The Porsche Le Mans Living Legend concept may yet come to life

Newly-filed patent drawings show a Porsche supercar that is strikingly similar to its 2016 Le Mans Living Legend concept.

The drawings, registered by Porsche with the European Intellectual Property Office in early February, reveal a machine that appears almost identical to the Living Legend which came to light in a book of previously-secret design studies called Porsche Unseen, released in 2020. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see how the two cars compare.

From the basic patent drawings the car looks like a lower, longer 911 and appears rather ungainly, but go back to the concept car and you see a fully-fleshed-out design with scissor doors that cut deep into the roofline and huge rear clamshell covering the engine. The Living Legend concept was designed around a naturally-aspirated V-8 engine, but given the current climate that’s an unlikely power plant for a future Porsche. Instead, we’d place our bets on a hybrid system with a relatively small internal combustion engine, and gaggle of electric motors to raise the horsepower—perhaps even utilizing the setup from the upcoming 2023 Le Mans Hypercar. Of course, it’s also quite possible that the car could be a pure EV, and take the running gear from the Taycan.

The simple fact that Porsche has filed a patent on the design doesn’t mean it will make production, but that it follows so soon after the once-hidden concept was revealed is encouraging. Fingers crossed.