With the 918 Spyder getting closer to its developmental end-game, and the new 991 911 out and about in several forms, it appears it's time for the talk to turn back to the car that will fill the gap between the two.
Rumors being what they are, there's not a lot new here, but the source of the information--and its close nestling with words from Porsche CEO Matthias Muller--give the latest addition to the pile a slightly truer ring. Speaking with the Handelsblatt about the near-term future, Muller discussed the expansion of Porsche's range with items like the Panamera Sport Turismo recently shown at the Paris Auto Show, the upcoming Macan, the 918 Spyder, and, a new mid-engined sports car in the 300,000-400,000 euro range.
That car has been the subject of speculation for over a year now, with at least one report naming it the 960. Performance targets include the Ferrari 458 Italia and its ilk, perhaps including the McLaren MP4-12C. Powertrain configuration, along with everything else about the car except for its mid-rear layout, are also purely speculative, but include talk of a twin-turbo flat-six rated at up to 600 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque.
Production targets of 2,500-3,000 units per year are expected, meaning it will add some small volume to Porsche's bottom line, but will primarily be a halo car that brings more of the sporting prestige back to the brand after the past several year's focus on people-moving SUVs and sedans.
The plans could also mesh with reports that Porsche will develop the next mid-engine architecture for Audi and Lamborghini, which will underpin the R8 and Gallardo in their next iterations.
Even if the rumors prove to hold some grain of truth, however, we won't likely see anything in the sheetmetal, even in prototype form, until 2015 at the earliest.
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