Porsche 911 GT3 RS to go turbo?

Engine durability concerns could force Porsche to equip its upcoming high-performance 911 GT3 RS with a turbocharged engine, a new report finds.

Historically, the 911 GT3 RS has relied on a highly-tuned naturally aspirated flat-six for big power, but recent engine issues with the regular GT3 has Porsche reconsidering that strategy. Porsche is currently wringing out 475 horsepower from its naturally-aspirated 3.8L flat-six in the GT3 but, as a recent rash of vehicle fires has shown, that’s pretty much the limit of what the powerplant can reliably make.

That poses a problem for the GT3 RS, as it is expected to make more power than its down-market sibling.

Although potentially off-putting to some of its typical buyers, Autocar is reporting that Porsche is considering a turbocharger as a solution to all of its GT3 RS problems. No specific outputs have been mentions, but the turbocharged GT3 RS would almost certainly match the 520 horsepower rating of the 911 Turbo and could even match or exceed the 560 horsepower rating of the Turbo S.

Porsche’s next 911 GT3 RS, no matter what form it takes, is expected to debut by 2015 at the latest.