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Porsche GT division rules out AWD, SUVs

Any German automaker worth its lap times needs a performance division. Mercedes has AMG, BMW has the M division, Audi has Quattro GmbH with its S and RS models... even Volkswagen has its R line of hot hatches. And though Porsche is a performance automaker unto itself, even it has a performance division. It's called Porsche GT, and though it's been branching outside the 911 range lately, don't expect it to wander too far. According to Car and Driver, which spoke recently with Porsche GT boss Andreas Preuninger and R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz, there are limits to what the division will do. And while those limits may have been broadened to include technologies like turbocharging and dual-clutch transmissions, they won't stretch as far as all-wheel drive. Take a look at the previous-generation 997 and what separated the 911 GT2 from the 911 Turbo was principally its all-wheel-drive system. Porsche GT isn't planning on doing a GT2 this time around – the new GT3 RS occupying that territory on its own – but the next generation (whether it wears the number 2 or 3) will likely go turbo along with most of the rest of the 911 family. The exclusion of all-wheel drive from the Porsche GT parts bin also means that the division won't be taking on the company's SUVs like the Cayenne and Macan. So the Cayenne GTS will be as extreme as it gets, taking on the likes of the BMW X5 M, Mercedes GL63 and Audi SQ5 without the help of Zuffenhausen's racing department. We can't expect the PDK to stick around though, so to speak. Though the new Cayman GT4 packs a manual transmission, the 911 GT3 and GT3 RS have dual-clutch gearboxes. Moving forward, Preuninger says they'll leave it up to prospective customers to decide which type of transmission they'll build into their most extreme performance models.

Porsche Exclusive showcases custom-order 911 Turbo Cabrio

Porsche is one of the most profitable automakers in the business. In fact, it's said to make about $23,000 on each car it sells, thanks in no small part to an options list that can send the sticker price accelerating quicker than one of its own sports cars. But there are always those for whom even the extensive option list won't be enough, and for just such customers, there is Porsche Exclusive.
The division in Zuffenhausen is tasked with creating even more individualized examples of Porsche vehicles, and it recently did up this 911 Turbo Cabriolet - which, at $160,700, is already one of the most expensive Porsches you can order this side of a 918 Spyder: more than any Boxster, Cayman, Macan or Cayenne, any Panamera other than a Turbo S or Executive - not to mention any other 911 short of a Turbo S.
This particular demo vehicle features a Slate Grey paint job and red interior decked out in more leather than an S&M dungeon - which, come to think of it, would probably be less financially painful than ordering up this car from Porsche Exclusive.

Porsche 912 is no longer the brand's black sheep

If you haven't looked recently, prices for many vintage Porsche 911s are now well out of the realm for mortal men to purchase. However, the growing values have their advantages because they mean that the 912 is being better accepted as a member of the Porsche family. In a new video, Petrolicious talks to one owner about his mildly modified example while the coupe zips through the backroads and city streets of France. Launched around the time of the 911, the 912 shared its body but retained the four-cylinder engine from the 356, rather than the new six. The older mill helped make the 912 cheaper to buy, but it also tarnished the coupe in the eyes of Porsche fans for years. Much like the four-cylinder 914 and 924, the 912 just seemed like a black sheep in the shadow of its more powerful brother. Following two massive changes to his life, Julien Borne bought a 1967 912 as a project to get back on the road. After hours of welding, wrenching and beating out panels by hand in his grandparents' neglected country house, he crafted this gorgeous example. Check out the video to hear his story, as Petrolicious shows why the model's stigma is wearing off.