Stay sharp, Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini: group tests are potentially going to get a whole lot more interesting in 2019, following the launch of new Porsche 960.

Yes, it looks like Porsche is still working on a new mid-engined supercar that will rival the likes of the 488 GTB, 650S and Huracan.

The long-overdue ‘960’, which is expected to cost around £200,000, will fill the blank in Porsche’s line-up between the 911 Turbo S and the flagship 918 Spyder.

It had all been quiet on the 960 front until partway through last year, when Porsche quietly applied for – and was granted, in September 2015 – the ‘960’ trademark. One product the name was earmarked for was a car, suggesting that the long-mooted project was slowly becoming a reality.

When recently queried about the registration, Porsche initially rolled out the response you might expect: ‘We won’t comment on future product. We’re just looking to preserve the nameplate identity and combinations that we don’t have, and to avoid going through the labour of proving a later claim based on our traditions.’

However, the spokesperson added the following: ‘There’s not been much on the topic of new models but, if you look, there are blank spots in our range – and you have to look at what the competition is doing and keep these things in mind.

‘Pragmatically, with our production cycle running as it is, we know where we are in the current model cycles – and there’s a lot to do at the moment. We’re very busy.’

The suggested delay in the 960 project correlates with our previous information, which indicated that the mid-engined Porsche had been shunted back to 2019.

Reputedly, the next-gen 911 – so far dubbed the 992 – will arrive before the new supercar, at some point in early 2018. It’s likely, then, that we won’t hear anything more official until at least next year.

Previously, production of the 960 was mooted to being in February 2017 at the company's Zuffenhausen-based plant. Production estimates range from 3000-4000 a year, over the course of six years – like the life cycle of the 911.