2009 Porsche 911 Turbo on 2040-cars

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Porsche Australia price cuts in excess of $36,000 irks customers

Have you ever gone to the store, only to become irked after learning that the new [*insert widget here*] that you bought just last week has gone through a price drop? If you're particularly thrifty, even if it's only a couple of bucks, you probably brought in your receipt to see if the store would issue you a credit for the difference. Now, imagine that the widget in question isn't a minor purchase, it's a Porsche - and the price drop isn't just a few bucks - it's thousands.
That's the unhappy scenario that recently faced a number of Australian luxury car buyers and the uncomfortable conversation awaiting the German automaker. According to GoAuto, Porsche Australia recently whacked up to $36,000 off the price of its models in order to jumpstart sales Down Under - the Panamera range itself saw cuts between $5,500 and more than $36,000. The aggressive price cut was a strategy designed to drive sales of more than 3,000 cars locally, a yearly goal originally set for 2018, but now hoped for as early as 2016.
Australia is known for its comparatively high car prices, so the dramatic price cuts were undoubtedly welcome news to potential Porsche shoppers. However, around 50 existing customers were understandably agitated by the reductions because they purchased their cars just before the adjustments took effect. Not only did they stand to lose out on the deals, they also had good reason to fear that their new cars' residual values would take a beating.

Magnus Walker and Alex Ross stop by Leno's garage with their 997 GT2

The market is littered with Porsche 911 tuners, with names like 9ff, Gemballa and TechArt leading the field. Seldom do any two ever collaborate on a joint project, but that's just the kind of match that was made at Jay Leno's Garage. That's where Alex Ross of SharkWerks and restomodder Magnus Walker first met, sparking a collaboration that yielded the car you see here. And fittingly, they've brought it back to the garage to show off what resulted. Though Walker usually deals with older Elfens, this time he applied his eye for style on a more contemporary 2008 997 GT2, decking it out with grey stripes, orange bumpers, gold wheels and decals and a tartan-upholstered interior. He left the mechanical bits to Ross and company, who dropped the suspension and increased output to 650 horsepower at the wheels (775 at the crank), surpassing the stock GT2 and even the later GT2 RS. The result is pretty hard-core and old-school, but you'll want to watch the video above to see for yourself.

Mark Webber treats Maria Sharapova to a Porsche 918 Spyder joyride

We don't much like Mark Webber right now. Part of being a racing driver is dealing with promotional stuff. It's not hard to find a driver that can't stand all this nonsense, whether it be promoting a product, meeting investors or attending some obscure event. Even a driver of Webber's caliber - a former Formula One driver for Red Bull Racing and a member of Porsche's factory Le Mans team - has to serve his time at the promo events.
Somehow, though, we don't think the Aussie driver minds this particular promo detail. In the video below, Webber attends the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. He then takes tennis superstar Maria Sharapova out for a spin behind the wheel of the Porsche 918 Spyder. The level of jealousy at the Autoblog office is palpable.
Take a look below for the video. And as we're super jealous of Mr. Webber, hop into Comments and caption the above photo based on what you think he's saying to Maria. Bonus points if you can work "vegemite" into the caption.