The fate of the potential Porsche 911 plug-in hybrid will be decided later this year by the board of the German luxury car maker.
Porsche CEO Matthias Muller told Automotive News that a decision on whether to go ahead with a plug-in hybrid version of the 911 would be made this year.
He stated that the 911 would likely be the next car in its line-up to receive plug-in hybrid technology, but that negotiations and discussions were on-going. When Muller spoke to CarAdvice late last year, he indicated that any hybrid 911 would be a part of the next-generation 911 range, which is expected to debut in 2018.
The company already offers three plug-in hybrids in its line-up, including the top-of-the-range, limited edition 918 Spyder (above).
The 918 is available exclusively with a 652kW PHEV drivetrain featuring a 447kW 4.6-litre V8 and two electric motors delivering a total of 210kW. There are also plug-in hybrid versions of the Panamera sedan and Cayenne SUV. Both of these models' plug-in variants develop a total of 306kW of power thanks to a 245kW 3.0-litre supercharged V6 and a 70kW electric motor.
In the US, the hybrid Panamera accounts for 15 per cent of sales, while with the Cayenne the plug-in constitutes between 10 to 12 per cent of models sold. Plug-in hybrid technology could spread further still throughout the company's range.
Muller said the company was familiar with the technology and that "we could have plug-ins all over the model range, not only to save fuel but also to boost the performance of these cars".