Porsche Design Boss Wants Small, Light Sports Car

Add Lightness

Since its inception, Porsche has always been keen on building smaller, lightweight performance cars. The automaker pushed that concept to some extreme limits over the years, peaking with the 909 Bergspyder, which tipped the scales at a mere 847 pounds. But today, as all cars have gotten progressively bigger and heavier, Porsche head of design Michael Mauer recently expressed his desire to make yet another small, lightweight machine like the good old days in a conversation with Car Magazine.

Photos: Porsche

Giving Hope

While touring the Porsche museum and discussing the 550 Spyder, Mauer made an interesting admission to Car that should give us a little hope for the future. "I’d love to do a pure new sports car, reduced to the maximum," Mauer said. "We will see. There is a lot of discussion. I think it’s possible, especially with new materials"

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation on wanting this mysterious new car in the RennList Forum!

Lighter Topics

This conversation then sparked a discussion about Porsche's rich history of building lightweight cars, and Mauer was quick to point out that this remains an important design factor for Porsche. Of course, it doesn't really seem like it, given how heavy vehicles like the Cayenne are. But the real question here is, what exactly does Mauer have in mind for the future?

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation on wanting this mysterious new car in the RennList Forum!

Engineering Difficulties

Mauer expressed a desire to build another car in the mold of the 550 Spyder, but getting down below 3,000 pounds is a difficult task these days given all the safety and technology equipment that goes into cars. The 718 Boxster T is currently the lightest car in Porsche's lineup, tipping the scales at 2,943 pounds. So that would be a good start.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation on wanting this mysterious new car in the RennList Forum!

Perfect Opportunity

Car points out that the next generation of the 718 Cayman and Boxster are slated to go all-electric, but reckons that Porsche could keep at least one variant with internal combustion power. That would be the perfect way for Porsche to build something truly special to keep purists happy as it moves toward the future.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation on wanting this mysterious new car in the RennList Forum!

Wish List

Thus, the idea is to take the 718 and strip as much weight as possible from it. Give it an aluminum body, a flat-four engine, and a stripped-out interior. Remove around 600 pounds from the current model, keep it naturally-aspirated, and of course, give it a manual transmission.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation on wanting this mysterious new car in the RennList Forum!

Glimmer of Hope

At the end of the day, this would make for a seriously awesome machine that purists would love, of course. But would Porsche actually do it? That's certainly up for debate, but it sure looks like there's at least one key employee that wants to make it happen.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation on wanting this mysterious new car in the RennList Forum!

For help with keeping your Porsche in racing, trim see the how-to sections of RennList.com.