A new article on the official Porsche website tells the story of the 914, a mid-engine sports car model the German carmaker co-designed with Volkswagen and produced in 1969–1976.
The production run included 119,000 vehicles, most of which came equipped with low-end four-cylinder engines rated between 80 and 101 hp (60 – 75 kW). In the article, Porsche Chief Designer Michael Mauer says he is currently working on designing a new affordable sports car to become the successor to the 914 series.
According to Mauer, what the company needs right now is a comparatively simple and cheap entry-level model, and discussions about its specific parameters have been going on for a long time now. The way things stand, there are two main approaches Porsche can take. The first is to create a ‘pure’ sports car from the ground up, fitting it with as little expensive electronic stuff as possible. The other one is to design a modern equivalent of the Audi TT RS or Volkswagen Golf R. Mauer himself obviously favors the former option, but the marketing department might be more interested in the latter.
At any rate, a mid-engined, affordable Porsche model is already in the works. The project will likely take several years to complete, and it remains unknown whether it ever reaches the production stage.
The Porsche 718 Cayman coupe with its 300 hp (224 kW) is currently the marque’s cheapest car on offer.