Automobile Magazine‘s predictions about future cars usually need to be taken with a few grains of salt, but by God, they sure do make for good barstool discussions. (See: their photo-pilfering report on the Audi R18-based supercar.) The most recent rumor out of Automobile‘s gate is in regard to Porsche’s Ferrari 458 Italia fighter—a rumor claiming that the so-called Porsche 960 will have a boxer eight motor. Oooookay.

According to Automobile‘s sources, the 960 will be powered by a mid-engine mounted, quad-turbocharged 3.9 liter flat eight-cylinder engine, equipped with four adjustable camshafts, two intercoolers, a complex multistage intake manifold, and a dual-stage exhaust. Total power is expected to be around 650 horsepower, with power routed to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox. Thanks to a chassis made largely from aluminum but supported by lightweight materials such as titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber, the car’s weight is expected to hang around 3,000 pounds, which would be pretty damn impressive if they can pull it off. 0-60? Around 2.5 seconds.

Automobile also included a rendering (pictured above) of the Porsche 960, which looked pretty awesome until we realized it was based on a McLaren MP4-12C shot. Come on, guys. It’s really not that hard to render a car from scratch. Our guy Todd Schmidt does it for us all the time. [via Automobile]