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Porsche has doubled US sales to women [w/videos]

Porsche is having a good sales year in the US, with 25,129 vehicles delivered year-to-date coming off the automaker's best July sales ever. That's a 31-percent increase over the same period last year (19,253 deliveries). With year-to-date Panamera sales a surprising 36 percent lower than last year, what possibly could be driving Porsche's sales surge? If you answered Cayman and Boxster sales, you're right. But dealerships are noticing another factor: more women are coming in to buy Porsches, CNBC reports, the bulk of whom picked up new Cayenne SUVs. The German automaker's sales to women in the US have more than doubled in the past two years, increasing from 7 percent to 15 percent. This has helped year-to-date Cayenne sales reach 11,082 - 31 percent higher than the same time last year.
Porsche executives have been trying to tap into the women's market, as evidenced in part by the company's move to pick professional tennis player Maria Sharapova as a brand ambassador. Porsche maintains it has not moved to dramatically change its brand image, but it has shown a number of ads in recent years that uncharacteristically emphasize its vehicles' practicality under the "Engineered for Magic. Everyday" banner - some featuring female drivers.
Be sure to watch CNBC's video report on Porsche's female movement below - you'll also find one of the aforementioned Engineered For Magic ads as well as an interesting case study video on the campaign from ad agency Cramer-Krasselt.

1986 Porsche 959 Prototype at Barrett-Jackson sees gavel fall at $440,000 [UPDATE: w/video]

Fans of Porsche in America have longed for the chance to buy a 959 ever since the German automaker produced and sold it (well, sold it everywhere but the United States...) in the 1980s. Well, they just had their chance. The car you see above is a Porsche 959 prototype built in 1986, and only one other running prototype still exists.
The 959 prototype can't be driven on public roads, as it carries no such certification. Somehow, we doubt that matters all that much to the new buyer - this one is probably going to be sitting in a collection. When the gavel finally fell, bidding had reached $400,000, plus a 10-percent buyer's fee.
Check out our high-res image gallery above to see this prototype up close, and scroll down below to watch a video of it crossing the auction block and for its official auction description.

NFL draft recruits to get Porsche 911s for fastest 40 times

It's fair to say the NFL Combine is a big deal for players entering a draft. Their future quite literally comes down to a series of drills. You a defensive tackle? Better rock out on the bench press. Hoping to be the next great wide receiver? Your vertical better be awesome. And what of the running backs? Well, few drills match the importance of the 40-yard dash. That particular drill will have a renewed importance not just for the RBs, but for other skill positions at this year's Combine, as the three fastest times will be gifted a shiny new Porsche 911. Adidas is offering up the three cars, which ESPN reports are valued at about $83,000 a piece. That means these new recruits won't be rolling around in a Turbo or GT3. They will, however, sport a questionable sense of design, as the German shoe company has fitted a cheetah print, which is meant to match one of the company's new trainers. You can check both the car and the shoe out above. NFL fans, meanwhile, should feel free to head into Comments and let us know who you think will take home a new 911. Related Video: