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2015 Porsche Panamera Exclusive Series is a seriously quick way to spend $260k

Porsche is usually associated with being a sports car brand, but with vehicles like the Cayenne and Panamera it takes a step into the world of luxury against firmly established players like Mercedes-Benz. One way for the company to poke its head above the high-class fray is by taking things further, and in the case of the Panamera Exclusive Series at the Los Angeles Auto Show, it means pushing grandeur to extreme levels.
Coming in at an absolutely eye-watering $263,900, plus $995 destination, the Panamera Exclusive starts its life as the already sumptuous Panamera Turbo S Executive with a 4.8-liter, twin-turbo V8 making 570 horsepower on an extended wheelbase. To help justify the extra $63,000 for the Exclusive, though, the model gets 20-inch black Sport Classic wheels and an interior in swaddled in Nappa leather with dark walnut and piano black trim. Rear passengers also get 10.1-inch touchscreens mounted on the back of the front seats. A set of fitted Poltrana Frau leather luggage is included with each one, as well.
The luxurious sedan earns it Exclusive moniker because just 100 of them are being made worldwide. Scroll down to read about Porsche's ultimate limousine.

Porsche Cayenne diesel V8 may not be long for this world

Goodbye, Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel. We hardly knew ye. Nor did the Europeans, apparently. Porsche's V8 oil burner is still on the European model list for the Cayenne SUV, but the mill won't go through the likely pricey process of being updated to adhere to new and stricter European emissions standards, Just-Auto says. A Porsche spokesman confirmed to the publication that it's a fairly complicated process to update the diesel V8 to be so-called "Euro-6 compliant." With Cayenne diesels selling in relatively low volumes anyways, the German automaker might just dump the V8 diesel altogether, as it'd be quite cost-ineffective to make the necessary upgrades. The V8 diesel was a 4.1-liter engine that delivered 385 horsepower in addition to what sounds like a little too much exhaust for European clean-air regulators. While that's a pretty powerful profile, the most recent gas-powered V8 for the Cayenne delivers about 570 horsepower, so the diesel engine won't likely be missed by European auto enthusiasts. Besides, there's still the V6 diesel that's also sold in the US. That's a 4,800-pound beast that moves from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about seven seconds and gets a relatively (for diesels) modest 20 miles per gallon city. For those who are curious, Autoblog's First Drive review of that model can be found here.

Meet Buster, this 1968 Porsche racecar transporter from Mercedes

If you're thinking about Porsche and Mercedes-Benz when it comes to motorsports, your first thought is probably on the two German brands battling on the track. However, for decades, whenever Porsche's factory team went to compete, a custom Mercedes was right along with them hauling the racecars. These days the truck lives in the Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, FL, and goes by the nickname Buster. However, its story goes back to 1968 when Porsche ordered two commercial vehicles from Mercedes and then handed them over to a Stuttgart-based outfitter for customization. The results were these racing transporters that hauled models like the 917 and 956 until the '80s. The other survived, too, with a place in Porsche's collection. Well-known racers in their own right, Brumos scooped up the transporter in 2003 and have kept driving it to vintage racing events. The interior now boasts the signatures of many of the great drivers from the era of this historic truck. Watch the video for the whole story on the Mercedes with a whole lot of Porsche inside.