1991 Audi Spider concept, almost killed Porsche Options

[Mike Bellis]

The concept was conceived by Ferdinand Piech while at Audi. Several rumors state that Porsche had investigated using this platform with a flat 6 since the 928 V8 was too big. Ultimately Porsche asked him (Audi) not to produce the car due to fears it would put Porsche out of business. Porsche was not doing very well in the early 1990's.

The really cool part? It uses Porsche 914 door handles! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

[Mike Bellis]

If you read up on the car, it was determined the chassis would need to be lengthened for the production model. The base car was set to have the 2.6L V6, transverse mounted AWD system. 5 speed was standard.

Porsche looked at it, could not fit the 928 motor and was looking at making it a rear engine flat 6. IMHO, they would have ruined it.

The Audi version would be at least 10% cheaper than the 911. Porsche sales in the early 90's were sinking. In fact, Mercedes commissioned Porsche to design one of their models in an attempt to help the struggling company.

Louise Piech (Porsche) was the person that convinced Ferdinand Piech not to produce the concept car in order to save the family business. Or so the story is told...