Car & Driver: Delayed by Diesel: Mid-Engine Porsche 960 Supercar Delayed By VW’s Emissions Scandal

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Last year, as Volkswagen Group’s diesel-emissions-scandal snowball began to roll down the proverbial hill, the automaker stated that every brand and model line would be put under financial review. This was as sensible move, as the scandal’s cost to VW could stretch well into the billions, meaning any nonessential projects could understandably be dust-binned for the company’s greater financial good. Per Automotive News, this is exactly what’s happening, in part, to VW Group member Porsche’s anticipated “960” mid-engine supercar.

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We say “in part” because the 960, an exotic piece intended to fill in the space between the sold-out 918 hypercar and the 911 Turbo S in Porsche’s lineup, hasn’t been outright canned yet. It has, however, been subjected to lengthy delay, apparently in an effort to rally funds for settling the obligations due from Volkswagen’s diesel-emissions cheat. Originally slated to debut by 2019, the 960, according to Automotive News, won’t appear until 2026. The pricey (think $250,000) Porsche is hardly Job One in the halls of VW.

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However pragmatic the decision, color us sad. Early details of the 960’s layout and features have us salivating: A quad-turbocharged flat-eight engine, possibly with variable-compression-ratio technology (similar to that just revealed by Infiniti), bolted into the middle of a sweet body. With McLaren breathing down Porsche’s neck by offering exotic-looking goods such as the 570S priced in 911 Turbo S territory, Porsche could use a proper supercar-supercar to play in the $250,000–$350,000 space, where it would battle the McLaren 650S, Ferrari 488GTB, and Lamborghini Huracán. (The outgoing 918 Spyder, by the way, cost just shy of $1 million.) The Porsche could ride on the new VW Modular Sports Car architecture, which eventually will underpin every sports car in the automaker’s lineup, and even a future Lamborghini and an Audi. In the meantime, get ready to wait.

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