Porsche’s Carrera GT Replacement, the 2012 Porsche Spyder RS

After production of the Porsche Carrera GT ceased in 2006, Porsche has been lacking a true supercar. According to some reports, Porsche intends to rectify the situation with a new model called the Spyder RS.

If the name sounds somewhat familiar, it should — the RS Spyder currently is Porsche’s LMP2 race car. British magazine Autocar suggests the name will be appropriated for this new road car. The Spyder RS may also serve as a basis for Porsche’s advanced new Le Mans car, using a new carbon-fiber monocoque chassis.

Porsche’s new supercar will once again be mid-engined, but will have less power than its predecessor, like Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming SLS AMG. The Spyder RS is said to use a brand-new, twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V-8 producing around 480 hp. The engine will once again serve as a load-bearing structure, as in the Carrera GT (pictured). A ZF-developed seven-speed dual-clutch transmission should route power directly to the rear wheels.

In stark contrast to the Carrera GT’s extremely limited production run, the new Spyder RS is likely to be produced in larger numbers over at least five years. It was originally planned to go on sale in 2012, but the recent financial snafu and halted merger with Volkswagen may have delayed the program. Autocar says its sources in Zuffenhausen claim the car is extremely advanced in development and may already be in the test mule stage.

The car is to be produced on a dedicated line at Porsche’s recently renovated Leipzig factory, where the Carrera GT was once built and both the Cayenne and Panamera are currently produced.

Source: Autocar