Rumors 40 years ago - the 911 successor
04/25/2013
Exactly 40 years ago, the American magazine believed that the end of the Porsche 911 was sealed.
In the April 1973 issue, Road & Track assumed with certainty that the Porsche 911 would receive a completely new successor for the 1975 model year, not least because of the new American bumper legislation ("Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act").
An eight-cylinder engine was assumed, namely an air-cooled boxer engine with a displacement of around 3 to 3.5 liters. However, the RT people had also heard another rumor. They were working on a water-cooled V8 with a displacement of 4.5 liters, which was to be installed as a front engine. This rumor was in line with statements made by former Porsche press officer Rico Steinemann, who predicted that high-revving, small engines would soon come to an end due to emissions legislation.
Road & Track could well imagine that Porsche would make a complete U-turn with a front-wheel drive V8 model, as it seemed very unlikely that Porsche would design another rear-wheel drive sports car and the mid-engine design barely allowed for four seats.
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40 years later, of course, we are wiser. The V8 finally arrived in 1977, it was called the 928 and, as history shows, was not in a position to replace the 911. For the 1974 model year, however, Porsche introduced the G model, which, with new bumpers (and the famous bellows), was able to comply with American impact laws and was built for an almost legendary 14 years until the 964 replaced the long-wheelbase model in 1988.
