Audi would get a coupe and a spyder version powered by the 350bhp TTRS engine. VW would stick to the roadster equipped with a 1.8-liter TFSI unit good for between 160 and 210bhp. Porsche could offer a spyder, a coupe, and perhaps even a speedster. The engine of choice is in this case a brand-new turbocharged 2.0 to 2.7-liter flat four rated at 230 to 300 hp. The same powerplant over time also would be offered in the Boxster, Cayman and in a new, entry-level lightweight 911 SC.
And the 9X1 is much more than a compact sports car platform. It can serve a wide variety of products, starting with a four-cylinder runabout and stretching all the way to a V-10 quasi-supercar. How? By creating a vehicle structure that is flexible in all three dimensions, not unlike Aston-Martin's VH integrated layout.
Going further, Porsche breaks the modularity down to include all high-value components. For instance, it can have different suspensions ranging from straightforward to highly complex, a variety of brakes be they steel or carbon ceramic, manual or dual-clutch transmissions, four-, five-, six-, eight-, and ten- cylinder engines of in-line, horizontally opposed, or V-configuration. Shared by all derivatives are the electronic architecture, the center platform section including the sills and front firewall, the safety cell including fuel tank and airbags, the steering, and the basic cockpit architecture. In addition, 9X1 works in combination with a wide variety of materials, from all-steel, to aluminum spaceframe, to carbon-fiber tub with subframes. The secret is a number of common fixed points such as suspension mountings and drivetrain attachments.
The timetable
We don't know yet whether VW will let Porsche go ahead with 9X1. But having spoken to numerous insiders from all three brands, we are confident that the vehicle concept that lurks behind the R5 e-tron will materialize -- as early as 2013 if the Porsche crew gets the nod, as late as 2016/17 if a group-compatible solution must go through all courts. In any case, our brief drive in the pre-pre-production car does confirm that a compact mid-engine Audi/Porsche/VW is well worth waiting for.