When we first got spy shots of the Porsche 918 Coupe last week, we were thrown by the faux racecar livery applied just too well to the car. It wouldn't have been the first time a manufacturer has thrown racecar paint on a prototype to throw photographers, but this one was a little too....nice. And now we know why....
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Categories: Hybrids,Porsche,Sports Cars
Surprisingly enough, the Porsche Boxster is not the cheapest car in the Porsche stable. Despite the diminutive nature, lack of seats, small motor and relatively spartan interior without getting a ton of options, the Boxster is still more expensive than the base Cayenne. To those of us not running a famed German carmaker, this would seem like an open window to develop a new base model roadster/coupe that could undercut both the Cayenne and the Boxster but still turn a tidy profit. We know they're working on a sub-Panamera Pajun and a sub-Cayenne Macan, so why not a sub-Boxster Bojun?
Because it would risk alienating traditional customers...
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Categories: Auto Industry,Future Vehicles,Porsche
To go along with the Porsche 918 Spyder set for release sometime in 2013, Porsche is also readying a hardtop variant which we're calling the 2014 Porsche 918 Coupe.
Seen here testing in Germany, the road-going 918 Coupe was previewed by the 918 RSR (racecar) which debuted at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. This road car ditches the canards, massive wing, central wiper, pointless side-view cameras, side pipes and deep-dish racing wheels in favor of things real people use. Though we've got to say we liked the sidewall the racecar was sporting.
Power is set to come from the same 9,200 RPM, 562 horsepower V8 teamed with electric motors from the 918. Power goes to all the wheels and combined produces a dizzying 759 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque.
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Categories: Coupes,Porsche
Back in March of '11 we heard a rumor from Auto Bild that Porsche was working on a new small sedan to rival the E- and CLS-Class Mercedes-Benz sedans. The name was Pajun and, besides the name Pajun, we were 100% on board with this idea. The Panamera is quirky looking but otherwise a superlative vehicle and we already have one Porsche SUV on the roads, one more confirmed and a full size Porsche sedan, the "purity of Porsche" argument is invalid. Time to move along.
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Categories: Auto Industry,Future Vehicles,Porsche,Sedans
I'm not sure why videos like this need to have a premise; they don't. This video would be just as good if Porsche said, "Here's Patrick Long- the only American Porsche factory driver -- ripping around a damp Barber Motorsports Park in a Porsche GT3 RS 4.0."
Instead there's something about running errands and delivering coffee. The Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 being driven by Long makes up for the flimsy plot.
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Categories: Celebrities,Motorsports,Porsche,Sports Cars
The last time we saw the 2014 Porsche Macan it was wearing the skin of the Audi Q5 and testing alongside a fleet of Cayennes. Now, finally, the Macan has slipped into its own clothes and we're getting to see the shape of the new Porsche crossover.
As anyone who's seen a Porsche before could predict, the production Macan will look very much like a 0.90 scale Cayenne with touches of Panamera in the roof line and headlights. Don't put any stock in the head or tail lights; they're stickers. Beyond that we've got a very aggressive -- and clunky -- grille with a poorly integrated radar unit for adaptive cruise / braking and a wildly sloped hatch that trades the functional bubble of the Panamera's rear for something sharper. On the running gear side we see relatively small wheels for this class and a welcome amount of sidewall! Brakes look to be fixed calipers up front (four piston) and single piston sliders out back.
Still no word or clues on the new powertrain (dual exhaust means nothing these days) but a turbocharged four-cylinder and a small 6-cylinder are likely.
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Categories: Crossovers,Porsche,Spy Photos
Finally, the information we've all been waiting for: The EPA has finally announced the official fuel economy ratings for the 2013 Porsche Boxster!
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Categories: Convertibles,Porsche
The Porsche Experience Center is a key to Porsche's profits. Send a customer there and after a few laps with the ceramic brakes and they order them. Do a wet skidpad with an S vs a 4s and all of a sudden they've dropped the cash for AWD. Once they've made those big decisions, little stuff like painted center caps, headrest logos and more are easy. The average customer that goes to an experience center picks up five-figures in extras. And soon, the U.S. will have not one, but two Porsche experience centers -- L.A. and Atlanta -- to facilitate the spending habits of our Porsche buyers.
For those of us who are not in the market for a new car, Porsche has given the internets a taste of what to expect from this type of event. Things like the Ice Hill, the Low Friction Surface, the Off Road track and my favorite, the Kick Plate. While it wasn't in a Porsche, we've (Dan Edmunds has) been lucky enough to play on a wet kick plate before. That time was in a few different AMG cars at the Nurburgring. Doing it in a Porsche looks just as fun.
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Categories: Porsche,Videos
I was going to make a joke about this being for the fat old Porsche fanatic who's tired of being fat but won't drive anything else, but then Porsche beat me to the punch: "The combustion engine: sits on the saddle."
Kudos, Porsche. Kudos.
Porsche is offering a 29-inch RS that weighs 19.8 pounds thanks to carbon frame, forks, bars, levers, stem and seat post. It's got a 20-speed Shimano gearset and is painted Electric Blue. Porsche also offers a Bike S which has an aluminum frame, 11-speed Alfine hub gear and is painted in Carrera White.
Porsche Bikes are sold exclusively through Porsche dealers where you can also pick up your new Martini Racing inspired gear to wear while riding looking at your $4,449.98 (s) or $7,999.99 (RS) bicycle.
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Categories: Miscellaneous,Porsche
Having a summer house in the south of France is the stuff dreams are made of and lottery ticket sales are based on. Having a test track with a 7.85-mile high-speed loop in southern Italy is the kind of pie-in-the-sky goal that leads people into a life of supervillainy or tycoonism.
Porsche has both these traits and now they have a test center in southern Italy with a 7.85-mile loop -- the Nardo Ring -- under their control. The center was built in '75 by Fiat as a place the company could test year-round (Arizona/California was a bit far) that could be used for high-speed validation and other testing. The Nardo facility also has a 3.85 mile handling course, multiple surfaces and a way to replicate various weather conditions.
Porsche says that due to the climate, they will be able to use the proving grounds in three shifts a day around the clock seven days per week.
No transaction price was given for the 1,730 acre facility.
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Categories: Porsche
Porsche remained relatively quiet at this year's New York Auto Show, saving the release of the 2013 Porsche Cayenne GTS for the Beijing Auto Show. This new second-generation GTS features a 414 horsepower naturally aspirated 4.8-liter V8 hooked up to an eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission. Yes, unfortunately Porsche has decided to drop the manual from its sport three-row SUV. While we doubt that the take rate was high, we hate to see any vehicle have its manual transmission option removed entirely.
Porsche says this is good for a 0-62 mph time of 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 162 mph.
The Cayenne GTS will be on sale here by August with a starting price of $83,025.
On the suspension side of things, the GTS is fitted with Porsche Active Suspension Management, lowering the ride height by almost an inch.
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Categories: Porsche,SUVs
If you're not up on your Ferdinand Porsches, Butzi was the son of Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche and grandson of the original Ferdinand Porsche. Butzi made his mark as the designer of the original 911. He later founded a separate company called Porsche Design that produced everything from watches to glasses to kitchen knives.
Categories: Auto Industry,Porsche
Porsche isn't holding a press conference at the 2012 New York Auto Show, but on Tuesday night the automaker rented out Manhattan's Altman Building and parked a bunch of cars in it, including this 917 LH. This also counted as the official debut for the 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel, which goes on sale in September.
We took some pictures and jotted some notes on the Cayenne Diesel, and they're later on in this blog entry, but we were a lot more interested in the 917 and the man who raced it -- Vic Elford. Soon, we were peppering him with questions.
Originally, this car was white and appeared in the Steve McQueen classic Le Mans. Then, Elford and Gerard Larrousse drove it in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans. It didn't finish, but Elford hit 245 mph on the Mulsanne Straight in practice.
Elford worked on the 917 LH with Porsche's Ferdinand Piech. "We didn't want to race in this car, we just wanted to go fast, " he said.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Future Vehicles,New York Auto Show,Porsche,SUVs
Porsche apparently couldn't wait for tomorrow's start of the 2012 New York Auto Show as it officially unveiled the 2013 Cayenne Diesel today.
The 2013 Cayenne Diesel is loaded with a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel cranking out 240 horsepower and a whopping 406 pound-feet of torque from only 1,750 rpm.
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Categories: Diesels,New York Auto Show,Porsche,SUVs
Take a look at the 10 cars with the highest proportion of male buyers and you'll find that many have certain things in common. We're talking phallic, fast and pricey -- these are the models that fuel the fantasies of car-obsessed 14-year old boys, and ease the mid-life crises of affluent 50-year-old men.
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Categories: Audi,BMW,Chevrolet,Ferrari,Ford,GMC,Mercedes-Benz,Porsche
Former racecar driver Walter Rohrl has a very comfortable relationship with Porsche these days. Rohrl set the official Porsche Nurburgring time for the 991 911, got to hustle the 904 from the Porsche Museum and now has taken his turn behind the wheel of the all new 981 Porsche Boxster.
Unfortunately, Rohrl's take on the Boxster is presented entirely in German. If you can speak, or at least understand a little, German, this video could be an enlightening exploration into Porsche's new drop top. If you can't understand German, don't worry, there's a lot of car noises you'll want to hear. If you do want more info on the new Boxster, check our first drive here.
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Categories: Celebrities,Porsche,Sports Cars,Videos
At some point in the future, Porsche will strap some skin to this 759 horsepower (562 from the V8, 107 from a front electric motor and 121 from the one powering the rear wheels) contraption and sell it as the Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid.
Recently we got a ride in this very, very pre-production mule, but for a car like this we wanted more. We needed to see it move and, more importantly, hear it. You'll want to, too. 25 minutes of behind the scenes footage with no voiceover and no audio track. Just car noises. Enjoy!
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Categories: Hybrids,Porsche,Sports Cars
Mondays are pretty much the worst thing possible. So here's 13 minutes of Gymkhana-style action, but with a Porsche GT3 instead of an economy car.
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Categories: Motorsports,Porsche,Videos
We've had a lot of Car vs Bike videos lately and, to be frank, it isn't even close to enough. There are so many factors at play, we could watch these things all day. Bikes are stupid fast in a straight line and can use ALL of the track. Cars have contact patches bigger than the surface area of the motorcycle and offer the driver a nice protective bubble to protect them from everything.
So cars have more grip, we get it, how to level the playing field? Ice. A whole track of it. How to keep the motorcyclist alive and fast, though? Spiked tires.
Mark Takahashi (who owns an awfully nice R1) and I need to do this before we die. I call the car.
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Categories: Motorcycles,Motorsports,Porsche,Videos
If there's anything that would make us forgive RUF for the hideous Panamera RXL, it might be this pristine 1977 Turbo 3.3 that also on display in Geneva. Of all the 911s that have come along over the years, the 930 Turbo is still one of the greats.
This particular car was the first Turbo RUF built and was bought back by the company for restoration. Looks like it did a pretty good job.
Ed Hellwig, Editor, Inside Line
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Categories: Classic Cars,Geneva Motor Show,Porsche,Sports Cars
