Porsche 917 hypercar edges closer

Is Porsche plotting a successor to its legendary 918 Spyder? There are new indications that point to the affirmative.

When the Stuttgart car-maker released images of a futuristic Porsche 917 concept study in March of this year, exposing a svelte design which payed homage to the 1970/1971 Le Mans 24 Hour-winning race car of the same name, it set tongues wagging.

A tip of the hat to the phenomenally powerful Porsche 917 race car of the late 1960s and early 1970s, whose mega 5.4-litre flat 12-cylinder turbocharged engine developed up to 1200kW or 1600hp, early reports suggested the new Porsche 917 hypercar would be a battery electric machine.

Despite the German brand's focus on the development of the Porsche Taycan electric performance car over the past few years, new information suggests the sports car company is keen to utilise combustion power after all.

Although the Porsche 917 hypercar may not arrive until mid-way through the next decade, it's unlikely to be a silent scorcher.

In conversation with Markus Baumann, Porsche's boxer engine development manager, the question was asked whether a reborn Porsche 917 would be a pure EV.

"Maybe. But that car could also be a perfect project for a combustion engine. Because it's only a small number of cars, they do not really influence our fleet emissions."

Porsche's last hypercar, the 918 Spyder, was built between 2013 and 2015 and limited to just 918 units. The mid-engined monster was powered by a 4.6-litre atmo V8 petrol-electric hybrid powertrain that sang to the tune of 652kW.

If the hypercar does get the green light and a combustion engine is given the nod, it's not clear whether Porsche will continue with a V8 – but it's safe to say a flat 12-cylinder mill akin to its forebear is out of the question.

"I don’t know which engine it could have. I have an idea about it, but it's far away," Baumann said, firming talk of a mid-2020s launch.

The Porsche boxer engine development boss wouldn’t be drawn on whether the new two-seat Porsche could be a rival for the F1-engined Mercedes-AMG ONE or radical Aston Martin Valkyrie, which are built in extremely limited numbers – 275 and 150 respectively.

"I think if we were to start such a project, it would be maybe 1000 cars, as a maximum, not more," said Baumann, suggesting it may not be quite as extreme as its German and British competitors.