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Porsche planning customer driving center at Le Mans

Porsche seems to be on a campaign to build driving centers for its customers to allow them to experience the capabilities of their cars on track. It has one under way in Los Angeles, another in development at its North American headquarters in Atlanta, and a British center set up at the Silverstone circuit. Now the latest reports indicate that Porsche is planning yet another driving center at Le Mans.
The new facility is earmarked to be built at the Circuit de la Sarthe right by the start/finish line, incorporating the Porsche Curves that bridge the Arnage corner and the Ford Chicanes on the West side of the famous track.
Porsche is reportedly still seeking approval from the Automobile Club de l'Ouest that manages the circuit, and once given the green light, would still take some time to complete. But the idea of driving a 911 flat out on the legendary track is likely to make more than a few mouths water, particularly as the German automaker prepares its full-on assault of the famous endurance race next year.

2015 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An earlier version of this story referenced the 911's six-speed manual transmission, but of course, Porsche uses a seven-speed manual in this car. The text has been changed to reflect this. There are no fewer than 19 different models in today's Porsche 911 series. While each appeals to the enthusiast, the race-bred GT3 is the pinnacle of the automaker's rear-engined lineup. Unfortunately, and despite the GT3's racing circuit prowess, its rigid track-tuned persona is too grating for many as a daily driver. To satisfy those who put sporty driving dynamics at the top of their list, but don't want to compromise comfort, Porsche has introduced the 2015 911 Carrera GTS. Raising its performance quotient, the GTS model boasts a handful of standard features that elevate it above its Carrera S siblings. Mechanically, it features an enhanced 3.8-liter flat-six bolted into the tail of the widebody platform (shared with the Carrera 4 and GT3). Other goodies include Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), a black-tipped Sport exhaust system and centerlock 20-inch 911 Turbo S wheels (five-lug wheels are a no-cost option). Cosmetically, the GTS is differentiated by its darkened lights, painted black wheels, Sport Design front spoiler, Sport Design exterior mirrors, black engine grille, rear black louvers (or lights on all-wheel drive models) and a 'GTS' logo on the lower doors. Inside the cabin are standard Sport Plus seats, Alcantera upholstery throughout with contrasting stitching, black gauges and anodized black aluminum trim. Offering us an excellent opportunity to put the second-generation GTS through its paces on a variety of roads, Porsche tossed us the keys in the LA Basin and pointed us towards Willow Springs Raceway, in the Mojave Desert. Driving Notes The GTS is offered in coupe or Cabriolet body styles, each with a choice between rear- and all-wheel drive. Buyers are also offered a choice between a traditional seven-speed manual gearbox or Porsche's seven-speed dual clutch transmission (PDK). The GT3, meanwhile, is only offered as a coupe with PDK. We grabbed the keys to a Guards Red rear-wheel drive coupe with PDK for our outbound drive, and a GT Silver Metallic all-wheel drive Cabriolet with a seven-speed manual for our return trip. Finding another 30 horsepower from the naturally aspirated 3.8-liter flat-six required some old-fashioned tricks.

The Volkswagen Group switches official language to English

The Volkswagen Group can't be fairly thought of as entirely German anymore, so the news that the company is switching its official language to English to help attract managers and executives is a rational, if surprising, decision. While many VW Group companies are still staidly German in character and culture, consider the other companies that it controls: Bentley (British), Bugatti (French), Ducati and Lamborghini (Italian), Skoda (Czech), Scania trucks (Swedish), and SEAT (Spanish). Not to mention the large Volkswagen Group of America operation, which constructs cars in Chattanooga, TN. Volkswagen's explicit motivation is to improve management recruitment – making sure the company isn't losing out on candidates for important positions because they can't speak German – and that's inherently sensible in a globalized economy. Particularly considering, like it or lump it, that English is the lingua franca of said global economy. It also should make it inherently easier to communicate between its world-wide subsidiaries and coordinate operations. It's hard to say for sure if this will have any impact on the consumer, although it's easy to see the benefits if, say, VW Group hires some American product planners or engineers and they push for features and designs that more closely suit American needs. After all, the US is a hugely important market for any manufacturer, and so the switch to English almost certainly has something to do with the outsized influence of the US in the global economy. And there doesn't seem to be a downside from a purely rational perspective, although it could mean that the Group's corporate culture becomes less German. Whether that's a good or a bad thing depends on your perspective. Related Video: Image Credit: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Audi Bentley Bugatti Porsche Volkswagen SEAT Skoda