Alan Smithee

I am also skeptical about 500hp, and that any "race" motor is durable enough to honor a 4 year/50k warranty along with emissions compliance. But from the looks of these photos, they are certainly working on some form of N/A 997 GT car...carbon fenders and hood from the GT2 RS at the very least.

Remember that the 996GT3 overlapped with the 997's debut in 2005. Perhaps there will be 2012 997 GT3 models alongside the 991?

Carrera GT

Perhaps they're just testing the performance of the Internet to propagate speculation. It certainly shows a non GT2 RS with the molded front fenders. And it doesn't show any hiding of the various features of the Hybrid R. Whatever this car might be, it's a Dino Dust engine alone, it's not a Hybrid. As others have pointed out, it's not unheard for Porsche to have some overlap in models. The current 997.2 could well live on as the GT platform while the 991 is born as a Carrera which would presumably already be designed to accommodate all the hybrid gadgetry and gimmickry.

axhoaxho

The four red LED dots on the tail lights are not new, they are standard on all of our current 997.2 tail lights. If we look at our 997.2 from the side with lights on, we will see those four red LED dots in our cars. I think in these spy pictures, they just taped over some areas of the tail lights, and made these four red LED dots stand out more than usual.

And from the spy pictures, it is hard to tell if there are any Hybrid pieces in these test cars. Mind us that a street-version Hybrid does not necessarily need to use the KERS flywheel. If it uses the current NiHM-battery based Hybrid drive as in other production (and soon to be in production) Porsche street cars, it will not be visible from plain view.

Regardlessly, I agree with everyone that Porsche is definitely cooking up something on the GT3 platform, I guess we will see...

Regards,

Carrera GT

The bright dots I see on the tail lamps are four vertically aligned white dots, not red. The unusual tail lamps are on the car with black wheels and the car with silver wheels, but not the one with red wheels (and coincidentally, that's the only car with apparently completely stock US spec RS appearance with stickers and wheels to match.)

I think we can assume from the 918 that the street cars will have all electric hybrid systems, presumably with Lithium Ion Polymer concoctions (not the most exotic of electricity storage given the latest chemicals and the hyper-caps and so on.) But no mechanical flywheels ... however insanely cool that would be ... : )

Anyway, if any of these three cars had anything hybrid, it would surely have all the cooling ducts and gaping flanks of the other test mule we've seen photographed looking just like a blacked-out Hybrid R.

911rox

Maybe that convoy of RSs was our new fittings being tested before release... yeah rite... lol

axhoaxho

I know, that particular car has the clear LED tail lights ($799 at Suncoast Porsche parts) with red tape (or red paint) covering most of it. The four vertically aligned white dots are cut-out of the red tape or paint, so the four red LED inside the tail light can be seen when the tail light is ON.

Regards,

carrering

these could very well be PSDS cars. the instructor cars are often times US spec vehicles with BB plates. saw plenty in leipzig.

Harold

Did someone from Audemars Piguet join Porsche's marketing team???? They crank out more limited editions than AP does Royal Oak Offshore variants. When will the craziness stop.... (though i still like the Speedster)....

TRAKCAR

+1

My take:
The stock one is only camouflage. The one with gold has different lights and an engineers/laptop in it, so that could be just drive line testing.
The one with the black wheels looks like a narrow body to me, making front fenders look wider and explains the rocker panel.

So they are testing both narrow body and wide body with new engines/pdk/hybrid?
Maybe also homoligation special edition to get bigger engines / Direct injection/ hybrid /PDK to compete next year?

Slightly different lights and CL would also point to still another iteration of 997.

Nizer

Mock-up of GT3 Hybrid by someone over on Teamspeed. FWIW, if we do get a limited edition GT3 swansong I don't think it will incorporate hybrid technology. That will likely wait for the 991 variant.

But the renderings are pretty sweet:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/...470feab6_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/...a4ed9100_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/...5b1c2349_o.jpg

Jon70

If Porsche is using this car to showcase new hybrid technology, then I don't think it will hold too much value over the long term. The 991 version will do the same and better. This is a developing technology pretty much in its infancy as it pertains to road cars.

Porsche has the chance, or so I think, to do something truely iconic like the 73 RS and 993 GT2. This could be the grestest variant ever to be released (assuming hybrid is the future). I'm hoping for an RSR type styled car with a 500hp 4.0L engine with the lightening techniqes from the GT2 RS applied. If Sharkwerks can do a 500hp 3.9L, then so can Porsche. And I hope they do.

roberga

Thing is, the only variant that would really be cool is something more track worthy. For course with the target being collectors only people like Leno will actually drive the car.

mooty

that's why i dont do AP offshores.
perhaps with the new RS, there will be a walter SE, with KERS energying the movement, instead of ever winding.

Carrera GT

I'd forgotten about PDK. That's a pretty logical next step, if they've figured out the rpm limitation. DI with the GT1 design is apparently a no-go due to engineering limits. Homologation of different engine or transaxle would explain (and justify) the phenomenal engineering effort to mate (mechanically and electronically) the PDK with the GT1 case. Rumors of a PDK in front of the GT3 engine have been circulating for a while. That would entice me to swap out the current RS.

Impressive work from the artist at teamspeed.

Nizer

Anyone know where to get the chin spoiler extensions as shown on this rendering and on the GT3 R Hybrid (not the dive planed on the side)?