Recently we've peeked at the undersides of several Porsche 911 variants, from our vintage 1985 Porsche 911 to the 2011 Porsche 911 GTS (the tail end of the 997 phase), to the all-new 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S (the first appearance of the new 991 chassis.)
But all of those, of course, are rear engined Porsches. They keep their high octane junk in what would otherwise be the trunk.
The Porsche Cayman, however, is a proper mid-engine machine. Its engine sits ahead of the rear axle with the transmission between and behind the rear tires, just like almost every clean-sheet formula and prototype race car built in the last 40 years or so
Our Guards Red example is a 2012 Porsche Cayman R, the healthiest version to date. Alert readers will recognize that the lack of a Rotary Lift in our shop means we've been sitting on these images until the 911s paraded across these pages.
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Categories: Coupes,Porsche,Sports Cars,Suspension Walkarounds
When we posted a video of a previous Ferrari 458 Italia crashing during a Ferrari Challenge race the general consensus was one of "Well, that sucks, but at least the celebrity driver was actually driving it!"
Ryan Ockey may not be a celebrity and thus this video is less likely to wind up on TMZ, but he did manage to flip a 458 at Laguna Seca. (I'm guessing 90% of you knew exactly what this corner was without reading a word of the post.) Thanks to racetrack/racecar safety procedures, everything went better than expected and nobody was injured in the spectacular crash. Brake failure is the rumored cause.
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Categories: Ferrari,Motorsports
When our man Alistair was in Italy driving the Ferrari 458 Spider, he had a bit of a run-in with the local Polizia. After some gesticulating and a few kind words from a Ferrari employee and everything is square. We're still not sure what went on on that hilltop, but Alistair's got a heavy right foot and the 458 is, as he puts it, "cartoonishly loud, it's no surprise that one would get pulled over.
But it's not cartoonish noises or goofy behavior that's causing Ferrari and Lamborghini drivers to be pulled over in Italy, it is, instead, for simple 1%-hating tax reasons.
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Categories: Ferrari,Lamborghini
Late last year Porsche announced that they would be removing a small golf course in Carson, California and replace it with a 53-acre Porsche Experience Center. AKA: A track. Porsche has now announced that with the completion of the project, the North American customer sports programs will move from Santa Ana to the new facility when it opens in 2013.
"This not only makes sound business sense, but is symbolic as well, "says Detlev von Platen, PCNA President and CEO. "Aside from offering a modern, purpose built working environment, the motorsport specific operations will provide additional energy and dynamics to a facility that is all about performance both on the vehicle and human side. Thus our new Experience Center will perfectly symbolize the core of the Porsche brand, which has always been a successful blend of a passion for racing and for spirited yet responsible driving on open roads."
Of course. Spirited and responsible. Right. Anyways, more on the track...
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Categories: Miscellaneous,Porsche
Mazda and Fiat have just signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding for the development and manufacture of the next-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata and Alfa Romeo Spyder. For Fiat and Alfa Romeo (and its fans) this is shockingly good news. For fans of fun rear-drive roadsters who think that the MX-5 Miata looks incredibly bland, this is even better news. Mazda can do a new Miata in their sleep and Alfa Romeo can design a car like nobody's business.
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Categories: Auto Industry,Fiat,Mazda
Senior Editor Erin Riches goes over the pros and cons of the Fiat 500, along with insight on pricing, safety, and fuel economy plus a list of competitors of the Fiat 500 to check out including the Mini Cooper, Ford Fiesta, Chevy Sonic, Hyundai Accent, and the Honda Fit.
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Categories: Fiat,Videos
When we hit 144 mph in our Long Term Buick Regal CXL, we didn't have an on-board video camera, only the still. When Buick sent one of their Regal GSs out on the Nevada Open Road Challenge, they thought ahead and set up a video to document the happenings.
The top speed is cool, but what's really interesting (we have a hard time with "cool" for this), is the precision and planing it takes to hit a specific time during a 40 minute event.
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Categories: Buick,Motorsports
Yesterday was a big day for NASCAR as two rear-wheel-drive, tube-frame, V8 racecars pretending to be even remotely like FWD, four-cylinder family sedans were finally revealed.
Like their production counterparts, the 2013 Ford Fusion and the 2013 Toyota Camry NASCAR racers do look pretty sharp -- especially the Ford -- but the stickers and subtle body cues are the only thing even remotely close.
Check the two newest NASCAR rides out in all of their "not nearly enough stickers to actually go racing" liveries after the jump.
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Categories: Ford,Motorsports,Toyota
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year. Cars, trucks, SUVs, we run them all, and the numbers always tell a story. With that in mind we present "IL Track Tested," a quick rundown of all the data we collect at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.
The 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe is instantly recognizable. For this model year Hyundai ditched the blobular look that the Genesis Coupe debuted with and replaced it with a sharp, angular face and a hood with cutouts that you can see from a mile away. Hyundai also added an additional 64 horsepower and 52 pound-feet of torque for a total of 274 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque.
Last time we tested the previous iteration, a 2010 Genesis Coupe 2.0, it hit 60 in 6.9 seconds (6.6 with rollout) and went on to a quarter-mile of 15.0 @ 91.8 mph. How did this one do?
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Categories: Coupes,Hyundai,IL Track Tested
Earlier in the month Porsche and Turn 10 teased us with this one, but now it's finally available. Trade in 1600 Microsoft Points ($19.99) and you'll get access to 30 new Porsche vehicles that you probably should have had when buying the game new.
"This is an excellent opportunity for Porsche to offer a virtual experience with our sports cars in a very fitting environment -- on race tracks around the world," said Vice President of Marketing for Porsche Cars NA. "In many ways, best-selling gaming titles like Forza Motorsport 4 generate enthusiasm for products that often translate into a lifelong connection to the brand."
While he's correct (See: Evo / Sti fanboism from GT3), he's ignoring the fact that only Porsche fans already excited to drive the 911 GT2 RS, Cayenne Turbo, Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3-RSR, 911 Sport Classic, Panamera Turbo, 996 GT3, Carrera GT, '89 944 Turbo, '82 Turbo 3.3, 550A Spyder (and more) are going to spend $20 more on this game.
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Categories: Porsche,Video Games
It's been a good day for Elon Musk. First, Space X launched their rocket and then, in a new blog posting, Tesla announced that deliveries of the Model S would begin on June 22nd. Yesterday Musk tweeted "All crash testing is complete for 5* (max) safety rating. Cars can now be built for sale to public."
Previously Tesla reported that they would be moving the Model S launch up to June, but gave no specific date. Tesla said that they will be hosting an event, viewable at Teslamotors.com, highlighting the first customer deliveries.
Categories: Electric Vehicles,Tesla Motors
At this point there's really nothing I can say to sell you on spending 5 minutes of your day watching an extended cut of Gymkhana Four. You either read the title and said, "Oh boy, bonus footage and deleted scenes of Ken Block and his Ford going Gymkhana-y stuff!" and skipped right to the video, or you said, "This guy's still around?" and aren't reading this anyway.
With that stirring introduction, I preset to you Gymkhana Four: Bonus Edit. There are new angles!
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Categories: Celebrities,Ford,Motorsports
Despite the fact that it was a phenomenal engine in a very, very good car, M3 purists and fanbois never totally got on board with the current generation M3 and its V8 engine. So when rumors started to swirl that the 2014 M3 would have a V6, the M3 guys threw up their M-branded hats in disbelief and went back to finding what exactly was leaking in their old E46.
But now, finally, there's reason for the I6 fans to celebrate,
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Categories: BMW,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars
Mni's get a bad rap in some of the less-accepting corners of the car world. They're not big or powerful or visually impressive, but they are fun and tossable and, in the hands of the right driver on the right road, fast. And while most of the Minis sold fall into the hands of appearance-obsessed city slickers, every so often you'd see someone driving a John Cooper Works with a Nurburgring sticker and painters tape around the grille and you just knew this guy was serious. Part of this seriousness was because the JCW was only available with a manual transmission. Great for exclusivity, bad for sales in places like LA.
Which is why, starting in July of 2012, you can now get a John Cooper Works Mini with a six-speed automatic. But wait, there's more!
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Categories: Convertibles,Coupes,Crossovers,MINI
In early May, Mini released sketches of the Editor-of-Vogue-designed, floral-print, purple Mini Roadster that looked like the prize in a Lakers giveaway.
Mini has now released official photos of the Life Ball (an AIDS charity) Roadster and, honestly, it's cooler than the photos suggested. The floral paint isn't our style per-se, but the neon colors pop and we're into the wheels for some reason. Alas, neither will be in our garage any time soon as the Mini sold at the Life Ball Auction for 54,000 euro.
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Categories: Celebrities,Convertibles,MINI
In a rare bit of candid car-guy-ness, the head of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, has gone on record about his favorite Japanese non-Toyota cars. Toyoda is a sports car guy, a major backer of the GT 86/ FR-S/ BRZ rear-drive project, so it's no surprise that most of his favorite cars are of the lightweight sporting variety.
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Categories: Acura,Celebrities,Toyota
Back in the early parts of 2011, Inside Line was the proud caretaker of a Buick Regal CXL Turbo. That car had 220 horsepower and during a trip to a very closed course with, literally, miles of open space, we managed to hit 144 mph. The Buick Regal GS has 270 horsepower and, according to GM back in September of 2011, is capable of 152 mph.
Now, on the open roads of Nevada, a stock-except-for-a-cage-and-5-point-belts Buick Regal GS has hit 162 mph in the Nevada Open Road Challenge.
"The Regal GS is an incredibly capable performance sedan. In addition to the strong acceleration from the engine, the chassis maintained its composure well while running across these closed public roads at high speeds. Likewise, the Brembo brakes were easy to trust coming hot into a corner," said Bill Rietow, team driver.
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Categories: Buick,Motorsports
Last we heard from Ford, the official word was that the Detroit-based automaker "remains open" to selling the Fiesta ST in the U.S.
The ST was officially shown at this year's Geneva Motor Show equipped with a 1.6-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder producing 178 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. The car was also sporting slick Recaro seats which are in place on this test car. A number of sport-tuned cars (think Golf R) have fun seats in Europe but replace them here with seats that are wider and pass our crash tests. The fact that Ford is testing the seats here is simply a cause of them having the seats in stock, not that we'll get them.
The US-spec headlights, however-- note the lack of LEDs-- indicate that Ford is working to comply with our regulations. this is the best "hint" that this one is for real for US.
Beyond the ST stuff, we've also got some shots of the new interior treatment set for the Focus which includes simplified buttonry and a touchscreen interface.
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Categories: Ford,Hatchbacks,Spy Photos
This isn't the first time we've seen the 2013 Kia Forte and its new, toothed family face, but this version is wearing tighter camo than we've seen before and, thanks to a well-placed Chevy Cruze -- being benchmarked -- we get a sense of the scale of the new Forte.
Check out the photo after the jump and compare it with previous spy photos of the 2013 Forte here.
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Categories: Kia,Spy Photos
You're following us on Twitter, right? If so, you know we've spent the last few days driving the 2013 GT500 from Atlanta to L.A. And by "we" I mean Niebuhr and Dan Edmunds.
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Categories: Ford,Sports Cars
