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Porsche celebrates 5M Facebook fans with crowdsourced one-off 911

Porsche's Facebook fan base appears to be accelerating as quickly as the cars it builds. The German automaker has just unveiled a special 911 Carrera 4S designed with crowdsourced input as a way to thank its five million Facebook fans.
The 911 features special Aquablaumetallic paint from Porsche Exclusive, contrasting 20-inch white Carrera S wheels and pinstriping, along with an aero package including a fixed rear wing. Inside, there are unique backlit sill plates and the obligatory dashboard engraving that says "Personally Built by 5 Million Porsche Fans."
As a way to turn at least one virtual thumbs up into its more meaningful physical-world equivalent, Porsche is holding a contest to win the chance to drive the car at Britain's Silverstone racetrack - and bring a friend - and nine lucky runners-up will win 1:43-scale models of the 911. If you want to enter the contest, click here.

Lamborghini Miura, Porsche 911 highlight Techno Classica

Visitors to the Techno Classica show in Germany this weekend were treated to the spectacle of all manner of classic cars under the roof of the Messe Essen. Not surprisingly, the Volkswagen Group was well represented, with the historical departments of two of its flagship marques showcasing their in-house restoration projects – albeit in radically different states of repair. While Porsche brought a completely restored example of a particularly storied 911, Lamborghini went the opposite route by displaying the bare body-in-white for a Miura. With the Miura now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Lamborghini's recently launched PoloStorico division is in the process of restoring several examples. Chassis #5030 is a Miura SV that, as you can see, is still in the middle of its refurbishment, its frame corrected but still unfinished – but that didn't stop the Raging Bull marque from putting it on display. It was joined by the freshly completed green example (chassis #4846) that was the department's first project, as well as the engine from a Miura P400S. Meanwhile, Porsche Classic arrived with a lovely 911 2.5 S/T, the precursor of the 911 RSR. One of only 24 examples made, this particular vehicle won its class at Le Mans in 1972 at the hands of works driver Jurgen Barth (who would alter claim victory overall in '77). It was rediscovered in poor health decades later by a collector, who commissioned Porsche Classic to bring it back to life. The task proved monumental, the vehicle having been modified, crashed, rusted, and used as a playground for children. Both vehicles aptly demonstrate the kind of care that these manufacturers' own restoration departments put into preserving their company's legacy. If you weren't in Essen this weekend to see them first-hand, you can check them both out in the pair of image galleries. Related Video: LAMBORGHINI POLOSTORICO AT TECHNO CLASSICA 2016: RESTORATIONS CELEBRATE MIURA 50TH ANNIVERSARY Lamborghini PoloStorico is at Techno Classica in Essen, 6-10 April 2016, celebrating the Miura's 50th anniversary and illustrating its scope of expertise in restoring classic Lamborghini models. Showing the original Miura SV first unveiled at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show and the subject of a full restoration by Lamborghini PoloStorico, the stand also displays a Miura chassis demonstrating work in progress and a fully overhauled Miura engine.

VW Group plan puts Porsche in charge of a 'super-premium' division

An Automobile report looks into what's happening on the organizational and technical sides of the Volkswagen Group, and what those changes could mean for the premium brands. The wide-angle view is that Porsche appears to have been anointed to "coordinate the future activities" at Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. Audi would cede Lamborghini guardianship to Stuttgart, and Ducati — via a new concern called Ducati Enterprises — would become the shepherd for VW's other Italian investments. Executives target Jan. 1, 2019, to complete the reshuffle. VW wants to save a boodle by tying up four of its five top-tier brands, and putting the one with the highest ROI in charge. Porsche, within its own house, wants to reduce expenditures by $2.3 billion per year over for four years, the savings already earmarked for improving internal processes like R&D and production. Having Porsche share those gains as well as lead development of platforms, components and future-tech strategies for the sister sports car brands could benefit everyone. In the near-term, the brands have their own plans: Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann is said to want a Chiron Superleggera, a roofless and "completely reskinned" Chiron Aperta, and a track-only Chiron SS. The Superleggera could take the Chiron Sport's and Divo's Jenny Craig routines even further. The Aperta seems a natural successor to the Veyron Grand Sport, a natural evolution of the recently introduced Sky View roof, and a reskin might include numerous Divo cues. It's also said Bugatti's considering "an all-electric high-end model" in conjunction with Porsche, Rimac, and Dallara, but name one supercar or hypercar manufacturer that isn't considering a lightning-fast EV. Lamborghini, deep into work on follow-ups for the Huracan and Aventador, might get a bit of a bump with the new plan. The carbon "monofuselage" for the next V12 flagship is said to be too far developed and too complex to scrap. It puts two electric motors on the front axle, batteries in the middle, and a naturally aspirated V12 with around 770 horsepower plus another e-motor with 402 horsepower in back. The Huracan is said to get a version of the same carbon architecture at the moment, but the corporate reorganization might press pause on it. Automobile says options include continuing the Huracan/ Audi R8 twinning, but that depends on Audi saying "Ja" to a third-gen R8 with Lamborghini bones.