Porsche Teases Its Ferrari Fighter

Porsche future sports car announcement (Credit: Porsche )

As Porsche prepared to race in Le Mans this year, the German automaker posted a series of images on its Facebook page. The first photo, which was labeled “Past,” portrayed the old 917, a car that netted the company its first wins in the endurance race back in 1970 and 1971, next to the new 919 Hybrid, which over the weekend claimed victory.

The second photo showed the 919 next to the 918 Spyder, which applies the innovative powertrain technology to a street-legal vehicle. It was labeled “Present.”

The third, and most talked-about photo, showed the 919 next to a car covered with a white sheet, with “Mission: Future Sportscar” printed on it. That photo was labeled “Future.” Naturally, people are running wild with speculation about the new model.

For a while now, spy photos have been posted on various sites, showing off camouflaged versions of a car that has been dubbed Porsche’s Ferrari fighter. The car under the sheet likely is the same model.

Very little is known about the future Porsche sports car. Supposedly, it will be called the 960 and naturally will come with some exotic features, plus a price tag to match them. In the automaker’s lineup, the vehicle would sit above the 911 Turbo S and below the 918 Spyder. More than likely it would go head-to-head against the likes of the McLaren 650S and Ferrari 488 GTB. It would be safe to bet that the model will have an all-wheel-drive system and will ride on an all-aluminum chassis. It seems that Porsche is hinting that the powertrain will involve a gasoline engine and at least one electric motor, with peak output easily surpassing 600 horsepower.

Right now, the overall expectation inside the automotive industry is that Porsche will release the mystery future sports car, likely the 960 Ferrari-hunter, in 2017. There’s still the possibility that the Germans will surprise us all sometime in 2015.