1977 Porsche 924 Base Coupe 2-door 2.0l *repairable* on 2040-cars

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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 918 Spyder burns to ground in gas station conflagration

There's one fewer Porsche 918 Spyder zipping along the roads of Toronto, Canada, today. A fire at a gas station over the weekend claimed one of the hybrid supercars in a massive blaze, and a portion of the inferno was caught on video.
According to our partners to the North at Autoblog Canada, the cause of the fire hasn't been officially confirmed yet, but witnesses reportedly claimed gasoline somehow came into contact with the hot exhaust outlets that exit out of the top of the supercar's engine bay. This was just one of two 918s believed to be in the Toronto area.
Other than a possible broken heart from the owner, the fire reportedly caused no injuries, and only the Porsche and gas pump appeared to sustain serious damage. Warning, the video of the conflagration does contain some explicit language.

2014 Porsche Panamera Diesel is something to torque about

Porsche has been in the business of slaying sacred cows for the better part of a decade, from venturing into the SUV space with the Cayenne to the four-door realm with its Panamera hatchback. And if those vehicles didn't leave brand purists apoplectic enough, Porsche has been adding diesel and hybrid power to its portfolio, thought to this point, neither alt-fuel motivator has made its way into the brand's sports car lineup.
Today's Frankfurt Motor Show effectively marks the second-generation of diesel power in the Panamera, and this updated 3.0-liter V6 features 300 horsepower (50 ponies more than last year) and a whopping 479 pound-feet of torque, available from 2,500 rpm. That power is achieved with a new higher-pressure, water-cooled turbo and redesigned engine internals that include a new crankshaft and pistons. The newfound increase is said to raise top speed to 161 miles per hour from 152, and drop the car's 0-62 mph time from 6.8 seconds down to 6.0. It also figures to be a better handler, with a new torque-vectoring rear differential borrowed from its gas-powered brethren and a reworked transmission for crisper shifts. The suspension has also been retuned, along with the updated 2014 visuals first revealed at April's Shanghai Motor Show.
No word yet on the North American sales prospects of this diesel Panamera, but we imagine that depends in part on how well the Cayenne diesel is selling.