
And surprisingly American car companies seem to be big on turbo power. Ford has their Ecoboost engines and GM has a couple of turbo 4s. I also heard that the ATS-V will be powered by a twin turbo v6. Their is also a rumor that GM has a small displacement direct injected twin turbo V8 in the works for the next Vette. Surprisingly the Japanese seem to be behind on turbocharging cars placing their money and engineering into hybrids and electric vehicles. This is from the country that did turbocharging correctly, remember the 300ZX Turbo and the Supra Turbo. And now the GTR.
agentorange says:
01:59 PM, 01/29/12
I'll bet it is one close coupled turbo for each bank for good response with the third turbo the size of a CFM56 compressor for when you really want to go.
duck87 says:
06:23 AM, 01/30/12
That extra turbo has one purpose, and one purpose only: Quick spool-up. This is not so much to increase power as to ensure that you can eliminate turbo-lag while allowing the other two turbos to be larger... so more power and more responsiveness.
Whether or not the complexity is worth it remains to be seen. BMW has been exploring the idea of an electric-assist turbo that will perform a similar function... but that seems like a worse idea from a reliability standpoint than the tri-turbo idea especially since they can't even keep their electric water pumps from overheating.
vikasdesai says:
12:34 PM, 02/ 7/12
all this stuff is awesome until it breaks, germans make things too darn complicated and then turn the other cheek when it breaks, the regular carrera with the manual trans is probably the best way to go