Porsche have announced that a new 911 is currently being developed for the WEC GTE championship, with a debut date of 2017 having been announced, whilst the factory Porsche Manthey entry could take a sabbatical year in 2016.
The announcement was revealed by Porsche's head of motorsport, Dr. Frank Steffen Walliser, who stated that development on the new car has been ramped up in the previous 6 months, whilst there are also plans to being on-track tests next summer.
It was also revealed, amid increasing rumours that Porsche's factory GT team will miss the 2016 season, that said new 911 was supposed to debut next year. However, the time constraints on the project, combined with Porsche's unwillingness to enter mid-season, has pushed the project back another year.
Instead, the current popular theory is that the Porsche Manthey outfit will take a sabbatical, with the Proton Competition, who famously teamed up with film star Patrick Dempsey in 2015, will be given full factory support for the season.
Whilst certainly not ideal news, the fact that Porsche are working on a car for 2017 is still positive, considering that the Volkswagen emissions scandal had put all of their motorsport programs at risk.
An official announcement on Porsche's 2016 plans are expected to take place in mid December.
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