Graphic designer Anthony Collard just answered the question that has been asked for nearly 20 years; ‘What would a front engine Porsche revival look like?’ Since the end of 1995, Porsche has stuck strictly to rear and mid-engine chassis for their sports car lineup. With the end of production of the 968 and 928 GTS in 1995, a piece of Porsche history went into a dormancy, as they no longer had any front-engine sports coupes in their stable.
The introduction of the 924 in 1976 was a departure for Porsche, both in the fact that it was watercooled, rather than aircooled, and that the engine was up front, ahead of the driver compartment, rather than behind it. The 924/944/968 family of cars was one of Porsche’s most successful sales forces for almost two decades. Legend has it that Porsche engineering employees tended to gravitate toward the 944 when choosing their company car, as it offered more precise handling and better weight distribution than that of the 911.
Equally important in the history of Porsche is the 928. The 928 was a car like no other, a GT cruiser that had a lot of V8 grunt. It’s been called the ethological predecessor to the Panamera, and all it takes is a quick drive in one to figure out why. With a quiet blast down the Autobahn, or a flat footed pull out of a hairpin corner, the 928 never failed to impress.
I’m not sure why, but Mr. Collard has chosen to name his concept design the “921”. It is obvious that the 921 incorporates current Porsche design culture, with the rear bumper mimicking that of the current 991 Carrera. The rear hatch visually invokes that of the Cayman, but with a more prolonged trailing edge, leading into a kammback-style design more like that of the 944. The side window and small rear quarter window clearly mimic that of the 928, and works surprisingly well with the new smoother design language. At the front, the headlamps and muscular fender bulge work clearly emulate that of the 918 Spyder, and the front bumper features gorgeous LED fog lamps.
I’ve spent a long time thinking about how this particular car could work, and how it could be positioned. What engines should it have, and what place would it take in the Porsche marketplace? Similar to the 944, I envision this car taking the place as Porsche’s entry level vehicle. Let’s assume for now that the base car can slot in around the $40,000 mark, weigh just under 3000 pounds, and have about 190-200 horsepower.
With a 200-ish horsepower version of Volkswagen’s 1.8 liter turbocharged engine currently being designed to work with the PDK transmission in the base level Macan, this engine and transmission would also work exceedingly well as the entry level 921 motivation. Porsche already has a number of higher power engines that could easily be squeezed between the shock towers of the 921 for higher output versions. The naturally aspirated 3.6 liter V6 currently in the base Panamera could work wonders for this car at 300 horsepower. While increasingly unlikely, as it could cannibalize Carrera sales, The Panamera S/Macan S 3.0 liter V6 Turbo could be installed to create the highest output version, a “921 Turbo”, somewhere around 375 horsepower.
As the market trends toward automated manuals like Porsche’s excellent PDK transaxle, I’m not sure that a new car like this would even be offered with a true manual transmission. On a bargain car like this, it might not even be profitable to design a new longitudinal manual transmission unique to this application. If the market did deem it necessary, however, surely Porsche could crib a 6-speed manual from ZF that would work well in the application.
While I’m not particularly partial to the blatant statement made by the rouge wheels shown here, the Porsche side script does hint at what a revival of the “Clubsport” name could look like. A stripped down interior with GT3 RS style appointments and copious use of alcantara could give the 921 a little of the sporting credit that the CS nomenclature deserves. Perhaps dropping as much as 200 pounds from the weight of the base car, the CS could be powered by the base engine, with an increase in boost to somewhere around 220 horsepower.
While all of this is simply conjecture based on a graphic designer’s daydream, we can only hope that Porsche is listening. As a former 944 owner, I have to say that I would be waiting outside of my local Porsche dealer waiting to place an order if they announced this car tomorrow. The design is beautiful, the concept not unprecedented, and if Porsche were to look at their own historical sales data, they would easily determine that there is a market for an entry level car with the engine up front.
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View Comments (29)
I like the idea of a front engine base model but the 200 hp would not compete with less expensive entry level cars such as the Ford Escort and Subaru WRX. If you're buying the Porsche name that's one thing, if you want a faster entry level sedan for less money that's another because they will all compare themselves to the Porsche and win out with the Porsche having such an anemic motor.
I have a Boxster and a 968 (successor to the 944). I love them both. If I am honest I prefer the handling dynamics of the front mid-engine 968; especially in bad weather. If the 921 was front mid-engine (like the 968/944) and if the 921 was the right balance of weight, power, and price I would be near the front of the line to get one.
As the previous owner of a 944 turbo, and the current owner of a 968, I say Porsche should build this car. It offers an opportunity to have a very fuel efficient vehicle to offset some of the larger SUV and sedan offerings and an entry level price point. The VW 4 cyl turbo could again serve as a starting point as well as the Audi trans. That combo is in the family and relatively cheap. Keep the weight low (say 2400# target), go for the 240-250 turbo 4 cyl, and a base 5 or 6 speed and you are looking at 5-5.5 sec to 60 mph, and 160 top speeds. this package would return more than 31 hwy mpg.
Even today the 944-968 series is a credible sportscar and can hold its own with many more modern cars. It is a lso a car that has introduced more people to Porsche than any other.
A renewed and improved 944 would be wonderful. A 375-400 HP two seater would be great. Who needs rear seats anyways. Although with 375-400 HP it would probably have to be positioned as a 928 replacement.
I own a 1988 924S with the 160 HP motor and 5 speed manual with deleted goodies (no sunroof electric windows) for weight saving and better handling. I love the convenience of the hatch (it will take my bike or groceries). The car is relatively frugal with spirited driving. Something the old 356 Porsches were. Not sure if the market will bear a $ 40K price tag, considering all the competition.
This will be a way for the first time customer join the Porsche family or someone to exit a sports car without going to a huge 4 door car or SUV. This new concept should be very competitive with, for instance, the BMW 3 series and others like it. After 6 Porsche sports cars, I could easily move into a jazzed up version of the new 921.
Leave the entry level front engine/rear drive offering to VW. They can use their experience with the GTI to develop an affordable sports car that will be competitive with the likes of the Ford Escort and Subaru WRX
If Porsche could keep the car as light as possible with a V8 of around 450HP and price it slightly above Corvette the it should sell.
I am a Cayman S owner. Let me explain why it is great.
1. Mid-rear engine is the best configuration for fantastic handling.
2. The 911 like driving position view of the road and hood length make it so much more fun to drive on the street.
3. The proportions of this car are so much better than the 911. No bulging rear end! It looks like a mid engine race car.
4.. Flat-6 engine offers low Cg, great smoothness and compact packaging.
4. This car has two very useable storage spaces. The newer Caymans have an even more useable front space.
5. Basically, except for lack of the small back seat area, this car offers all the advantages of a 911 with none of the rear-engine weight issues. You can catch a Cayman when the rear breaks away. 911's are GONE. ESC is a poor substitute for great chassis dynamics.
6. Remember when 300HP was a lot and plenty for just about anyone? Well, it still is in these cars.
7. It's a 4 season car built and galvanized very well yet still weighs under 3,000 lbs.
Why this car is not great:
1. Engine access is a bit difficult. You add oil and coolant easily enough through a clever compartment in the rear hatch...great solution, but, like the 911, access to engine components is pretty tough. Cayman requires removal of carpet and 5 bolts just to SEE the engine.
2. The only way to check the oil is by electronic gage. The engine must be cold and the car must be on level ground. If you go to a track event or something, you can't check oil until you get home. I think the method of checking may have changed on the '13 and newer Cayman/Boxsters...Operating temp readings may be possible now so this may be fixed. No dipstick means you can't check the cleanliness of the oil or easily get a sample for analysis.
3. The first years of these cars had some issues with engine oiling, IMS bearings, power steering issues and air-oil separators but these are fixed in '09 and newer cars. They're fixable on older cars and it's not a symptom of the basic design, just some less than thorough initial engineering on the early cars. For street use these early cars are a great choice. The early car problems only start to show themselves at track days. Drive one in a spirited way all year long and you'll have a great driving experience on your hand with surprisingly low maintenance cost.
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I cannot see Porsche making this front engine car with any engine not already in their arsenal. They're not going to put only 200HP in it. Why bother? If they wanted to keep the price down, and I don't think they would, the V-6 from the Cayenne comes to mind or some version of the 2.0 VW turbo motor.. Cheaper than trying to make something new. Motor would need to get pushed way back in the chassis to be any good for weight distribution and the Cg would be higher than a flat-6 cars, but the cost would be more manageable with a parts bin engine. This car would need to be light weight...3,000 lbs maximum.
I'd still rather have a Cayman S. Long hood is a negative after you've driven a 911 or Cayman for a while.
This would be a Corvette competitor and priced accordingly...not $40,000.
let's see, they're building 4 door cars and trucks and now you want to bring back the failed 928? Forget trying to be everything to everybody. Start another car company and call it "lemming motors" instead of further damaging the Porsche brand. True Porsche fans do not want any of this non-911 crap they have been doling out lately. There is only one Porsche, 911.