Porsche explores lighter pistons with printed cooling channels
Experimental GT2 RS pistons showed how additive manufacturing could change both weight and internal cooling.
What happened
Porsche announced a development project with Mahle and Trumpf in July 2020 to produce pistons for the 911 GT2 RS engine using metal 3D printing. The partners were investigating highly stressed engine components, beyond the familiar territory of prototypes and workshop tools.
According to Porsche, the experimental pistons weighed ten percent less than the forged production versions. Printing also enabled a closed cooling channel inside the piston crown that conventional manufacturing could not produce in the same way.
These were advance-development parts. The announcement should not be read as confirmation that every production GT2 RS received printed pistons. It demonstrated a design opportunity that still required engineering validation.
Read the sources
Primary-source reporting; this is not a hands-on review. Sources checked Oct 24, 2026.