Porsche has finally unleashed the 911 hybrid on the world. The 2025 911 Carrera GTS gets 532 horsepower courtesy of a new 3.6-liter turbocharged flat-six paired to an electric motor, along with a restyled front end and a host of other small changes. There's another piece of news for the 911 some might consider just as important: Rear seats are no longer standard equipment on some models.
For the 2025 model year onwards, the 911 Carrera and the 911 Carrera GTS will come delivered without rear seats as standard. If a buyer desires a set of rear seats, they can be optioned back into the car at no additional cost. Targa, Cabriolet, and Turbo models will continue to receive rear seats as standard equipment.
The change marks a shift in the 911's lineage of standard equipment. Previously, the rear seat delete was relegated to sportier GT-badged trims and special models like the Carrera T. Now, no rear seats are the norm.
Never before have the removal of the rear seats been offered for mainstream trims like the Carrera. And only recently have buyers been able to option out the rear seats in cars like the GTS and the Turbo via the Lightweight package. For the past 60 years the 911 has been known as a 2+2, with the rear seats proving an invaluable asset for those needing to transport more than two people in a pinch.
While optioning a set of rear seats won't cost buyers, the decision to make them optional highlights Porsche's attitude towards options and equipment. The reason its margins are so high is thanks to its seemingly never-ending sea of piecemeal options and add-ons, evident in its impressive online configurator tool. The only no-cost options on the 2025 911 Carrera are white and black, for instance. Otherwise, you're paying at least $840 for paint.
That's not to say Porsche isn't making some steps in the right direction. Previously optional things like rear-steer, adaptive dampers, and a drive mode knob on the steering wheel are all standard equipment for the 2025 911. But it's not like those things come free. At $122,095 including destination, the new Carrera is $6,045 more expensive than the previous car.
