1967 Porsche 912 on 2040-cars

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$1.4B hedge fund suit against Porsche dismissed

Investors have canvassed courts in Europe and the US to repeatedly sue Porsche over its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen in 2008 (see here, and here and here), and they have repeatedly failed to win any cases. You can add another big loss to the tally, with Bloomberg reporting that the Stuttgart Regional Court has dismissed a 1.4-billion euro ($1.95B US) lawsuit, the decision explained by the court's assertion that the investors would have lost on their short bets even if Porsche hadn't misled them.
Examining the hedge funds' motives for stock purchases and the bets that VW share prices would fall, judge Carola Wittig said that the funds didn't base their decisions on the key bits of "misinformation," and instead were participating simply in "highly speculative and naked short selling," only to get caught out.
With other cases still pending, the continued streak of victories bodes well for Porsche's courtroom fortunes, since judges will expect new information to consider overturning precedent. If there is any new info, it could come from the potential criminal cases still outstanding against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and CFO Holger Härter, who were both indicted on charges of market manipulation.

McLaren P1 squares off against Porsche 918 in Evo track battle

Evo's side-by-side comparison of the McLaren P1 against the Porsche 918 Spyder isn't the first time we've seen England and Germany's ultimate automotive weapons sized up together; last month, Autocar tested them over the standing mile, with a Ducati 1199 Superleggera playing the joker. Evo throws a few curves at its test, though, taking the supercars to Anglesey Circuit in Wales to see which will lay down the fastest lap time with scribe Jethro Bovington at the wheel. In case the numbers haven't yet been seared into your memory, while both are assisted by electric motors, the 3,069-pound, rear-wheel drive P1 gets on with 903 horsepower and 664 pound-feet from a 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. The 3,750-pound, all-wheel-drive 918 Spyder does its job with 795 hp and 575 lb-ft surging out of a naturally aspirated, 4.6-liter V8. We're not told know which circuit layout he uses for the test, but both cars comfortably eclipse the mark set by the fastest coupe Evo's driven around it so far, the Ferrari 458 Speciale. Then, in an epilogue occasioned by a tire change, one of the supercars comfortably eclipses its own time again, before Bovington declares one the master of the track and the other the ruler of the street. Enjoy finding out which is which in the video above.

Singer 911 gorgeousness explored and experienced by Chris Harris

Few things get us as cranked up as a Porsche 911. Generation after generation, this rear-engined oddity has exhilarated our senses, and the new 991 is the most capable iteration yet. Even so, there's a lot to be said for the older models, from their lighter weights and more modest dimensions to their air-cooled thrums.
That elemental vintage Porsche appeal hasn't been lost on Los Angeles-based Singer Vehicle Design, which has endeavored to take the best bits from every generation of 911 and combine them into one impossibly sexy rear-engined machine. Based on a 964 donor car, we knew that a lot of work would need to go into everything from the structure to the bodywork to realize the Singer's cohesive aesthetic and dynamic vision, but we didn't know just how much until we watched this Drive video featuring Chris Harris. The auto journo gets time with the 350-horsepower, Cosworth-motivated coupe on both mountain passes and at the track, but what could be the most interesting thing about the 27-minute-long video is his in-depth plant tour.
Check it out by scrolling below, but not before paging through our new Singer 911 gallery.