1987 Porsche 928 S4 2dr Hatchback on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Porsche 918 Spyder pre-production version in all its almost-done glory

Porsche continues the long tease of its upcoming 918 Spyder, with the latest instantiation here at the Pebble Beach Concours, with the car presented in pre-production form to the throngs on the golf course.
Just a few days ago Porsche dropped an image of the car on its official Twitter feed. True to that leak, this 918 looks damn near what we expect the full customer version to be when it is officially debuted in Frankfurt. The neon-green brake calipers are items new to this version of the 918, and seem to be an identical color to those found on the Panamera S E-Hybrid.
When it shows up as a drivable piece, expect the Porsche supercar, with its gasoline-electric drivetrain, to be pretty insane. Horsepower in excess of 800 ponies will be available with a toe-tap, while the price of entry is expected to come within shouting distance of $850,000. A good deal for Porsche to bring the thing to Pebble then, where buyers with that kind of cash are think on the ground (and most likely wearing sherbet-colored trousers).

2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS prowls into Geneva with biggest NA engine in the 911 range [w/video]

We've been waiting for the debut of this road-going and race-ready Porsche 911 GT3 RS for quite some time now. As is typical for high-profile sports machines, the new 911 has been foreshadowed with spy shots and information leaks aplenty, all pointing to this grand day at Geneva. Here she is. Just a glance at the duct-sliced bodywork and massive rear wing will tell you that this Porsche means business, but let's look at its bona fides. The heart of the matter, under that short rear deck, is the largest-displacement and most powerful naturally aspirated engine in the 911 family, with 500 horsepower and 338 pound-feet of torque developed by the 4.0-liter flat-six. That hoss of an engine is mated to a newly developed version of Porsche's PDK dual-clutch gearbox – with functions such as "paddle neutral" that effectively works like depressing the clutch on a standard manual, and a Pit Speed button for on the track. Working in concert, engine and trans allow the GT3 RS to sprint to 60 miles per hour in 3.1 seconds, hit a quarter mile in 11.2, and lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in just seven minutes, 20 seconds. (That 'Ring time makes it the fastest current 911 around the benchmark course, and five seconds faster than the current 911 GT3 – so quick.) Weight has been saved via exotic materials; the car sports a magnesium roof and carbon fiber for the trunk and engine lids. Overall the RS is 22 pounds lighter than the GT3, but also boasts a lower center of gravity. As we said at the top, there's a wide, low and aggressive body kit on the GT3 RS, all engineered with racing performance in mind. That huge rear wing is balanced in the front by a deep chin spoiler, and the front wheel arches have been punctuated with vents that help to increase downforce on the front axle. The roll cage is the most obvious interior modification to let one know that this is a racing tool, but Porsche has also slathered the space in Alcantara and installed carbon-fiber bucket seats (based on those found in the 918 Spyder) to drive the point home. The cost of such racing glory will be steep at $175,900 plus a $995 destination charge, but not out of the scope of the current ask for the 911 range, when you consider that a Turbo S runs over $180k. Look for 911 GT3 RS deliveries to start in July of this year in the US, and for track days to be more competitive for the addition. Porsche 911 GT3 RS: the Ultimate 911 for High-Performance Drivers Atlanta.

Why won't automakers slap on a turbo badge anymore?

Where have all the turbos gone? Not the actual pieces that go in the engine, mind you, those are everywhere these days as automakers downsize cylinder counts and boost efficiency and CO2 claims. But the turbo badges and fanfare are missing. Back when turbos were something to get excited about there was "turbo-driven," "turbonium," and "The Turbo Zone," among other silly lines. But now that basically every car is getting some sort of boost even on the lowliest trims, automakers are almost sliding in the turbos under the radar. Or if you look at some of the nomenclature, pretending they don't exist at all. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border. The latest automaker to hide that it has boosted the turbo presence is Porsche with the 2017 911 lineup. Even the standard Carrera models now get turbocharged flat-six engines, meaning the 911 Turbo models aren't quite as special as they once were. Porsche is in a sticky situation with this. The 911 Turbo, after all, signifies where the 911 family takes off from being a sports car and becomes the Ferrari fighter. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border, but now Porsche has crossed it and is trying to downplay the fact. There are a lot of exaggerations with displacement badges today, with claims the 2.0-liter turbo four in a Mercedes C Class equates to a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter six to make a C300. Volvo is pretty far up there, too, saying an XC90 T8 means V8 power, even though it's a 2.0-liter turbocharged and supercharged four with electric assist. I don't know why BMW can't just call the car a 330i Turbo, rather than inflating the numbers up to 340i. Saab tried all of this back in the '90s when it decided to turbocharge its entire lineup, from light pressure units all the way up to models actually called "Saab 9-3 HOT" (for high-output turbo). But then the brand deleted any external reference to the turbo under the hood and people wondered why they were buying a $42,000 four-cylinder convertible. And that didn't turn out well. Even though these turbo replacements often make more power than their naturally aspirated predecessors, they're very different engines. People knew something changed when they exchanged their leased 328i with a 3.0-liter six for a 328i with a 2.0-liter turbo four.