BACK TO THE FUTURE

Enough navel gazing over the morals of making old Porsches look like older ones – I’ve also enjoyed the next generation of Stuttgart product being put through their paces on the Nürburgring. I was there on another job and had some time to kill, an unseasonably clear autumnal day seized by everyone in the Industry Pool as the last chance to grab some testing laps before winter. And Porsche was there in force, a convoy of camo-clad prototypes rolling into Nürburg just as I left my hotel to set up trackside and enjoy the show.

If you’ve never watched the Industry Pool sessions it’s a fascinating way to spend a couple of hours. And underlines just how important Nürburgring testing is for everyone from Hyundai to Lamborghini. And how goddamn hard those guys drive, hour after hour after hour.

Of the Porsche contingent I was struck by a 718 Cayman that was noticeably more rapid than the others circulating. Two days after I got back came the press release about the new 365ps/360bhp GTS model, closer examination of the pictures revealing that was what I’d seen. Say what you like about the four-cylinder cars, it looked seriously fast and composed. Also of interest were the 991 Turbo and next-generation 911 test mule. On approach they’re hard to tell apart but the full-width deployable rear wing of the new car is the giveaway. This alone will be the most obvious visual difference; what lies beneath will be revealed in due course but safe to say if there are electric motors there’s also a proper flat-six, too!

Interesting too there was a GT2 RS in attendance, with little seemingly to prove after ‘that’ lap. Why was it there? I’ll work on the basis it was keeping tabs on the Lamborghini Huracan Performante also present and ready to step up should the