At 179 inches, the current Porsche 911 generation 992 measures almost 10 inches longer than the original icon released in the 1960s.
It’s something that didn’t go unnoticed by Porsche’s head of design, Michael Mauer, who in an interview with To drive published on Tuesday said he would love to create smaller sports cars and that the 911 should be as small as possible.
However, he said a large part of the reason for the increase in size over the years is due to evolving regulations, as well as major increases in performance, which in turn requires increases in the size of chassis components such as wheels, brakes and more.
In his interview, he also highlighted that people are also getting bigger and that today’s buyers also want more space in their cars, even if it’s a sports car.
Michael Mauer
“This is very challenging, especially for me, because I believe that a 911 sports car should be as compact as possible,” he said. “I would love to see where the limits are, how far we could push this to get back to being a very compact little sports car.”
Keeping the 911 small will only get harder as the level of electrification increases to meet regulations. However, Mauer said that as technology becomes more advanced, it should also become smaller. He said even electric vehicles will get smaller as battery density improves and fast-charging infrastructure grows enough to convince buyers to opt for smaller batteries.
While the 911 may not get much smaller in future generations, Mauer expressed in 2020 his desire for a small and light sports car designed for purists. The car wouldn’t necessarily be cheap, he said, but it would be simple in design and likely devoid of most of the luxuries you typically find in a modern Porsche.