Earlier this month, our spies managed to snap a prototype of the updated Porsche 911 Cabriolet during a test session around the Nurburgring. We now have footage showing the exact same prototype and from the video above, we can see the car’s actual pace and hear its engine.
There’s nothing really surprising here, though. The open-top 911 won’t receive a drastic makeover and will retain its basic formula unchanged for this refreshed version. We’ve seen this prototype on a number of occasions and it seems that Porsche is using it for high-speed testing ahead of the model’s debut later this year. The camouflage isn’t much as the automaker has finally decided to ditch some of the black tape. The front fascia, for example, now features newly shaped air intakes with active elements. At the back, the area surrounding the exhaust pipes is covered together with portions of the bumper, which hints at visual revisions for the rear fascia.
Those exhaust finishers hint at a potentially major change under the hood, though. The layout almost completely matches that of the Porsche 718 Cayman GTSl, which employs a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six. Word on the street is Porsche executives want a naturally aspirated flat-six engine back in the lineup and this could very well be a prototype equipped with a 4.0 NA mill behind the seats.
As for the prototype’s speed around the Nurburgring, we don’t have actual performance numbers but from the video, it looks like this 911 Cabrio trial vehicle is being pushed very close to its limits. It stays composed in the corners and there are minimal signs of a body roll – something that is natural in the world of Porsche 911.
When we will see the refreshed sports car? We don’t have a confirmed launch date but an educated guess would be a debut sometime towards the second half of the year. Porsche has been testing 911 Cabrio prototypes for months now and we can’t wait to see whether the soft top 911 will get a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated engine.
