1957 Porsche 356 Speedster Carrera Gs-gt on 2040-cars

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Petrolicious explores long-term living with Porsche's 914/6

After its last video starred none other than the spectacular Ferrari 250 GTO, where was there for the video team at Petrolicious to go? Certainly, in the realm of classics, there are only a few other vehicles that can match the badge and pedigree of the ultra-rare Ferrari. Maybe a Jaguar D-Type or an Aston Martin DBR1? No, this latest video doesn't star either of those British icons. It stars an oft-misunderstood, occasionally derided entry from Germany's most sporting manufacturer - Porsche.
Yes, we've gone from a Ferrari 250 GTO to a Porsche 914/6. As is often the case with Petrolicious, though, the story told about the car by its owner are often more important than the make or model of car being highlighted. That's exactly the case here, as Jack Griffin talks about the 38 years he's spent with this particular Porsche.
Having been born into the Volkswagen fold and introduced to Porsche in the best way possible - behind the wheel of a 356 - Griffin has some interesting stories (including his attempt at running the 12 Hours of Sebring), and he knows a fair bit about some of the 914's attributes.

2017 Porsche Macan GTS First Drive

Zebulon Pike, the military commander and explorer for whom America's best-known mountain is named, never reached "his" peak, even though he tried. Over 200 years later, with a grin so giddy that I blame it on the thin air at 14,114 feet, I crested the summit of Pikes Peak a tick over 14 minutes after leaving the starting line. I was behind the wheel of the most fun-to-drive crossover anyone has ever built: the Porsche Macan GTS. I can't take credit for what must be one of the fastest unmodified sprints to the top. That goes to Pikes Peak legend Jeff Zwart, who led a pack of journalists in Porsche's latest Macan up the hugely demanding paved road. Zwart wasn't piloting a Macan GTS; instead, he was behind the wheel of the 911 GT2 he drove back in 2002 when much of the route was gravel. Today's pavement provides more grip but also less room for error, Zwart told us. Unforgiving, he called the mountain. That's just what you want to hear at 6:30 a.m. when Zwart, two cars in front of you, takes off at a racing start. Pressed later, Zwart admitted he drove at a fraction of his racing pace while juggling two radios (one to communicate with us and one for park rangers to alert him to wildlife on the road) and shifting a manual transmission. Strapped into a Macan GTS, however, I found the trip plenty stressful – but that's because of the blind corners, the narrow road, the frost-heaved pavement, the blinding sun, and, of course, those unforgiving drop-offs. The polished GTS, which slots in between the mainstream Macan S and the bonkers Macan Turbo, proved unflappable. Of the Macan flavors, which will soon include a four-cylinder base model, the GTS is best suited to carving through the Rockies. Its 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6 comes from the Macan S, but Porsche dials its boost from 14 to 17.4 psi, bringing output to 360 horsepower at 6,000 rpm (up 20) and 369 pound-feet of torque from 1,650 to 4,000 rpm (up 30). The only gearbox available is the PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus modes. In addition to the power increase, the GTS gets a standard air suspension that sits 10 millimeters lower than the optional version for the S and the Turbo. Front brakes cribbed from the Turbo and a switchable sport exhaust with a single flapper valve round out the performance changes.

Porsche to offer next-gen 911 GT3 with a manual

Porsche may have offended some of the purists among its customer base when it rolled out the current 911 GT3 with only a dual-clutch transmission. But according to Car and Driver, the next GT3 will get a stick again. The development comes as the good folks at Zuffenhausen (and Weissach) attempt to balance the instant-shifting benefits of a DCT with the direct involvement of a conventional manual transmission. On the one hand, Porsche introduced a new seven-speed manual with the 991-generation model. On the other, it didn't offer that manual (or any manual for that matter) on the GT3 or even the more hardcore GT3 RS. In response to customer demand for a more back-to-basics approach, Porsche is preparing to introduce a new variant expected to be called the 911 R, with a manual, no turbos, and skinnier tires for a more linear driving experience. And the Cayman GT4 was launched only with a manual instead of a DCT. "The GT3 is full of systems that make sense on the track, but for the purist, there may be something lost," Porsche GT chief Andreas Preuninger told C/D. "It is our long-term goal to have the customer decide between the two approaches." In addition to the DCT, the current GT3 also features a four-wheel steering system. The shift (so to speak) back to a manual option in the next GT3 will undoubtedly come as a welcome development for those purists offended by the DCT-only option – to say nothing of Porsche's movement towards SUVs, diesels, and hybrids. That manual option may not, however, offer all seven forward cogs available in the stick-shift Carrera. One way or another, though, we don't doubt that most customers would still go for the dual-clutch option over the single on they can actuate themselves. Related Video: