Porsche 911 Targa Turbo for Geneva debunked, 919 Hybrid and 911 RSR racers coming instead

Fri, 28 Feb 2014

Porsche has proven adept at making sure there is a version of its venerable 911 for practically any wealthy driver's desires. If you just want a great all-rounder then buy a standard 911; open-air driving, then the Cabriolet is for you, and if you need a compromise between them, there is even the new 911 Targa.

Gossip earlier this week surfaced on various websites that at next week's Geneva Motor Show, Porsche had designs on introducing an even higher-performance Targa variant, a Targa Turbo. The rumored mashup would combine the wide body from the 911 Turbo with the super-complicated power roof from the Targa (see right). Assuming no changes in power, that would mean 520 horsepower or even 560 hp in a Targa Turbo S model. Unfortunately, we're hearing that this tasty bit of scuttlebutt is incorrect. Autoblog asked Nick Twork, Porsche North America Product Communications Manager, about the rumor, and his response couldn't have been clearer: "Totally false."

Twork did elaborate that company will be "debuting the Porsche 919 Hybrid, our new LMP1 race car" at the Swiss show, and Stuttgart has also announced this morning that will show its 911 RSR racecar, too – either of which we reckon is a lot more exciting than another Targa variant.

Of course, even assuming our man Twork is right, this doesn't mean that Porsche won't eventually produce forced-induction Targa models – it just means we won't see one in Switzerland.

Mission 2014 - Our Return: World Debut of the 919 Hybrid and 911 RSR

Stuttgart/Atlanta. At this year's Geneva Motor Show Porsche is hailing its return to the top tier of sports car racing by rolling out the new Porsche 919 Hybrid for the LMP1 category of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2014, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the undisputed climax of the season. The new efficiency-based regulations of the WEC stipulate innovative hybrid drives. The 919 Hybrid can therefore be regarded as a research laboratory for the technology of future production vehicles. The innovative prototype will be flanked on the stage in Geneva by the Porsche 911 RSR, as it will on the grid of all eight WEC races in eight countries across four continents. In addition, the 911 RSR will race in the North American TUDOR United Sports Car Championship where it began the motorsports season with a victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The press conference premiere will take place on March 4, 2014 at 8:20 CET at the Porsche stand, GENEVA PALEXPO, Hall 1. The conference will also be broadcast live on the Internet (http://www.porsche.com/mission2014).

By Chris Bruce