Porsche 960 Turismo: The rear-engined 918 Spyder sedan that never was

Porsche recently unveiled to the public a series of never-before-seen concept cars. Previously, the Mission E Concept was as far back into the Taycan’s development history as we knew about. But one concept goes a step further.

Enter: the Porsche 960 Turismo. A rear-engined super sedan with styling clearly inspired from the 918 Spyder. First imagined as a rear-engined sport sedan, the 960 eventually paved the way to the all-electric Taycan. At some point, Porsche decided the car would be better with an all-electric drivetrain and scrapped the 960 Turismo’s rear-engine layout. Whether Porsche’s lineup has room for both a front-engined sedan and a rear-engined sedan is questionable anyway.

Much of the Taycan’s design is visible in the 960 Turismo, from the coupe-like roofline to the immensely wide rear fenders. Porsche also ditched the enormous headlights for, frankly, a far more modern-looking and sleek design. The Taycan’s rear end differs a bit as well since it no longer needs to accommodate an engine.

Source: newsroom.porsche.com

Fortunately, the Taycan didn’t deviate from the 960 Turismo’s look dramatically. That is a good thing because the 960 Turismo is a looker. It’s a beautiful, immensely striking design that manages to translate classic Porsche styling into a practical sedan body. The only downgrade seems to be in the nomenclature: “960 Turismo” seems a much more Porsche-like name than “Taycan.”

Porsche has not published much information on the 960 Turismo, but the photographs offer a fascinating look at the development process of an electric car — especially since the Taycan was not originally intended to be electric. Porsche’s site offers a look at several other concepts as well, and it’s certainly worth a visit to learn more about how their current lineup came to be.

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10 responses to “Porsche 960 Turismo: The rear-engined 918 Spyder sedan that never was”

  1. Zentropy Avatar
    Zentropy

    Very cool. I like this layout much better than the Panamera’s, and the front-end styling is magnitudes better than the Taycan’s (a car that I think looks like a crying llama).

  2. Zentropy Avatar
    Zentropy

    Very cool. I like this layout much better than the Panamera’s, and the front-end styling is magnitudes better than the Taycan’s (a car that I think looks like a crying llama).

  3. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    I think the Vision Spyder is the real winner of the bunch they’ve shown off, and would be a great entry level car, although realistically, they’re not building it unless they can sell it as a $100k special edition.

    https://newsroom.porsche.com/.imaging/mte/porsche-templating-theme/teaser_720x406x2/dam/pnr/2020/products/Porsche-
    Unseen/Vision_Spyder/b_POR1816.jpg/jcr:content/b_POR1816.jpg

    I rather like the Renndienst too, but wish they had some interior pictures.
    https://newsroom.porsche.com/.imaging/mte/porsche-templating-theme/teaser_720x406x2/dam/pnr/2020/products/Porsche-Unseen/Vision_Renndienst/gallery/b_DSC8692.jpg/jcr:content/b_DSC8692.jpg

    1. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      I wondered if anyone on here would post about the Renndienst, which I first saw images of a few days ago. Not that my opinion matters in the slightest, but I think it’s brilliant.

      1. Maymar Avatar
        Maymar

        I’m sure the VW ID.Buzz will render it redundant, as they’re hailing from the same spiritual lineage, but Porsche stepping outside of their normal products is always a little interesting.

        1. bv911 Avatar
          bv911

          (Looks at first-gen Cayenne)

          I don’t know about “always”…!

        2. Vairship Avatar
          Vairship

          Or maybe the Renndienst becomes more likely since they can start with the ID Buzz underpinnings and ‘Porschify’ it (i.e. much higher performance and price).

          1. outback_ute Avatar
            outback_ute

            Don’t forget the “coupe” roofline…

          2. Vairship Avatar
            Vairship

            An ID Buzz/Renndienst with a coupe roofline? So that will look somewhat like… https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7443/9058519633_75dcfbb163_b.jpg

          3. outback_ute Avatar
            outback_ute

            That’s right, make it into an SUV while you are at it!