The stunning Porsche 918 Spyder took centre stage at the opening dinner of the Gran Turismo Evolution event at the Nürburgring last weekend. We’re guessing you weren’t among the lucky few to be in attendance. Perhaps your Koenigsegg Agera R was in for service?
Anyway, we’re big fans of the 918 here at AUSmotive so here’s a short video showcasing the svelte 770hp hybrid. Towards the end there’s come nice close up details; the 918 really is something else.
Word from Germany, via Auto Bild, says the new Porsche 911 Turbo will feature a four-wheel steering system. In conjunction with the Turbo’s all-wheel drive system it’s said the steering will provide a sharper and more nimble steering response.
Peak power for the new 911 Turbo is expected to be around 390kW (approx 520hp) and it could be that Porsche is another manufacturer to fall prey the charms of three turbochargers.
Porsche has once again delved into its iconic archives to remind us of some of the models they say have inspired the 981 Boxster. When you’ve got a back catalogue like Porsche, why wouldn’t you!
As a general comment, we love the new Boxster and we think, right now, the only thing better will be the new Cayman!
Porsche factory driver Patrick Long is on hand to talk us through the ABC of the latest 991 911, the Carrera 4S. There’s seven bite size videos which Porsche introduces with these words:
The 911 has many strengths. The new 911 Carrera 4, with its superlative traction, dynamic performance and safety, has acquired even more. Why not take your seat behind the wheel and make these strengths your own? Whatever the weather.
If you had the chance to thrash a fearsome Porsche 911 GT2 RS and an oddball Nissan Juke R around a track and down a drag strip you’d take it wouldn’t you? UK journo Jethro Bovingdon certainly didn’t let the opportunity pass.
You can watch his feature filmed for the Car and Driver Abroad series after the break. The production values are quite high and, really, who can say no to some superb super slow-mo drifting!
Apparently the video below features the 991-based 911 GT3. It’s only short and you don’t see many moving pictures. But it’s what your ears tell you that is most alarming. And that’s the sound of a PDK transmission.
PDK stands for Porsche Doppelkupplung and it may as well be a bunch of swear words. No doubt Porsche does all it can to ensure its twin-clutch gearbox is one of the best money can buy, but a GT3 just has to have a manual box.
We know the onslaught of twin-clutch transmissions is inevitable, but for us this is at least as big as when Porsche switched the 911 from air cooling to water.
The story of the Porsche 911 (991) has taken its next step with the release of information for the Carrera 4 and 4S. Of course, the major difference here, compared to the regular 911s, is the addition of an all-wheel drive system, or Porsche Traction Management (PTM) to use the official titile. Hence the 4 in the model designation.
Porsche trainspotters will also know the C4 models have wider hips and in the 991 the extra width is 22mm. The rear tyres are 10mm wider, as well.
They will have also noticed the small dome beneath the front number plate meaning this is the first 911 to offer the option of Adaptive Cruise Control, which will now be available across the full 911 range.
Weight saving measures have enabled Porsche to lose as much as 65kg from the 991 C4S when compared to the old 997 model.
The 3.4 litre and 3.8 litre flat six engines carry over unchanged from the rear-wheel drive models. So that means the Carrera 4 has 257kW on tap, while the Carrera 4S has 294kW.
Extra grip off the line allows the C4S to overcome its extra weight and equal the 4.1 seconds required to reach 100km/h in the rear-wheel drive Carrera S. While the Carrera 4 requires 4.5 seconds, a tenth quicker than its two-wheel drive counterpart.
Porsche has also released details for the Cabriolet version of the C4. If you’re opting for a roofless 911 you could probably care less about its 0–100 times, but we’ll share them with you anyway. The C4 Cabrio takes 4.7 seconds and the C4S Cabrio 4.3 seconds.
Impressively, for car’s of this nature, Porsche claims the combined fuel consumption for the Carrera 4 and 4S sits around 9.0l/100km, give or take.
The official public debut for the Carrera 4 and 4S will take place at the Paris Motor Show and European sales are scheduled for late this year. So you should be seeing these in Australia by early 2013.
Chris Harris is back this week to entertain us with the it car of the moment, the Toyota 86. He’s taken a bit of an armchair critic’s position, in that he’s attempting to answer some of the questions asked by motoring forums the world over.
Questions like, is the Toyota too under powered, or why don’t you spend a bit more and get a 370Z, or even a used Cayman S?
It’s worth noting that, for once, we Australians are not the butt of a pricing joke. In relative terms, it’s an extra AU$5–7K to pick up a new 86 in the UK. Although, that’s offset by the fact you can buy a decent used Cayman S for under AU$25K.
To be expected, Harris is in his element here and we think he sums up the Toybaru quite well when he states: “we need to get back to a stage where we’re enjoying performance because of its nature, not because of its quantity.”
We’re self-confessed Porsche fans. Although, as we’ve been late developers of Porsche madness, we have a bit to learn about the history of the iconic brand. These two videos from Porsche, introducing us to some of their ‘Museum Secrets’, have been a great way for us to help fill the void in our knowledge bank. We reckon you’ll like them too.
[Thanks to Chris for the tip]
More detail on the new four-door Porsche Pajun has come to light, courtesy of Car magazine. Key to the latest info is word the Pajun will rely solely on V6 engines, in both petrol and diesel configurations. A V6, and only a V6? We’re not quite sure that’ll turn out to be accurate, but who are we to argue.
It’s expected the Pajun will be built on the MSB (modular sports car matrix) platform that can handle front, mid and rear-engined layouts, as well as rear and all-wheel drive. The second-generation Panamera will employ the same architecture and is due in September 2015. Best predictions say the Pajun will debut 12 to 24 months later.
While the Pajun will be around the same size as the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E Class, expect Porsche to target the A7 Sportback, 6 Series Gran Coupé and CLS models of their German counterparts.
As a result the Pajun will most likely debut as a four-door model with the motoring world’s latest must-have model layout, a shooting brake, to follow a year or so later.
[Source: Car]
Okay, we may have been a little bit creative with the headline, but this short video of the Porsche Macan does at least have all the ingedients.
The clip doesn’t give too much away in terms of engine sound or anything like that. However, we do get a pretty good view of the Macan from all angles. It’s no surprise to see again that the Macan will play mini-me to the Cayenne. Although, the rake on the rear window is much more pronounced on the littler SUV.
We won’t be seeing the Macan in any official capacity until next year and reports suggest the entry level model could feature Porsche’s new four cylinder engine.
Meanwhile, Autoblog also updates us with some interior shots of the Macan (see below). They’re not the most crystal clear images you’ve ever seen, but they confirm probably what we all expect. That the look is pretty much standard Porsche fare.
As reported early last month Volkswagen’s takeover of Porsche was due to take effect from 1 August. There’s been no last minute hiccups and Volkswagen has released a short statement to confirm all has gone to plan.
Volkswagen has shown it is able to offer freedom to the other manufacturers under the Volkswagen Group umbrella and these words from Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen AG Chairman, will give Porsche fans some heart: “The unique Porsche brand will continue to develop successfully under Volkswagen’s multibrand strategy and proven decentralized management structure. Porsche will retain its own identity and operational independence, just like all of the other Group brands.”