A Deep Dive: The Porsche Flat-Six 

True automotive nirvana is the sonic fury created by a properly tuned flat-six engine by the masters at Porsche. 

We’re lucky enough to have three of the best modern Porsche’s in existence, and each of them is packed with a different version of the howling, ear-shattering flat-six engine that Porsche has been perfecting since 1963. Although the lineup has grown to include vehicles like our 718 Cayman GT4, the flat-six is famous for its usage in the most Porsche of Porsche’s: the 911. 

The 911 formula is quite simple: flat-six in the tail, powered by either rear or all-wheel drive, and iterations that run from grand touring daily drivers to track carving monsters like our 9000 RPM 992 911 GT3. 

So, why is Porsche so committed to the flat-six? Let’s find out. 

History Of The Porsche Flat Six: From Beetle to 911 

Flat, or horizontally opposed, engines have been around in one form or another for well over 100 years. However, it was Professor Ferdinand Porsche that really brought this type of engine into prominence by installing it in the most iconic of vehicles: the Volkswagen Beetle. 

The very first horizontally opposed engine was in (arguably) the very first modern car, the Karl Benz designed Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Ferdinand, a gifted engineering master, and racing enthusiast would eventually find himself as a board member for Daimler-Austro, which would merge with Benz & Cie to create what we now know as Mercedes-Benz. Porsche wanted to make lightweight sports cars, and well, Mercedes-Benz didn’t. Within a year of the merger, he was out, but what he took with him was the foundation for the future of his own company and an idea from Karl Benz himself. 

When commissioned to build “the people’s car” in 1931, Porsche Senior looked back on his experience at firms like Daimler and decided this new cheap, yet reliable car should run a horizontally opposed layout. Porsche Senior was experimenting with flat-engine designs, originally in aircraft, from his time at Austro – Daimler and decided that the Beetle was the perfect application for a mass-produced, super reliable, easy to repair, horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine. Porsche stuck the engine in the back for handling balance, developed a revolutionary swing-arm suspension, and made the entire vehicle mechanically simple. 

Well, to say the least, the Beetle was a success and it proved that a horizontally opposed engine was here to stay. 

It was Ferdinand Porsche Senior’s son Ferry that would move Porsche from the Beetle to the true sports car. Their first car, the 356, was an iteration of the work Senior had done on the Beetle, except the 356 was built to handle and look damn good doing it. Sure, it only had 35 horsepower, but no one really seemed to care because it was revolutionary. As Porsche grew, so did the power levels and the models available in their lineup. By 1963, Porsche was ready to debut an all-new concept in rear-engine performance: the 911. 

Penned by Ferry himself, the first 911 ran an air-cooled 2.0L flat-six pushing out 130 horsepower. With a curb weight of around 2000 pounds, this original 911 was fast enough to bring a smile to any enthusiast’s face and sounded good enough to bring them to their knees. 

The rest, as they say, is history. 

Why Porsche Loves The Flat Six

“Change is easy. Improvement is far more difficult”. – Ferdinand Porsche Senior 

Rather than reinvent the wheel, Porsche simply refined and improved upon the original idea the humble Beetle laid down nearly 30 years prior. Porsche created a lightweight, air-cooled engine that sat low in the chassis and provided optimal weight distribution. Although today’s Porsche flat engines are not air-cooled, they still retain their boxer configuration, which allows them to sit low in the chassis to provide that hunkered down driving experience that Porsche has come to be known for. 

Flat-six engines in particular are also inherently balanced across the rev-range due to their top-dead-center design which allows them to not only feel good from behind the wheel but allows them to rev like banshees when tuned out. If there’s anything that modern 911 vehicles do best, it’s sound like wailing maniacs as they careen down straights at 9000 RPM. Trust us when we say, it’s a near euphoric experience. This is due to the balanced nature of this magnificent design. 

Flat-six engines are also shorter (but wider) than comparable V6 or Inline configurations, meaning that Porsche could more easily stick the engine in the rear of the vehicle vs. the front. Why? Traction. When the weight of the engine is placed over the rear wheels, it provides the rear wheels the traction needed when accelerating out of a corner or off the line. 

The Present & Future of The Iconic Flat-Six

Take a listen to the modern 992 GT3, essentially a thinly disguised race car, and you can hear nearly 60 years of refinement in the flesh. This modern iteration is double the size of the original engine installed in the first 911 and provides a staggering 502 horsepower. Porsche is staunchly committed to staying independent and doing things their own way and there is no better showcase of “their own way” than the 992 GT3, GT3 RS, and Cayman GT4 models we run in our fleet. 

We love these naturally aspirated machines, but for those drivers who want to take things even further, Porsche has recently offered vehicles like the GT2 RS.  This monster took the high-revving psychopathic flat-six and bumped it up with a pair of turbos for over 700 horsepower! The 992 GT2 is supposedly “in the works” but speculation is growing that the next crazy 911 may be a whole new concept powered by a hybrid powertrain. No, not the one in your mom’s Prius, a full racing hybrid system akin to what Porsche ran in the 918 Spyder, but with a flat-six instead of that hellacious V8. 

Whatever the future holds for Porsche, you can bet we’ll be eager to snap up the next version that runs the legendary flat-six engine. 

Conquer The Porsche Flat-Six At Xtreme Xperience

Every single Porsche is a rolling piece of automotive history. 

Whether it’s the lightweight precision of the Cayman GT4 or the banshee’s wail of the GT3 RS, every model is built to be driven hard. Our team of driving instructors is here to help you extract the maximum performance out of these race-bred machines that are dripping with heritage and spirit. We want you to have the kind of experience that brings you right back to the days when Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche were building this iconic brand from scratch. 

Xtreme Xperience offers you the opportunity to combine the perfection of Porsche with some of the best tracks, and driving roads in the country. From apexs to winding roads through stunning mountain, there’s a Xtreme Xperience for every Porsche enthusiast. 

So, what are you waiting for?