1986 Porsche 911 on 2040-cars

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Porsche sells final 918 Spyder amidst excellent year of sales

2014 has been a banner year for Porsche, as the company has moved over 169,000 units through November, an increase of around 12,000 units over the same period in 2013. During last month alone, the company's sales saw a year-over-year jump of 25 percent. The European market, meanwhile, saw an 18-percent jump in sales, while its North American efforts have jumped 13 percent. "This strong November is evidence that our strategy is working extremely well," Porsche board member Bernhard Maier said in the accompanying statement. "It also confirms our commitment to taking advantage of every opportunity presented in the global markets." Those notable sales gains aside, this latest sales report comes with some bad news for the overwhelming majority of Porsche fans – the last 918 Spyder has been sold. All 297 cars have been spoken for, with US deliveries set to begin soon. According to Porsche, there are currently around 100 Spyder owners spread across Germany and China. Porsche exceeds previous year's sales by November Last unit of the 918 Spyder sold Atlanta. Porsche AG increased global deliveries to customers from January to November this year to more than 169,000 vehicles, already exceeding the overall total for 2013 of 162,145 new vehicles. This represented a growth of 15 percent over the same period last year (January to November 2013: 147,290 vehicles). In the month of November, Porsche delivered 17,700 vehicles – an increase of one quarter over the same month last year. "This strong November is evidence that our strategy is working extremely well," said Bernhard Maier, Member of the Executive Board – Sales and Marketing of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. "It also confirms our commitment to taking advantage of every opportunity presented in the global markets." In Europe, Porsche delivered 54,500 vehicles from January to November 2014 – an increase of 18 percent over the previous year, with the domestic German market accounting for 22,200 of the sales. The American region also showed a significant 13 percent increase over last year with a total of 51,600 deliveries. In addition, November announced the finality of sales for the 918 Spyder hybrid super sports car. With a limited run of 918 units, the majority of the cars – 297 – will be shipped from the Zuffenhausen manufactory to buyers in the USA. In both Germany and China there are already around 100 proud new owners who have taken delivery of the super sports car.

Porsche 918 Spyder roars electric through London

The Porsche 918 Spyder can be an object of lust for anyone who appreciates the finer things in the automotive world, but for us greenies with penchant for speed, the car is an icon. This gorgeous, all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid offers 887 horsepower and 940 pound-feet of torque, can do 0-60 in just 2.5 seconds and is capable of 214 miles per hour. It lapped the Nurburgring in a record 6:57. Still, it is capable of near-silent, relaxed cruising through one of Europe's busiest cities. In a new video from Porsche, chief driving instructor Gordon Robertson takes the 918 to London and does just that. While driving in E-Power mode, he describes some of the things that make the car special, as well as how the technology has developed through the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and the 919 LMP1 car to eventually be passed onto the Panamera S E-Hybrid. If you're interested, you can learn more about the car in our own drive review, here. It's great to see, for the first time, the 918 Spyder driving alongside London's black cabs and double-decker buses. The rubbernecking from pedestrians is noticeable and completely understandable. I'm sure we'd all love to see this car come silently sneaking down our own city streets, but until Porsche makes that happen, you'll just have to enjoy the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Porsche 911 Targa Turbo for Geneva debunked, 919 Hybrid and 911 RSR racers coming instead

Porsche has proven adept at making sure there is a version of its venerable 911 for practically any wealthy driver's desires. If you just want a great all-rounder then buy a standard 911; open-air driving, then the Cabriolet is for you, and if you need a compromise between them, there is even the new 911 Targa.
Gossip earlier this week surfaced on various websites that at next week's Geneva Motor Show, Porsche had designs on introducing an even higher-performance Targa variant, a Targa Turbo. The rumored mashup would combine the wide body from the 911 Turbo with the super-complicated power roof from the Targa (see right). Assuming no changes in power, that would mean 520 horsepower or even 560 hp in a Targa Turbo S model. Unfortunately, we're hearing that this tasty bit of scuttlebutt is incorrect. Autoblog asked Nick Twork, Porsche North America Product Communications Manager, about the rumor, and his response couldn't have been clearer: "Totally false."
Twork did elaborate that company will be "debuting the Porsche 919 Hybrid, our new LMP1 race car" at the Swiss show, and Stuttgart has also announced this morning that will show its 911 RSR racecar, too - either of which we reckon is a lot more exciting than another Targa variant.