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Porsche exec confirms Macan Diesel for US

The idea of a diesel-powered Porsche is the sort of thing that sounds really, really weird... until you actually drive it. The result of sticking glow plugs under the hood of Stuttgart's finest, though, is a vehicle that's nearly as entertaining as a gas-powered model but with much more torque and better fuel economy. Considering that, we think it's absolutely splendid news that following previous reports, Porsche has now confirmed a diesel-powered Macan for the US market.
"We are now busy with the development and the engineering," Andre Oosthuizen, Porsche's North American marketing VP, told Automotive News. "I can confirm that V6 diesel offering with about 245 horsepower."
Yep, that's the same 3.0-liter V6 found, most notably, in the CUV's Audi Q5 platform-mate as well as a plethora of other Volkswagen Group vehicles, both in the US and abroad. Stuttgart already offers the 3.0-liter oil-burner in the Euro-spec crossover, where it churns out 258 hp and 427 pound-feet of torque.

Roger Rodas' Widow Suing Porsche Over Carrera GT Crash

Investigations undertaken by local law enforcement may have vindicated Porsche from any wrongdoing in the crash that killed actor Paul Walker and racing driver Roger Rodas last year, but the latter's widow is apparently not convinced. According to emerging reports, Kristine Rodas has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages from Porsche Cars North America. In her suit filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Rodas' attorney Mark Geragos reportedly disputes the findings of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which asserted that the vehicle was traveling at an unsafe speed of 90 miles per hour on city streets, identifying the speed as the cause of the accident. Instead the lawsuit claims that the vehicle was only going 55 mph and that the cause of the crash was improper equipment – namely a faulty right rear suspension and the lack of a crash cage and proper fuel tank. "The Carrera GT was unsafe for its intended use by reason of defects in its manufacture, design, testing, component and constituents, so that it would not safely serve its purpose," according to the specifics of the suit obtained by the Los Angeles Times. When reached for comment, Porsche Cars North America spokesman Nick Twork told Autoblog: We are very sorry for the Rodas and Walker family's loss. The crash was the subject of a detailed investigation by the proper authorities (L.A. County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol), and their investigation disproves the allegations in the lawsuit. The investigation found that driving at a high speed in a negligent manner caused the crash and concluded that there was no mechanical defect. The Carrera GT is known as a difficult car to drive. As the LA Times report points out, Jay Leno spun one at Talladega in 2005, and the following year, Porsche paid part of a multi-million-dollar settlement after two were killed on a track when their Carrera GT struck a slower-moving Ferrari. The Rodas lawsuit could very well point to that previous suit from San Diego Superior Court. Whether the court in LA will hand down a similar ruling remains to be seen.

Autocar pits Porsche 911 Turbo S against Formula 4 racer

There is a long-running argument among performance car fans: power vs. weight. In one corner you get cars generally with small engines making modest numbers but able to corner like they are telepathic, and in the other there are big thumping mills that are rocketships in a straight line but lumber in the turns. Autocar takes an interesting look this continuum in a recent video pitting a 552-hp Porsche 911 Turbo S against a 185-hp Formula 4 racecar. It hopes to find whether the Porsche's huge power advantage is enough to defeat the better grip and aero offered by the nimble racer.
There's no doubt that the Porsche is an utterly fantastic road car. The 911 Turbo looks mean with all of those intakes to suck in cool air, and it backs up the posture with huge amounts of grip available thanks to its all-wheel drive-system. However, at 3,538 pounds, it's a bit of a porker compared to the 1,135-pound Formula 4 car. The open-wheel car boasts just a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder from Ford and a six-speed sequential-manual gearbox, but it has loads of downforce to make up for it.
It shouldn't be a surprise that the formula car wins in the corners. After all, that's what it's made for. So do you think the massive horsepower superiority of the Porsche is enough to even the playing field? Scroll down to watch the video and find out, and even if you're not curious of the winner the 911 does some mean powerslides.