Showing posts with label Porsche. Show all posts

Porsche's New 911 Carrera S Goes "Head 2 Head" with Nissan's 2013 GT-R

Throw us the keys to any one of these two sports cars, and we will gladly take them for a very, very long spin without a second thought. And all for good reason.

While the GT-R has entered its fifth year in production, it doesn’t realty show its age in any other departments than the styling and the interior, which to be honest, wasn't anything special to begin with.

In many ways, the GT-R was years ahead of the competition when it debuted in 2007, and let's not forget, Nissan has been religiously tweaking and upgrading it every year.

Another day, another new edition from Porsche, with the Stuttgart-based sportscar maker now presenting a new flagship model for its Cayenne series in the guise of the Turbo S.

Much like the Panamera Turbo S, with which it shares the same twin turbocharged V8 engine, the Cayenne Turbo S comes with more grunt under the hood and some bespoke styling cues that attempt to separate it from the regular Turbo model.

After Porsche engineers fitted titanium-aluminium turbine wheels to the turbochargers and reprogrammed the engine control management, the 4.8-liter gasoline unit gains an extra 49hp (50PS) and 50Nm (37 lb-ft) pushing output to 542hp (550PS) and peak torque to 750Nm (553 lb-ft).

As a result of these upgrades, the Cayenne Turbo S completes the standard 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint 0.2 seconds faster than the standard Turbo model at 4.5 seconds and has a 5km/h (3mph) higher top speed at 283km/h (176mph).

Are you tired of Porsche constantly teasing us about its next über-sports car, the 918 Spyder, which apart from being über-expensive is also a year away from production? Even if the answer is yes, you may find the video that follows below the jump interesting…

While Evo magazine’s MD Harry Metcalfe has already taken the right seat of the 918 at the Nardo track, that car was an early prototype, with almost no bodywork.

This time, he found himself on the passenger’s seat of a complete car at the Nordscheife. What’s more, the man sitting behind the wheel is none other than 1980 and 1982 World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl.

It’s like a rite of passage: at some point in its life, preferably at an early stage, a sports car has to prove its credentials at the 20.6 km (12.8-mile) arena that is the “old” Nürburgring. Even more so, when it's a Porsche, for which it’s a matter of honor.

Enter the all-new 911, aka the 991, in 394bhp (400PS) Carrera S guise with a PDK dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox and stock tires.

Timo Kluck, who was behind the steering wheel, piloted the new 911 around the ‘Ring in a blistering 7.37:9 on August 28, though Porsche officially released the video just a few days ago.

There’s no denying that the crimes committed during World War II (WWII) by Nazi Germany are among the darkest pages of mankind’s history.

It’s also no secret that Germany’s industries were providing its army with airplanes, tanks, vehicles and ammunition, and that the use of forced labor in the plants was a common practice.

Even though war ended in 1945 and the world has become a very different place now, with Germany being an ally of its former enemies, history occasionally comes back to haunt the modern Germans’ descendants.

Porsche Cars North America has invested US$100 million in building its new headquarters and a test track in a 26-acre estate close to Atlanta’s International airport.

Finding a very low mileage example of the last air-cooled Porsche and arguably, one of the best interpretations of the classic 911 styling, the 993 manufactured and sold between late 1993 and early 1998, isn't as hard as one would think.

In fact, upon looking on eBay today, we discovered three pristine 911s from the 1993-1998 era, all of which have less than 4,500 miles on them.

The oldest of the three is a 1996 Porsche 911 C2, or Carrera 2, that describes the rear-wheel drive base model. It is finished in a special order Turquoise Metallic paint, which brings to mind memories of the 1989 Porsche Panamericana Concept.

The car's 3.6-liter boxer engine is linked to a six-speed manual gearbox and has covered only 3,745 miles (6,025 km) since new. The highest bid at the time we wrote this piece was $40,100 (€30,800), but the seller's reserve had not been met.

Up until now, the Boxster hasn't been able, even in top S guise, to threaten the base 911. Understandably, Porsche has been careful to keep its rear-engine icon always a step or two ahead of the popular roadster model.

However, Car&Driver magazine thinks that with the new 991 and 981, i.e. the seventh generation 911 and the third generation Boxster, the scales might have tipped in favor of the latter.

Both cars are powered by the same 3.4-liter flat-six and feature a new electric steering, which has caused some criticism. The 911, though, has its engine hung out in the back, as it has done for the past four decades, while the Boxster sports a mid-engine layout.

Talk to most people about the current Porsche Panamera's biggest flaw, and they are very likely to point towards its exterior design. Porsche’s foray in the segment may be a fine sports saloon featuring a nicely crafted interior, but its bodywork is unexciting to some, ugly to most.

Company CEO Matthias Muller talked to Motor Trend at the Paris Auto Show and said some very interesting things about the company's future models.

First of all, Muller revealed that the head- and taillights of the Panamera Sport Turismo concept, which was displayed in Paris, will gradually be applied to all Porsche models, starting with the Macan compact luxury SUV that’s due next year.

In 1992, Porsche decided to build a sports prototype racer to compete in the FIA World Sportscar Championship (WSC). Norbert Sieger, who led Porsche’s Motorsport division at the time, was the project leader.

The result was the 956, which featured a –first for the company- aluminum monocoque chassis with power provided by a 2.65-liter turbocharged flat-six engine delivering 635HP.

The first prototype was completed on March 27, 1982, and Jurgen Barth gave it its first outing at Porsche’s Weissach private test track.

You never know when a thief will come knocking on your door to steal your car - or anything else for that matter, but you sure shouldn't make it easier for crooks by leaving your prized possession unguarded, unlocked and…with the keys in the ignition.

Even more so when said possession is a Porsche 911 coupe in an attention grabbing yellow shade.

We are not sure where this incident took place, though the BMW M5 E39 sedan that pulled over next to the Porsche 911 at the gas station and from which the thief came out of, looks like it may be wearing a German license plate from Aachen (AC).

Premium brands continue to roll out one model after another as fast as they can. In the past year alone, Porsche has revealed its brand-new 911 in four versions (with more still to follow), Bentley the Continental GTC open-top and Ferrari, its fastest model ever, to name but a few.

Moreover, the battle at the hypercar segment is heating up as Ferrari is readying its all-new Enzo replacement, Porsche the 918 Spyder and McLaren just a few days ago revealed its own weapon, the P1.

Surely then, with the rich of this world getting richer, those nameplates should be not affected by the economic crisis that rages in Europe and has hit mainstream car sales, seriously hurting companies like Fiat and Peugeot.

The main attraction at Porsche’s Paris Auto Show stand this year is, of course, the Panamera Sport Turismo concept, but the Stuttgart-based automaker that recently passed into the loving arms of the Volkswagen Group, also had new production models to show in the guise of the four-wheel drive editions of the all-new 911.

Based on the all-new, 991 series, there are coupe and cabriolet versions and in 345HP (350PS) Carrera 4 and 394HP (400PS) Carrera 4S flavors, bringing the total 911 AWD tally to four versions.

Porsche is giving us a strong hint at the future of the Panamera series with its new Sport Turismo Concept that was unveiled during a press event on the eve of the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

With the Panamera Sport Turismo concept, Porsche's intention is to kill three birds with one stone, in the sense that it is previewing both a new design language for the next Panamera saloon and a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain, while also testing the waters for an expansion of the series with a more practical and roomy, estate-like model.

"The body concept of the Panamera Sport Turismo is an outlook on a possible Porsche sports car of tomorrow," said the company in a press statement.

The Sport Turismo is 1,990 mm wide, 1,401 mm tall and 4,950 mm long, which makes it 61mm wider, 17mm lower and 20mm shorter than the current Panamera.

At least in concept form, the Sport Turismo has a slightly more aggressive and simultaneously sleeker appearance than today's Panamera, but this could all change once it enters the realm of production.

The rumors about Porsche readying a sporty-looking station wagon concept - much in the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake, for the Paris Motor Show turned out to be true as the first images of the study hit the web today.

Named the Panamera Sport Turismo Concept, the prototype foretells the future of the Panamera series previewing the next generation model's design language, the addition of a second body style and judging by the ghost picture and the 'e-Hybrid' badge on the front door, a plug-in hybrid variant.

The lines and styling elements of the Panamera Sport Turismo including certain elements such as the shape of the headlamps and tail lamps, clearly inherit the design DNA of Porsche's latest models like the Boxster, 918 Spyder and the 991.

With over 8 million subscribers and more than 50 labs, Consumer Reports claims to be the world’s largest independent product-testing organization. As far as the automotive industry is concerned, falling short of CR’s standards could spell bad news or at least bad publicity for any new model.

In its latest issue, the publication tested the Ford Escape Titanium and SE compact SUVs and the Infiniti JX, while also conducting two comparison tests: one in the compact upmarket segment, where the Acura ILX faced the Buick Verano, and the other in the luxury sedan category with the Fisker Karma placed against the Porsche Panamera S.

What we have here is yet another sighting of Porsche's 911 GT3 wearing very little camouflage. To be precise, YouTube user Dani Dominguez Mas, filmed three prototypes of the purest version of the 991 series at a gas station in the town of L'Ametlla del Vallès in Spain. Read more »

TechArt Previews Styling and Chassis Upgrades for New Porsche Boxster

About a month after the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas at the end of October, Europe will host its own aftermarket and tuning show in Essen, Germany, and it is at this event that Porsche tuning specialist TechArt will perform the world premiere of a new package for the third generation Boxster roadster (codenamed 981). Read more »

U Spy: New Porsche 991 Turbos Drop By Santa Barbara

CarScoop reader Ben F. has supplied us with a spy picture he shot earlier this summer of a 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo prototype parked at a gas station somewhere in Santa Barbara.

We will let Ben explain the 'hows and whens' of the encounter:

"I spotted the 991 Turbo in Santa Barbara this July. There were three of them: two coupes and one cab. All three were black. They were probably headed to the Mojave for some heat stress-testing. I attached a picture for you. The air inlets on the sides have plastic panels on them that look like those from the 996... I don't think they're part of the car, but the air intakes themselves are DEFINITELY real."

The wait for one of the crown jewels of the new Porsche 911 series is almost over as it shouldn't be too long before the automaker removes the last remaining pieces of camouflage from the Turbo model in both Coupe and Convertible forms.

CarScoop reader and avid Porsche-hunter Toldi was able to capture a thinly disguised prototype of the new 991 Turbo Coupe on the streets of Porsche's hometown of Stuttgart in Germany with his camera.

The only sane reason we can think of why someone would take a Porsche Boxster and attempt a crude recreation of a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Roadster is that the owner had a heavily damaged example of the Stuttgart-based carmaker's mid-engine model lying around and decided to get mechanically and cosmetically creative – or so to speak.

Regardless the reason that gave birth to the idea, the project remains unfinished despite changing several hands (we wonder why….). The person selling the car on eBay states that he was offered the Murcielago-stein as part of a trade deal.

siesta passionevera

Porsche's New 911 Carrera S Goes "Head 2 Head" with Nissan's 2013 GT-R

First Photos of New Range Topping Porsche Cayenne Turbo S with 542-Horses

Rally Legend Walter Röhrl Drives the New Porsche 918 Spyder on the Nürburgring

New Porsche 991 Carrera S Posts a 7.37:9 Nürburgring Lap, Beats 997 Turbo

Atlanta Won't Rename Henry Ford II Avenue to Ferdinand Porsche Avenue Due to his Nazi Past

The Last Aircoolers: Three Porsche 993 Finds with Under 4,500 Miles on the Odo

A Tale of Two Porsches: Can the New Boxster Give the New 911 a Run for its Money?

Porsche CEO Says Sport Turismo to Influence Future Models’ Design, Hints at New 'Ring Record Time

Chris Harris Drives Legendary Porsche 962 Group C Racer at the Weissach Track

BMW M5 Passenger Steals a Porsche 911 at a Gas Station

Luxury Carmakers Lower 2013 Projections due to the Eurozone Debt Crisis

Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 4S Bow to World at Paris Auto Show [w/Videos]

Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo in Detail with Live Photos and Promo Video [Updated]

New Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Concept Previews Next Sedan and Shooting Brake Model

Fisker Karma Once Again Lambasted by Consumer Reports in its Latest Tests

Scoop: New Porsche 991 GT3 Smiles for the Camera Once Again

TechArt Previews Styling and Chassis Upgrades for New Porsche Boxster

U Spy: New Porsche 991 Turbos Drop By Santa Barbara

U Spy: Barely Camouflaged 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo Recorded on the Road

Yes, Someone Tried to Turn a Porsche Boxster in Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Roadster

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