we've known for a long time that human beings and chimpanzees are closely related. but not THAT close.
however, i've heard some talk from creationists who seek to define the word "kind" in such a way that neanderthals and modern humans are basically the same thing. such a broad margin would, of course, also include chimpanzees, which i doubt they'd group with humans.
really? that's interesting. i would think that if there were, they'd still have to have branched off rather far back, since the hips are so fundamentally different.