Porsche throws its weight behind Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in a new promo video highlighting the character Mirage who has Pete Davidson as a voice actor. When in car mode, this Autobot is a 964-generation 911 Carrera RS 3.8.
The promo clip showcases a scene in some earlier trailers. Actor Anthony Ramos playing the character Noah Diaz is in the car, but he's not in control of the vehicle. The Porsche is running away from the police, including jumping off a ramp. The 911 slides into a warehouse and reveals Mirage's robot identity.
In other scenes, the silver-and-blue Carrera RS 3.8 drives through a mountain road during an avalanche. Meanwhile, other bots are chasing it, including the peregrine falcon Airazor.
Mirage does some cool stuff in this clip. At one point, Noah steps out of the Porsche while it transforms into a robot around him. In another bit, three versions of the robot form jump out of the car. This suggests only one might be real, and the rest are mirages.
In its day, the 911 Carrera RS 3.8 was comparable to the current 911 GT3 RS. It debuted in 1993 as an evolution of the earlier Carrera RS. The engine received a 200-cc displacement increase.
To weigh as little as possible, the RS 3.8 used aluminum for the hood and doors. The glass was thinner, and the rear seats were gone. The final result was a machine that was about 600 pounds lighter than the standard, rear-drive Carrera 2.
Mirage has taste because his choice of Porsche is among the rarest variants during that generation. The company made just 55 of them, according to the site Stuttcars and an auction listing from RM Sothebys.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts takes place in 1994. Optimus Prime appears as a red Freightliner cab-over semi-truck, just like the original toy. Bumblebee is a yellow-and-black, second-gen Chevrolet Camaro. In addition to the classic transforming vehicles, there are now the Maximals that turn into animals from the computer-animated Beast Wars series from the late 1990s.
An earlier trailer indicates that Unicron is the primary threat this time. Orson Welles voiced the character in the animated The Transformers: The Movie from 1986.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts premieres in the US on June 9.
