When you hear the word Porsche, the first things that would probably pop up into your head are its lineup of sports cars and SUVs that have retained their rich heritage of performance. You'd probably think of the iconic 911 first, then, of course, its newer cars like the Panamera or the Macan.

However, there's more to Porsche than just its highly-coveted sports cars. Unknown to many, the German sportscar-maker has its own share of successes in rallying. It won an overall victory at the Dakar Rally in 1986 with the Porsche 959 and 953. Believe it or not, even the 911 had won during the '60s and the '70s through the hands of Vic Elford and Björn Waldegard.

Gallery: Porsche Cayman GT4 Rallye

Now, Porsche is planning to return to rallying and it just might have the perfect car for it. Based on the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, the German automaker's motorsport department Weissach developed the rear mid-engined sports car to comply with the FIA R-GT regulations. It's slotted to compete in the 2020 season of the FIA R-GT Cup. 

A major part of Porsche's decision to go back to rallying was the positive reaction at the launch of the Cayman GT4 Clubsport Rally Concept car that was quietly unveiled last year. 

However, unlike the previous concept car that was based on the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, the future Porsche rally car will be based on the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport that hit the track in January. With this, the future rally car would more likely be powered by a 3.8-litre flat-six engine producing 425 bhp.

To ignite Porsche's return to rallying, a demo run on snow and ice will happen on Porsche Winter Event before the GP Ice Race in Zell am See on January 19 to 20. Richard Lietz will be piloting the concept car.

Source: Porsche