Category: Porsche

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Carmageddon Porsche

Porsche gives financial crisis two finger salute

Porsche Cayenne Diesel

Porsche has given the global financial crisis a two finger salute by posting pre-tax profits of €7.34 billion for the period 1 August 2009 to 31 January 2009. Sounds good on the surface, but…

The result is based largely on cash-settled share option transactions surrounding the value of Volkswagen shares.

Investment in future product lines such as the Panamera and hybrid drive Cayenne have had a negative effect on Porsche’s bottom line.

Sales, too, have been down across the board for Porsche, with the Cayenne being the highest selling model (16,773 vehicles against 20,638 in the previous year). The introduction of the new Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne Diesel earlier in the year are expected to give sales a welcome boost.

A press release from Porsche can be read after the jump. It might be best if you have a CPA sitting next to you, though.

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Porsche

More Porsche Museum stuff

Porsche Museum

Leading design magazine Wallpaper has taken a closer look at the Porsche Museum, which opened in Stuttgart last month. They have a basic interactive floorplan and cool slideshow as well. If you dig Ferry’s work, then the links are worth checking out. I bags the 1948 356/2.

Source: Wallpaper via autoblog

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Porsche

Porsche 917 celebrates 40th birthday

Porsche 917 - turns 40 in 2009

The famous Porsche 917 racing car turns 40 this year. Porsche will hold special birthday celebrations for the 917 at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (3–5 July).

The theme for the FoS this year is ‘True Grit – Epic Feats of Endurance’. It is appropriate then that among the 917’s many achievements are back-to-back 24 Hours of Le Mans victories in 1970 and 1971. These results marked Porsche’s first successes at the world’s oldest sports car race.

The 1971 triumph set a new record for the fastest ever victory at Le Mans, the Martini Racing Team 917, driven by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep, completed 397 laps, or 5335.313km (3313 miles), at an average speed of 222km/h (138mph). That record still stands. (HERE is a full list of Le Mans winners).

For more on this epic 12 cylinder powered legend described by British magazine Motor Sport as the ‘greatest racing car in history’, read the press releases below, or check out Wikipedia.

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Porsche

Porsche UK announces Panamera pricing

Porsche Panamera

The Porsche Panamera four door gran turismo goes on sale in the United Kingdom in mid-September. Pricing starts at £72,266 for the Panamera S, £77,269 for the Panamera 4S and £95,298 for the top of the range Panamera Turbo. In Aussie dollars that equates to around $155,000, $165,000 and $203,000 respectively.

Of course, when the Panamera does get down under it cost plenty more than that with the Luxury Car Tax, among others, seeing the prices head well north.

At launch engine options are limited to a V8, although in varying horsepower tunes and the Turbo, well, er has a Turbo bolted to it as well. Actually, one wasn’t enough, so Porsche bolted two compressors to the 4.8 litre V8, for good measure.

Six-speed manual or seven-speed PDK transmissions are on offer, along with the usual menagerie of Porsche’s pet acronyms, including PASM, PCCB, PTM and VTS. You’ll have the read the press release below to find what they all mean. That’s if you don’t know already.

More Panamera pics can be seen here: Porsche sends new Panamera into space

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Motor Shows Porsche

MIMS 2009 – Porsche

Porsche at the Melbourne International Motor Show 2009

An off-roader as the lead image in a Porsche article! What is the world coming to? It could have been worse, I could have chosen the hardly badgeworthy 176kW V6 Cayenne Diesel as the lead pic. Porsche Australia were obviously embarrassed by the new addition to the range, too, tucking it away out of eyesight in the back corner of their stand.

Sorry, but Managing Director, Michael Winkler, wasn’t very convincing when talking about the Cayenne Diesel, either. You’d think, if an oil burner was the go, that the V10 750Nm jobbie from Volkswagen’s Touareg would have been given the nod.

Anyway, back to the rally car. This is the drive of amateur duo Paul Watson and David Morley from the Transsyberia Rallye. The guys also entered in 2007, but failed to finish. They returned in 2008 to put things right.

Some old press blurb about their efforts below, along with plenty more from the Porsche range. I’ve already baggsed the GT2!

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BMW Honda Nissan Porsche Video

Nissan 370Z versus rivals at Tsukuba Circuit

The Nissan 370Z has the pedigree and the statistics to give its German and Japanese rivals some serious wasabi heat. But that’s all theory, how will the 370Z really stack up in practice?

Well, luckily for us the Japanese crew from Best Motoring have gone to the trouble of finding out. I trust you’ll enjoy this clip, filmed at the 2km Tsukuba Circuit in Japan (similar to Wakefield Park). Here you will see how the 370Z compares against the Honda S2000, BMW 135i, Porsche Cayman S and Porsche 911 Carerra.

Enjoy!

Source: The Motor Report

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Porsche

Porsche sends new Panamera into space

Porsche Panamera Space Concept

This is Porsche’s new Panamera Space Concept and it gives us a good look inside the once unthinkable four-door saloon from Stuttgart. The Panamera will go on European sale from mid September and pricing starts at €94,575 (AU$186,000) for the Panamera S and tops out at €135,154 (AU$267,000) for the Panamera Turbo. Expect Australian pricing to be quite a bit more than a simple €-AUD conversion, however.

Engine choices are limited to 4.8-litre V8s to begin with. There’s a 294kW (400hp) normally aspirated version for the Panamera S and 4S models, while the addition of twin-turbos boosts power to 368kW (500hp) for the top spec Turbo model. That brings 100km/h sprint times of 5.4 seconds for a manual equipped S, 5.0 seconds with PDK and all-wheel drive in the 4S and just 4.2 seconds for the Turbo, also with PDK and AWD.

The four-seater is luxuriously decked in full leather and is fitted with all the usual mod-cons including four zone climate control, Comfort Memory Package (for eight-way adjustable seat, lumbar and steering wheel) and enough airbags to pass off the car as an airship.

Porsche are also waxing lyrical about their partnership with Burmester who have supplied the audio equipment for the Panamera. I’m no high-end audiophile by any means, but I’m guessing I’d be impressed by the sound quality. I suppose those 2,400 sqaure centimetres of sound membranes must be good for something.

The lower spec models have a top speed of 282km/h, while the Turbo can nudge past the triple ton to 303km/h. While the fuel economy of the range is not headline grabbing, the figures are helped by an Auto Start Stop system on PDK equipped models.

More detail and wallpaper sized images can be accessed after the jump.

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Carmageddon Motorsports News Porsche

Australian Carrera Cup series fails to launch in 2009

Australian Carrera Cup series cancelled 2009

On Thursday it was announced the Australian 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup season would be cancelled due to a lack of cars to fill the grid.

Porsche Cars Australia managing director, Michael Winkler, said “to enter the season without a robust grid of cars is simply not viable for all the major stakeholders. Motorsport is an integral part of Porsche’s activities in Australia so this decision is not taken lightly.

“We have already spoken with the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) as the governing body of Australian motorsport and will proactively work with them to ensure existing owners of 997 GT3 Cup Cars are given the opportunity to race in other categories.”

There was an eight round program scheduled for 2009, with the first race planned for the Clipsal 500 later next month.

This news is a real sign of the global financial crisis biting hard at home. It will be interesting to see if those teams with financial backing are able to find alternate series to race in. It will also be interesting to see if the Carrera Cup will return in 2010, or indeed, at all in the near future.

Source: cupcar.com.au – image courtesy of cupcar.com.au (Thanks to Richard for the tip.)

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News Porsche

Porsche opens new museum in Stuttgart

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart

Yesterday the new Porsche Museum opened its doors to the public for the first time. As you can see it is an architecturally stunning building, but just wait until you see what is on the inside!

Construction began in 2005 and the official opening took place last Wednesday with Chairman of the Board of Porsche AG, Dr Wendelin Wiedeking, declaring “This is our new business card on the Porscheplatz. At this meeting point, we welcome our international customers as well as numerous people from all over the world who themselves may not drive a Porsche but are nonetheless fascinated by our sportscars. We will not only use the museum as an exhibition, but also as a communication platform – as a permanent, integral part of the ongoing dialogue which Porsche conducts with the public.”

It costs around AU$16 to get in and is sure to entertain tourists and owners alike. During the construction phase Porsche was getting 80,000 customers per year to their temporary exhibition space which could only display 20 exhibits. Now, with space for 280 cars, one might suggest that their expectations for 200,000 visitors per year will be easily surpassed.

For more information about the museum check out the official website. Or you can just take a squiz at the location on Google Maps.

An extensive image gallery, starting with construction pics, and Porsche’s official press release after the jump.

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Motor Shows Porsche

2010 Porsche 911 GT3

2010 Porsche 911 GT3

The next release of the Porsche 911 GT3 will officially take place at the Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. European sales will commence in May.

If, like me, you’re unable to make the Geneva shindig, you’ll just have to make do with looking at the pretty pictures and reading the nice words Porsche have put together for us all.

Porsche, as ever, have kept the improvements under the skin. Of course, there are a few external tweaks, but not enough that anyone would really care, or notice immediately. Unlike its mad RSR brother, there’s no wild guards or cut out bonnets.

What this new 911 GT3 has, though, is more. More engine. More power. More grip. More speed. And, more gadgets. In this context Mies van der Rohe got it wrong, we like more. More is good.

Powered by a newly developed 3.8 litre flat six, the GT3 produces 320kW (435bhp), 15kW more than its predecessor. It will go from 0-100km/h in a wee 4.1 seconds, reaching 160km/h in a mere 8.2 seconds before reaching a v-max of 312km/h.

The white lab coats have also had a play with the electronic aids, and the stability and traction control systems can be switched off independently. According the press guff this gives “the driver unrestricted, individual control over the driving dynamics of his car”. Sabine Schmitz need not apply, it seems.

The lab coats didn’t stop there, either, as they found the time to add an optional lift system for the front axle, which can give sir 30mm more ground clearance at the touch of a button.

I want one!

UPDATE: Video footage of Walter Röhrl driving the GT3 can now be seen at AUSringers.com

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Porsche

2009 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

2009 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

If you had the cash, a 911 GT3 RSR would have to be right up there as the track-day weapon of choice. Of course, the cost, at around AU$750K, is pretty high, so only captains of industry need apply. Anyway…

This new RSR has a fully revised 4.0 litre engine. It seems a bit odd seeing a 911 with an engine capacity that isn’t 3.x litres, but who am I to argue. I certainly wouldn’t be complaining about the 331kW on offer, although peak torque is not especially high at 430Nm (7250rpm). All the same, with a 9400rpm redline and an approximate weight of 1245kg (FIA-spec) you’ll be sure to progress rapidly enough.

Porsche says peak revs are down from the previous RSR and this has improved the torque curve which has, in turn, improved driveability. Great news if you need to pop down to the shops in your RSR to pick up a litre of milk.

Apart from the excessivly flared rear guards, the most striking feature of the latest RSR iteration are the louvres on the bonnet. Apart from aiding the RSR’s aerodynamic and cooling capabilities there is the added bonus of keeping your briefcase at optimum temperature. The car just looks the business, and I can only imagine the joy one would experience if you were to be let loose in one of these on an empty racetrack.

Porsche is getting into the spirit of Australia Day by giving the 911 GT3 RSR its world debut at Sebring International Raceway on Monday, 26 January, as part of the three-day American Le Mans Series Winter test.

Around 20 new RSRs are already on their way to some of Porsche’s dearest customers, although it looks like AUSmotive may have to wait some time yet for our order to be fulfilled. And tonight’s lotto numbers are…

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BMW Porsche Video

Poowwweeerrrr!

When watching an episode of Top Gear you get the impression that Jeremy’s powersliding is so effortless and well honed. I wonder if, behind the scenes, it looks more like this?

Either way, it would still be a heck of a lot of fun!

Source: Car and Driver