Rumors of Return to Natural Aspiration: Changes at Front/Rear
As the Spring season takes hold in more northern regions, Porsche is swapping their snowy roads for sessions on the track of Nurburgring. Of course, the 911 looks right at home when placed in the notorious ‘Green Hell’ and our spies have gone to capture all the excitement.
Particularly, some nicely detailed photos of the new 992.2 911 Cabriolet have emerged. Die-hard admirers of Porsche are likely already acquainted with this successor because we’ve observed it over 12 months ago in spy pics. Further to that, this particular prototype can be spotted on video recently too. However, these images give us a near and transparent examination at the refinements being added up at the front and back ends of this eternally youthful sports car.
Porsche continues to excel when it comes to hiding information from plain view, but many of the black coverings seem to have vanished from its front end. On closer inspection, the re-formed air intakes in the grille can easily be observed. These are essentially rectangular; however, horizontal stripes divide the middle for a sleeker appearance. Instead of having a squared off peak, the upper portion of the slots feature a more pronounced curve – though some plastic cladding is only visible on the left side and not the right, hence showing the design’s true form. Additionally, active components are also at play here.
The back of this prototype is still established with copious amounts of black tape, particularly around the edges of the taillights and the back bumper. There’s also an abundance of black wrap situated in between the two exhaust pipes, but there’s no conceivable way to hide the upgraded venting system. This has been previously discussed, and it seems to be hinting at the most excitedly-awaited addition to the 992.2 Carrera Cabriolet – a turbocharged powertrain, supposedly.
The layout for this exhaust system is reminiscent of the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS, which is outfitted with a 4.0-liter flat-six that operates on natural aspiration. The same is applicable for the Boxster GTS and there has been much speculation since we first observed this exhaust arrangement under the hood of the 911 approximately one year ago. Our private informants have boasted that Porsche’s administrators desire to have normally aspirated force back in their lineup, though nothing has definitively been made public currently.
No specific launch date has been confirmed as of yet, however, it is purported to be imminent. Trials for the prototypes have been in progress for a protracted period and expectations are that they will conclude by late this year.
Source: Automedia
