If the rumors are true Porsche is getting ready to unveil the next in its series of 911 Heritage models in the coming weeks, and the 911 ST you see here pawing the air with its inside wheel at the Nurburgring is odds-on favorite to be the car in question.

Porsche hasn’t officially confirmed the return of the ST badge, which Porsche fans will know was used on a high-performance, race-ready precursor to the more famous 2.7 Carrera in the early 1970s and featured a 2.5-liter engine and lightweight trim. But its comeback seems like an open secret, and we can’t wait for Porsche to officially spill the beans.

Until that happens we’ll have to make do with what we can glean from these latest spy shots, which tell us the ST is a mashup of the best bits of every other special 911. We can spot the double-bubble roof from the Sport Classic, for instance, and the doors (and door handles) from the GT3 RS. The lower portion of the front fenders are also inspired by the RS’s, though the tops seem to lack that car’s saw-tooth vents, and more obviously there’s no sign of a big RS-style fixed wing on the tail.

Related: Facelifted Porsche 911 GTS Gearing Up For Launch This Year

New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 

But we suspect there’ll be more GT3 RS inspiration going on under the skin. The Sport Classic already does the retro style thing combined with the 911 Turbo’s forced induction flat six, so we think the ST will get the GT3 RS’s naturally aspirated 518 hp (525 PS) 4.0-liter powertrain. But just as buying the 911 Sport Classic is the only way to get the Turbo motor with a manual transmission, we think the ST will offer the manual option that’s missing from the GT3 RS option list.

You can, of course, get a 503 hp (510 PS) 911 GT3 Touring with a manual shift, and it makes sense to think of the ST as a Touring on PEDs. Expect the price to be similarly swole. A GT3 Touring currently costs $182,900 and a GT3 RS, $241,300, but the $272k Porsche charges for the Sports Classic and the $222,00 being asked for the 911 Dakar crossover suggests the ST could end up costing upwards of $280,000.

New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 
New Porsche 911 ST Prototype Plays Trike In Hot Nurburgring Test 

Images: Baldauf