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Former Top Gear crew starts filming for Amazon show

We might have only a hint at the name and no exact date for a premiere, but fans can celebrate that Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are filming once again. Plus, it looks like every cent of Amazon's reportedly lavish budget is being put on the screen. A photo tweeted by Clarkson shows the three hosts standing proudly in front of a Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1 at a racetrack. Clarkson jokes that the show has just a "skeleton crew" but behind him stand several dozen people, a sophisticated-looking camera rig, and two big trucks. This definitely looks worth the anticipation of the premiere on Amazon Prime next fall. Hammond tweeted the same picture and wrote: "The band is back together and it feels brilliant." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Intriguingly, it appears that fellow British auto journalist Chris Harris is currently filming at the same track. He tweeted a photo to Clarkson of the McLaren doing a very smoky slide, while being followed by the other two hypercars. The Porsches in both photos wear the same red-and-white number 3 livery and have the same license plate number. In a later message, Harris was also clear that he wasn't filming there in connection with the trio's Amazon show. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Porsche still deciding on one or two new 911 plug-in hybrids

Back in March, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told Autocar that the coming Porsche 911 plug-in hybrid "will be the most powerful 911 we've ever had." That quote portended a 992-series 911 with 700 horsepower or more. A new report in Auto Express, however, suggests Porsche is having energetic debates about just what the 911's hybrid strategy will be, and that the only agreed-upon plug-in hybrid 911 so far is a milder version to sit in the middle of the range. Putting all our rumors in a row, in January, Automobile reported on an electrically-assisted 911 with 485 hp and 561 pound-feet of torque. The new AE piece effectively endorses that, saying the mid-range hybrid would follow the program established by the all-wheel drive Cayenne e-Hybrid that produces a combined 455 hp and 516 lb-ft. The 911 would naturally use a flat-six instead of the Cayenne's 3.0-liter V6, and the sports car would be tuned for better sound response and sharper reflexes. AE says fuel economy for this hybrid should be at least 80 eMPG, with emissions of less than 80 grams per kilometer. The current base Carrera is currently rated at a maximum 38.2 mpg in the UK, with minimum emissions of 169 g/km. The hybrid, fitted with a double-clutch gearbox and Porsche's mechanical all-wheel-drive system, could run from a stop to 62 miles per hour in less than four seconds, making it more efficient than a base Carrera and much faster than a Carrera 4S. AE says there remains only "the potential for Porsche to add a second, more powerful hybrid 911," and says its sources claim that's what's "causing the most consternation behind closed doors." This one would be the twin-turbocharged, 700-hp beastie that, as a series production car, would have a hard time not usurping the 540-hp Turbo, 580-hp Turbo S, and 607-hp Turbo S Exclusive. True, the hybrid would be handicapped with a 550-pound battery pack, but the instant acceleration and handling benefits of electric AWD — with no connection between the axles — could provide the final edge over the other three. As such, it makes sense that there'd be a whole lot of debate about a flagship 911 hybrid. On the other hand, such a monster seems like an eventuality in view of Porsche's electrified aspirations, the lessons gained from the 918 Hybrid and the 919 Hybrid Le Mans racer, and the fact that CEO Blume has already spoken. The Stuttgart carmaker expects a sales mix of 25 percent electric, 25 percent hybrid, and 50 percent conventional powertrains by 2025.

Preparing for Le Mans 2014 Porsche remembers 1971 and the 917 [w/video]

Porsche has given us another look back at its successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This time it's 1971, the year that its 917 set records that haven't all been eclipsed. It's 45-kilogram magnesium tube frame was the lightest, Jackie Oliver set the fastest in-race lap with a time that still stands, and winning drivers Helmut Marko - the same Helmut Marko currently with Infiniti Red Bull Racing - and Gilles Lethem did so many laps that their distance wasn't exceeded until the Audi R15 TDI did it in 2010.
1971 was also the year of the "Pink Pig." With bodywork created by a French aerodynamics firm, the wider, rounder 917 earned the porcine moniker so Porsche painted it pink and labeled it with the cuts you'd get from a pig. Sponsor Martini was so miffed they demanded all Martini branding be removed. No one can remove the thousands of photographs taken of the car ever since. Enjoy that and more in the video below.