Photo: SB-Medien
The time has come from the Nurburgring to welcome the next generation of the Porsche 911, with a prototype of the 991.2 having now kicked off its track testing.
As with the 2019 Porsche 911 test cars that have been spied on the road earlier this year, the vehicle seen here is still heavily camouflaged.
And there's one detail of the prototype, which is present on the Green Hell in all-wheel-drive form, that stands out. Zoom in on the panel behind the passenger door and you'll notice what seems to be a blocked-out fuel door or charging port.
Since the standard fuel door of the Neunelfer is present on the prototype, the first thing that comes to mind is that we could be dealing with a hybrid incarnation of the vehicle.
Zuffenhausen has already confirmed the next generation of the Neunelfer will be the first that will see the street car receiving electric assistance.
As we've discussed on previous occasions, we expect the 992 line-up to include a pair of gas-electric models. The first could be an efficiency-orientated one, whose performance would sit above what the Carrera S has to offer. As for the second, this could be the rumored 911 Turbo S E-Hybrid, which would act as the non-GT range-topper.
Nevertheless, given that the prototype spied while fighting the stopwatch on the Ring doesn't show the hybrid test vehicle stickers normally displayed by such models, we wouldn't bet on the vehicle packing a gas-electric powertain.
The rumor mill talks about the next generation of the 911 seeing its engine moving a tad closer to the center of the car. The rumors were sparked by the 2017 Porsche 911 RSR featuring a mid-engined configuration.
Sure, the road car must stick to the rear-engined Neunelfer tradition, while also maintaining its four-seater configuration, but since the 991 incarnations of the machine has already marked the introduction of a similar change, we wouldn't be surprised to see history repeating itself.
For now, all we can do is look underneath this prototype (all hail the Carousel's banked configuration!) and it seems like we're dealing with a business-as-usual setup involving the engine sitting aft of the rear axle.
If these images have brought you into a Neunelfer-hungry mood, we'll remind you that, earlier today, we delivered a rendering of the 992 Neunelfer. Mixing details borrowed from the spyshots with Mission E and 918 Spyder styling cues, the pixel play seems pretty accurate.
And there's one detail of the prototype, which is present on the Green Hell in all-wheel-drive form, that stands out. Zoom in on the panel behind the passenger door and you'll notice what seems to be a blocked-out fuel door or charging port.
Since the standard fuel door of the Neunelfer is present on the prototype, the first thing that comes to mind is that we could be dealing with a hybrid incarnation of the vehicle.
Zuffenhausen has already confirmed the next generation of the Neunelfer will be the first that will see the street car receiving electric assistance.
As we've discussed on previous occasions, we expect the 992 line-up to include a pair of gas-electric models. The first could be an efficiency-orientated one, whose performance would sit above what the Carrera S has to offer. As for the second, this could be the rumored 911 Turbo S E-Hybrid, which would act as the non-GT range-topper.
Nevertheless, given that the prototype spied while fighting the stopwatch on the Ring doesn't show the hybrid test vehicle stickers normally displayed by such models, we wouldn't bet on the vehicle packing a gas-electric powertain.
The rumor mill talks about the next generation of the 911 seeing its engine moving a tad closer to the center of the car. The rumors were sparked by the 2017 Porsche 911 RSR featuring a mid-engined configuration.
Sure, the road car must stick to the rear-engined Neunelfer tradition, while also maintaining its four-seater configuration, but since the 991 incarnations of the machine has already marked the introduction of a similar change, we wouldn't be surprised to see history repeating itself.
For now, all we can do is look underneath this prototype (all hail the Carousel's banked configuration!) and it seems like we're dealing with a business-as-usual setup involving the engine sitting aft of the rear axle.
If these images have brought you into a Neunelfer-hungry mood, we'll remind you that, earlier today, we delivered a rendering of the 992 Neunelfer. Mixing details borrowed from the spyshots with Mission E and 918 Spyder styling cues, the pixel play seems pretty accurate.
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