The Porsche rumor mill has been hot and heavy these days with speculations on a handful of models that Stuttgart may or not build in the future. But one model, one specific model, has stayed on the backburner for the better part of five years. Other than a report from 2015 stating that Porsche had filed trademarks for this model, there hasn’t been a lot of discussion about it. Well, British auto magazine Car believes it may have found the keys to the long-rumored Porsche 960.
According to Car, the Porsche 960 is a real vehicle that Porsche plans to unleash in 2019, eight years after such a model was first reported. The long wait for the car has been attributed to a number of reasons, but what’s important is that there have been strong hints recently from Porsche that it’s ready to proceed with the development of the mid-engined supercar that is expected to slot between the 911 Turbo S and the flagship 918 Spyder. The anticipated timetable means that Porsche will have enough time to roll out the next-generation 911, reportedly named the “992,” before introducing the 960.
Scheduling aside, not much is known about the 960, but Car is reporting that the model will use a structure made primarily of aluminum. High-strength steel, titanium and composites are also expected to be part of the 960’s physical make-up, all of which should play a part in meeting the car’s target weight of 1,400 kg (3,086 pounds). Since it’s being prepared as one of Porsche’s premium models, all sighs point to the 960 receiving the latest in Porsche technology. There’s no telling what those tech features are, but there’s a chance that we’ll see the latest Porsche multimedia system, active aerodynamics, and the rotary drive mode selector, among other tech bits.
On the engine front, the current intel is that Porsche is planning to drop a 650-horsepower 3.9-liter quad-turbocharged flat-eight engine on the 960. While that seems like a stretch to imagine today, there are reports that such an engine is already being tested out on a Porsche Cayman. If this part of the rumor mill proves to be true, it would not only represent a dramatic shift in powertrain options for its future lineup.
Granted, Porsche has used flat-eights in the past, most notably on the 907s and 908 racers from the 60’s and 70’s, and though we haven’t seen this type of engine from Porsche in recent years, using it on the 960 would give the automaker the opportunity to go all-out on fitting the supercar with never-before-used technology. One such tech that’s being thrown around is the automaker’s new “VarioCom” system, which essentially provides the engine the opportunity to increase its potency through the use of higher compression on low revs while also reducing emissions, improving response times, and receiving better fuel economy.
Needless to say, all these tidbits about the Porsche 960 have received no confirmation from Porsche and it’s unlikely that the automaker will do any confirming at least until 2017.
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