With the presentation of the all-new 911 at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show and the launch of the next-generation Boxster and Cayman sport models set for 2012, Porsche is now considering its options for a more direct rival to the Ferrari 458 Italia.
This will not be yet another variant of the 911, but a new, mid-engined model placed between the 911 and the upcoming 918 Spyder. Porsche, with the exception of the Cayenne, uses bespoke parts, not sharing any of its components with its cousins in the VW Group.
But any new car has to make sense from a financial point of view – thus developing a new platform seems highly unlikely when there is already one available in the vast VW Group parts bin.
As Autocar reports, VW Group bosses have so far ruled out a bespoke chassis – even though it is an option preferred by Porsche engineers, in favor of the part-carbonfiber structure that will be used by the next-generation Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo.
This platform will be very similar to the one used by the Audi R8 e-tron concept. An adoption by Porsche would significantly reduce development and manufacturing costs, as well as the time needed to bring it to production.
However, Porsche may very well put its plans for a mid-engined Ferrari rival on ice and wait to participate in or even lead the development of a new platform that will be used in the third generations of the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo, expected sometime after 2020.
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