Along spell of quiet had fallen upon the swirls of speculation we'd been hearing a few years ago about Porsche's rumored mid-engine 960 supercar, but that's all changed with fresh rumblings from England's Car. While the rumor confirms much of our earlier intel, Car points to an updated 2019 release date for the Porsche 960, which may arrive with a powerful quad-turbo flat-eight engine that includes newly patented variable compression technology.

Porsche reportedly patented this new variable compression system in March of 2015. The setup—dubbed VarioCom--aims to maximize fuel efficiency and response at low speeds with high compression, while allowing for smoother running and reduced strain on the engine by deferring to a lower compression at high loads to avoid knocking. Here's Car on how it works:

"Porsche's patented system uses a connecting rod with an eccentric adjuster at the top, which is controlled by oil flowing through it. This adjuster allows the position of the small end bearing, which attaches the piston's wrist pin, to be changed - varying the length of the stroke and dynamically altering the compression ratio. "

The technology is reportedly being tested with a quad-turbo flat-eight engine, which would give the mid-engine 960 supercar a more dramatic flair of the exotic, as well as a helpful nod to the motorsports tradition of the flat-eights used in the 907 and 908 race cars of this 1960s and '70s.

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Our earlier scoop from European bureau chief Georg Kacher indicated that former Volkswagen Group chief had approved the flat-eight (before his dishonorable discharge post-Dieselgate) and that there's already a Cayman with a rowdy eight-cylinder on board being used as a test bed. Notably, Piech used to drive a one-off 914 with a flat-eight.

The rumored quad-turbo flat-eight (codenamed "B8") is a 3.9-liter mill, featuring two intercoolers, four adjustable camshafts, a complex multistage intake manifold, dual-stage exhaust, and 650 hp. Mated to an all-wheel-drive system, the 960 is predicted to weigh about 3, 300 pounds that to plenty of aluminum and other lightweight components. It will hit 60 mph from a stop in a mere 2.5 seconds, and a lighter, more purist-spec rear-drive GT version would follow weighing about 200 pounds fewer.

Car projects that the Porsche 960 supercar—nicknamed FeFi for Ferrari Fighter--will debut in 2019, following the next-gen (992) Porsche 911 that's anticipated to arrive in 2018. No doubt Porsche is forcing Ferrari and Lamborghini to up their game, lest the Germans steal their Italian thunder.