2005 Porsche Cayenne S Sport Utility on 2040-cars

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Despite premium carmakers going downmarket, luxury auto sales stick at 10-11%

According to research conducted by global information company IHS Automotive, the leporine birthing of new models by luxury manufacturers over the past six years hasn't increased their market share in the US. Even as car sales reached 15.6 million units, IHS says what's happened instead is that luxury buyers are merely moving from one brand to another, moving from larger luxury vehicles into hot segments like compact luxury crossovers or leaving the market at the same rate as other buyers enter.
Whether broken out by makes or by segment, market share has rollercoastered inside a narrow band from 10.5 to 11.5 percent since "at least" 2008. Closer investigation reveals the shifting boundaries in the aspirational pond, with brands like Mercedes-Benz and Audi gaining territory as Lexus and Lincoln lost it, and Saab and Hummer were buried, dead, under it. One neat note is that Tesla has gone from a share of zip to .12 percent.
The subcompact and compact crossover segments show growth, with those little high-riders jumping from .3 percent to 1.16 percent of overall industry sales. Their rise, though, is concomitant with the decline of four other segments: compact and midsize cars and fullsize cars and SUVs. We think the next few years that will tell if the small-car expansion can overcome the large-car retraction, with a phalanx of smaller offerings like the CLA only recently hitting the market and others like the GLA, Macan and Q1 doing so in the near future.

Porsche planning Cayman GT4 racer

To say that Porsche is big in racing is like saying that Warren Buffett dabbles in mergers and acquisitions. But while it fields the 919 Hybrid at Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the bulk of its racing activities are undertaken by private teams that buy customer racecars from the factory. Those in turn are largely based on the 911, but the latest intel from the motor racing world indicates that Zuffenhausen is planning a more accessible customer race car.
The new, more affordable competition car is to be based on the Cayman and built to GT4 specifications, slotting in below the 911-based GT3 Cup, GT3 R and RSR. Autosport reports that Porsche has already developed a prototype and will shortly commence testing. Details are scarce at the moment, but the Cayman GT4 would seem to compete against the likes of the Aston Martin Vantage N24, Nissan 370Z Nismo GT4 and Maserati GranTurismo MC. It will also likely help Porsche foster enthusiasm for a potential road version that's already been spotted undergoing testing. Previous GT4 racing conversions of the Cayman, like the one pictured above, were carried out by third-party racing constructors not recognized by the factory.
Porsche may not be the only one showing interest in the category, however. BMW is said to similarly be considering a GT4-spec version of its M235i Racing model to compete in the same class, taking the place of the defunct M3 GT4 as the Bavarian marque's entry-level customer racing car.

Porsche 911 Turbo and Nissan GT-R Nismo star in World's Greatest Drag Race 4

We love Motor Trend's annual World's Greatest Drag Race video. Now back for its fourth appearance, the idea of lining some of the world's fastest cars up for a ten-wide, straight-line, full-throttle run is, well... it's pretty freaking badass.
The lineup this year boasts some impressively fast cars to be sure. The group of ten includes the following darlings: Alfa Romeo 4C, BMW i8, BMW M4, Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Ford Fiesta ST, Jaguar F-Type R Coupe, Nissan GT-R Nismo, Porsche 911 Turbo S, Subaru WRX STI and, last but not least, the Volkswagen GTI. Give us any one of those for the weekend, and we're happy to take the keys.
It must be said though, that for a publication that draws as much water as Motor Trend does, there are some big cars that we might expect to be here instead. The Lamborghini Huracán or Ferrari 458 Speciale would have added some exotic flare to the list, and the omissions of the Chevy Corvette Stingray (for the second year in a row) and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat are real head-scratchers.