Mysterious ducktailed Porsche 911 spotted at the ‘Ring

The puzzling ducktailed Porsche 911 Turbo prototype has been spotted at the Nürburgring, but this time Automotive Mike did us the favor of capturing video. It was first spotted in November of last year, then in March this year doing winter testing, but we still have no clue what the development model portends. At least one tester deleted the rear seats to fit a roll cage; other testers haven’t. They’ve all kept camouflage and black tape around the rear fascia, but at least one tester has fitted a pair of large oval exhaust pipes; other testers haven’t. The exhaust note in the video is a touch more pitiless than what we’ve heard from the 992-series 911 Turbo S. And either the test pilot is phenomenal at slowing the Turbo S’ PDK shifts to sound like a manual transmission, or the black enigma slots a stickshift between engine and axle shafts. We give the nod to a genuine manual — there are too many shifting events backing up the case. A row-your-own hasn’t graced a 911 Turbo since 2012, when Porsche is rumored to have built only 88 manual-equipped Turbos and the model went all-PDK the following year.

The new 911 Carrera S and 4S offer a seven-speed manual. Some believe that the new Turbo’s 590 pound-feet necessitate a stouter gearbox, and think this could fit the six-speeder from the GT3. However, the now-departed GT3 produced only 339 lb-ft, while the new 911 Carrera 4S makes 390 lb-ft. Porsche still has a standard 911 Turbo to reveal, one that dials down the gumption from the Turbo S’ 3.8-liter flat-six with 641 horsepower and would get all the bits to play nice. This could be a special take on the lower-output Turbo.

Two more obvious assumptions are that we’re either dealing with a new Sport Classic or a new Aerokit. Porsche debuted a 911 Sport Classic for the 997-series 911 in 2010, a limited edition of 250 units just for Europe that channeled the 1973 911 Carrera 2.7 RS. A Turbo-based Sport Classic would be a serious departure, though; neither the original 2.7 RS nor the 2010 Sport Classic were turbocharged. Porsche did create a Sport Design Ducktail Spoiler and a Sport Design Aerokit Package for the 991-series Carrera models that included a new lip for the front fascia and a ducktail spoiler, but they didn’t fit the Turbo. For now, all we can do is wait, and enjoy the sound of what’s coming.