Introduced in 2016, the 911 R is arguably one of the greatest sports cars Porsche has ever built. Essentially a wingless GT3 with a manual transmission, it was designed as the ultimate purist 911 and it was received with great enthusiasm. Interest was so high that all 911 units were sold before the car's official launch, despite a $184,900 sticker that was $9,000 higher than that of the 911 GT3. What's more, the 911 R began to fetch more than $1 million on the used-car market after only a couple of months on the road. All told, it was way too exclusive to become a proper purist sports car since only a few rich customers had access to it. But things could change in the near future.

According to Porsche R&D boss Michael Steiner, the German firm plans on launching a purist version of the 911 with a regular production run. Speaking to Autocar at the launch of the new Cayenne, he said that Stuttgart sees “potential for more purist versions of sports cars with no limitation” on production numbers. This could mean that Porsche might introduce a model similar to the 911 R as a regular member of the Porsche family instead of a highly limited edition that would send prices through the roof and leave many enthusiasts out of the picture.

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Why it Matters?

The interesting thing about Steiner's statement is that Porsche is looking into more than one model. So this could mean that a reworked 911 R isn't the only sports car on the table. Porsche could also create a more simplified version of the 911, that would also be more affordable, as well as new versions of the GT3 and GT3 RS without the limited-edition status. Of course, they would have different names and different features. In short, cars like the 911 R and GT3 would carry over with similar specs and limited-edition run, but they would be joined by similar models with slightly less output and not so many bespoke features. Additionally, they would be available all year long.

This is only speculation for now, but I think it would be a great idea. While rich sports car enthusiasts would still be able to get the R, GT3, GT3 RS, and GT2 models built in limited numbers, purists who can't afford to spend $150,000 to $250,000 would have the opportunity to buy a similar, but slightly stripped down and less exclusive model. And let's face it, if you're interested in the fun-to-drive aspect of a car, you shouldn't care much about how rare your edition is or whether you get a few extra bits of carbon-fiber inside the cabin.

References

Porsche 911 R

Read our full review on the Porsche 911 R.