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Porsche announces works team for United Sportscar Championship

Porsche is undoubtedly the most successful manufacturer in sportscar racing, and it's only upping its game. The German marque is launching its new LMP1 racer for Le Mans in pursuit of overall victory once again, and now that sportscar racing in North America is coming together under one banner in the United Sportscar Championship, Porsche has announced it is entering the fray with a works team here as well.
The new Porsche North America racing team will field two cars in the entire inaugural season of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship that's been formed out of the former Grand-Am and American Le Mans Series. The team will be based out of the Porsche Motorsport North America facility in Santa Ana, California, and will partner with three-time ALMS LMPC winners Core Autosport in getting a pair of the latest 911 RSR racecars to the front of the GT Le Mans class.
Drivers have yet to be announced, but are projected to be drawn out of Porsche's factory driver program, which includes such talents as Patrick Long, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani. Keep reading below for the official announcement.

Jaguar F-Type coupe to cost more than convertible?

Jaguar may price the much-rumored F-Type Coupe above the F-Type Convertible, if a report from Australia's Drive is to be believed. What makes Jag think that such a pricing strategy would work? Porsche. Take a look at the German manufacturer's consumer site, and you'll notice that the Boxster is less expensive than the Cayman, despite being essentially the same car.
It's a fair point, and a price premium does a good job of emphasizing the sporting chops of the coupe over the open-air experience that normally entitles convertibles to higher MSRPs. It's unclear just how closely Jaguar will follow Porsche's example, though.
Both the Cayman and Cayman S boast an extra ten horsepower over a Boxster or Boxster S, and while this bump in grunt is negligible in every situation but an argument over which is "best," it isn't something to be ignored in the F-Type, particularly as cranking more power out of its supercharged engines should be a rather simple matter.

Porsche announces Cayman GT4 with 911 GT3 components

For years, there's been a debate among Porsche fans about which of its products is a better sports car, the 911 or the Cayman. It would only take a few sentences before those in the Cayman corner said that Porsche wouldn't make the Cayman as good as it could be for fear of overshadowing The Number One Son. We have a feeling these conversations are going to get a lot livelier with the introduction of the Cayman GT4, which pilfers lightly from the 911 Carrera S and heavily from the 911 GT3. On the outside, you can look to its front fascia, wheels, and fixed rear wing, and 30-millimmeter lower ride height for GT3 inspirations. Underneath, there's a 385-horsepower, 3.8-liter flat-six engine amidships, credited as being derived from the Carrera S. While there are those out there still lamenting the fact that the GT3 can only be had with a dual-clutch transmission, the Cayman GT4 "transmits its power solely through a six-speed manual transmission with dynamic gearbox mounts." Yeah. So take that. The extra power reduces the Cayman GT4's 0-to-60 mile per hour sprint to 4.2 seconds, a half second quicker than the 340-hp Cayman GTS, and bumps top speed up to 183 mph. An interesting nugget: Porsche says the Cayman GT4 runs the Nurburgring in seven minutes and 40 seconds, which it credits as the same time run by the 2011 911 GT3. Porsche has never offered a precise time for the current 911 GT3, saying only that it's "under 7:30," and Internet rumor (grab your salt lick) is that the not-yet-introduced GT3 RS has done a 7:20. We don't have all of its details yet – those will come closer to its introduction at the Geneva Motor Show next month – but we're told of a lot more 911 GT3 parts underneath, like the chassis that "consists almost entirely of components from the 911 GT3" and that all of its "technical aspects are based on the 911 GT3." If you want to take it further, the options sheet will include ceramic brakes and carbon fiber bucket seats. This new top-shelf Cayman gets to dealerships in the US in July with a starting price of $84,600 before a $995 destination charge. You'll find a few more bits of info in the press release below. A New Member of Porsche's GT Family The benchmark in its class: the Porsche Cayman GT4 Atlanta, Feb. 3, 2015 - Porsche's GT family is proud to announce the addition of an exciting new member: the Cayman GT4. This is the first Porsche GT sports car based on the Cayman and features components of the 911 GT3.