2017 Porsche 911 Carrera S Pdk on 2040-cars

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Porsche spotted testing next 911 GT3 in its natural habitat

Want a Porsche 911 GT3? Well too bad, because they're all sold out – and from what we hear, they have been for a while. But don't worry, there'll be another one coming soon. And here's our first look at it. Based on the updated 991, the new GT3 may be one of the few variations on the theme that won't be going turbocharged. It may, however, get a three-pedal manual transmission – possibly the six-speed from the 911 R as opposed to the seven from the Carrera. That is, at least, if the tinkerers in Weissach perk up their ears and listen to what their most enthusiastic customers have been saying. Because while the dual-clutch PDK may be faster, the GT3 has traditionally been as much about the driving experience as it has about outright pace. As it's mostly wearing the bodywork of the outgoing GT3, there's unfortunately little to be seen from this prototype spotted testing at the Nurburgring in one of the first (mostly) thawed test sessions of the season. But you can expect the new model to blend elements from the old GT3 with the revisions made to the new 911. And with it, expect a bit more power and a bit more performance from the latest iteration of a driving enthusiasts' favorite. We're told to expect the new 911 GT3 to hit dealers some time next year. There may or may not be a GT3 RS to follow, but from what we've seen, there ought to be an even faster GT2 RS entering the mix before long as well.

Watch the Safari 911 do its thing off road

American racing driver Leh Keen spends his working hours in the No. 22 Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT America campaigning in the United SportsCar Championship. From the looks of this video, he spends his free time off-roading in a Porsche of his own specification: a 1981 Porsche 911 SC modded into an homage to the rallying 911s of the 1970s. Privateers began rallying the 911 not long after it went on sale 50 years ago, winning European events and the European Rally Championship as soon as 1967. After some good showings in the early 70s the carmaker took a 1978 911 SC to the Safari Rally in Africa going for the overall victory, but an encounter with a rock meant the team could only claim second place. Keen's Guards Red coupe channels that ancestor with a lift kit from Elephant Racing and a light rack and mud flaps shipped over from Europe. The engine gets a little more power thanks to intake modifications, some SSI heat exchangers, and a Danske exhaust. To help keep it together on the trail, the bumpers get pulled in and use steel bash bars for protection, and the side mirrors are aero numbers tucked into the A-pillar angle. The interior has been entirely redone. Keen apparently said "he wanted a 911 he could 'go anywhere' with," and the video above shows him doing just that. You can read more about the car in this month's Porsche Club of America magazine, check out Fatlace for the short story and a few pictures, or head to photographer Clint Davis' site for an eyefull of high-res shots of the beast. Related Video: News Source: PCAHQ via YouTube Porsche Coupe Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Videos rally leh keen

Weekly Recap: Mercedes continues the pseudo-coupe craze with AMG-tuned CUV

But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. BMW proved there is a market for crossover utility vehicles designed to look like coupes – as much as a vehicle with four doors and noticeable ground clearance can look like a coupe, anyway. Now comes the reply from Mercedes-Benz: the GLE Coupe. The rakish crossover is a harbinger of things to come from Mercedes, as it begins the company's transition to a new nomenclature and marks the debut of the AMG Sport line. It also continues the recent coupe craze. Designers from many automakers, like Nissan and Volkswagen, have increasingly turned to swoopy, dramatic styling to make utility vehicles and sedans seem more desirable. By revealing the GLE 450 AMG Sport model first, Mercedes is clearly hoping to cast the GLE Coupe as a sportier, lifestyle-oriented alternative in its lineup of beefy crossovers and SUVs. Mercedes used the word "sport," or a variation of it, 53 times in its press release, so uh yeah, it's sporty. It's not an empty promise: Benz means business with the AMG Sport line. This GLE Coupe gets a 3.0-liter biturbo V6 rated at 362 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque paired with Mercedes' new nine-speed automatic transmission, and it runs with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Specs on the other GLE Coupe models were not disclosed. But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. After all, more than 260,000 people have bought X6s since 2008, and Mercedes wants a piece of that. From certain angles, the GLE Coupe even looks vaguely like an X6. "This is really a vehicle that is all about status," said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager for research firm AutoPacific. "You can buy a SUV that doesn't have the inherent qualities of a SUV, such as cargo hauling. People will likely be drawn to the looks. Coupes are all the rage." BMW, however, isn't running from the fight, and the updated 2015 X6 is arriving in showrooms this month. It also added a smaller sibling, the X4, to its coupe-crossover stable in July. The GLE Coupe arrives next year, though Mercedes hasn't specified exactly when it will hit showrooms from the factory in Alabama, or specified details on the rest of the non-AMG Sport models. In 2008, it was surprising the X6 was a hit. In 2015, it will be even more surprising if the GLE Coupe isn't.