Porsche 965 Could Have Been A 911 With A V8 Engine

It's always fascinating to see a vehicle that an automaker develops but decides not to bring to market. As an example, this video highlights the Porsche 965, which is an unproduced model for slotting between the 911 Turbo and the famous 959 supercar (gallery below). If it had gone on sale, this machine would have had a rear-mounted, liquid-cooled V8 engine.

This specific vehicle is the last remaining prototype and goes by the nickname the black bomber for obvious reasons as soon as you look at the matte-finished exterior. The design primarily evokes the 959, but the shape of the cabin is like the 911 of this period. Oddly, the lighting in the front fascia appears to be from the 928.

Gallery: Porsche 959: Supercar Sunday

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The powertrain would have made the 965 really special. It would have shared the 959's all-wheel-drive system and self-leveling suspension. An early iteration of Porsche's dual-clutch gearbox would have been an option.

The 965 was supposed to go on sale in 1990. If it actually arrived at dealers, Porsche would have marketed the machine as the 969 because the vehicle was blending elements of the 964 and 959. The company expected to sell 2,500 of them a year.

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The prototype in this video was for radiator testing. The cooling devices behind the front inlet have a cylindrical shape. Presumably, this layout is to maximize the surface area in the limited amount of space.

This car uses an Audi-sourced V8. Although, this was just for testing. The production version would have had a Porsche-built, eight-cylinder powerplant. The mill would have pushed the vehicle to a top speed of 180 miles per hour (290 kilometers per hour), which would have been good by 1990 standards.

The 965 project's costs forced Porsche to cancel the model. Instead, the company focused on the comparatively easy development of the 911 Turbo for the 964 generation.