In Cars, International News, Porsche / By Matthew H Tong / 13 February 2020 7:05 pm / 17 comments

Back in 1969, Porsche made history by being the first German car manufacturer to market a production mid-engined sports car. The car in question was the little-known 914, but Porsche design chief Michael Mauer said it was a groundbreaking moment for the brand.

Mauer’s attachment to the 914 has intensified to the point where he’s immersing himself in the history of the two-seater sports car. In an interview published on Porsche’s newsroom (and in the book “50 Jahre Porsche 914”), Mauer said the 914 wasn’t even on his radar before, but the more he works with the 914, the more he’s inclined to fight for a reduced, puristic approach when it comes to styling cars.

When asked if there was a future for the 914, the designer simply said “we have this discussion all the time. It’s all about the entry-level Porsche.” He added: “an entry-level Porsche not in terms of the price, but the sense of reduction. A car with almost no electrics, everything mechanical, puristic. I find the idea exciting.”

In the same breath, he mentioned that the new entry-level model could target groups of people who drive cars like the Audi TT RS and Volkswagen Golf R32. It should be a very simple, unpretentious car, like a modern Porsche 550 (a mid-engined race car in the mid-60s) in the broadest sense.

Passion projects like these occur on many levels in the auto industry, but most don’t get the green light because sports cars aren’t as profitable. Mauer said the sales division may see things differently, but argues that a much cheaper entry-level Porsche “would be the right thing to do.” He feels that the time has come for a puristic, reduced, “back to our roots” type of car, which would be typically Porsche.

Right now, it’s uncertain if there are concrete plans to lower the entry point to the world of Porsche sports cars with a new “back to basics” model. These new rumours surely appeal to enthusiasts, but R&D costs may be thwarting. There is, however, a possible way around it.

A few months ago, Autoindustriya asked Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada whether he plans to collaborate with another automaker to revive the iconic MR2 (the only one of the “three brothers” besides the Supra and 86 to get a successor), and he surprisingly said Porsche.

This is just speculation on our part, but it would be possible for Toyota to team up with Porsche to develop a new midship sports car. Tada did say that the Boxster was used as a benchmark when developing the Supra, so if both parties are keen on jointly creating something that appeals to enthusiasts, who’s to say no? What do you think?