1992 Porsche 911 3.3 Turbo Rare Black/cashmere 5-speed Only 64,000 Miles Perfect on 2040-cars

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Porsche 911 to drop naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine

Rumors that the next-generation Porsche 911 will be completely divorced from naturally aspirated engines are picking up steam. Now, Road & Track is reporting that not only will the next 911, code-named 992, have a turbo-only engine lineup, but that the base Carrera and Carrera S will add the force-induced flat sixes as part of a facelift later this year. R&T only cites "sources familiar with the project," which claim that turbocharged flat-sixes will be at the core of the 992's engine range, alongside a plug-in-hybrid model. A four-cylinder 911 remains unlikely. What's most surprising, though, is how soon Porsche will introduce a turbocharged base-car lineup. Road & Track claims the blown flat-sixes will be added as part of a facelift coming before year's end. Perhaps unwilling to risk the further ire of purists, the current car's seven-speed manual transmission will continue to be sold, alongside the company's excellent PDK automatic transmission. As for when this facelift will happen, the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show in September seems like the most obvious date. Related Video: Featured Gallery Porsche 911 Turbo: Spy Shots View 9 Photos News Source: Road and TrackImage Credit: CarPix Rumormill Porsche

Porsche production will stay in Germany, says sales chief

At Porsche's recent opening of its new North American headquarters in Atlanta, we had a chance to chat with Bernhard Maier, the brand's head of sales and marketing. In our interview Maier opens up about Porsche's global growth, relationship with other Volkswagen Group products, and some of Porsche's future video. Read on for more. Autoblog: You're on a smooth trajectory of increasing sales in the US. Do you think there's an ultimate cap for Porsche in terms of volume? Bernhard Maier: If you look at the last couple of years, we have really seen a rapid growth in US, as we have seen in many other countries as well. Put that in perspective with our strategy for 2018. When we released that in early 2011, we said there are opportunities to grow for the brand in a number of ways. We are growing by entering new markets where we are not yet in, by taking part in the overall development of individual mobility, and in going in new segments where we are not yet in or that we were not yet in, such as the B SUV segment. And the Macan is, I think, a through-and-through success story. Let's take the US. Out of 1,000 inhabitants compare that with 700 cars on the marketplace. If we go to China, there are only 70 cars out of 1,000 inhabitants. So this is a huge potential, which we still have for the entire automotive industry and, again, we are in China now for 14 years. We started off in 2001, selling 226 cars. Last year, we did more than 27,000 units. With the economic recovery of the United States, we saw a tremendous comeback of the entire economy and also for the car industry. We took advantage of that as well in handling new segments like the Macan and in bringing more varieties in our already existing cars, so it gave us the opportunity to grow in America as well. AB: In terms of the portfolio, and speaking of Macan, are there other segments that Porsche will be expanding? Are any segments off limits? BM: We do have the number of ideas I can tell you, but we are not decided on what level [and] we are not talking about them. Let's look at our current model line-up. I think it's the most interesting one we've ever had in the history of the company. We do have a lot of derivatives in the 911 model lineup, we do have some derivatives in the Boxster and Cayman segment. There are some new ideas, which, as I've mentioned already, have not been decided yet. AB: Right. Is there any potential that we'd see something from the group MQB platform?

Your guide to vehicle subscription services

They might be extremely limited in scope because of location availability, but vehicle subscription services are a growing trend that most luxury manufacturers are jumping on. Plans are expensive, but you're paying for much more than just the car typically. We highlighted four of the larger plans with a few more listed at the end. Care by Volvo Volvo launched its subscription service last year with its brand-new XC40. It was the only vehicle available for a time, but subscribers can now get an S60 sedan as well. Subscriptions are for two years, with the monthly price including insurance, a concierge service, wear-and-tear item replacements and all maintenance. You'll be able to drive 15,000 miles per year with whichever Volvo you choose, and although there are no options to extend that mileage, you can swap cars after a year. Pricing for the XC40 is $650 per month in base trim, while an S60 can be as expensive as $850 for the R-Design. Volvo's plan is to offer more cars soon through the service, but it's relatively limited compared to others right now. Porsche Passport Porsche has two levels in its subscription service: Launch and Accelerate. Launch will cost $2,000 per month and give you access to the Cayman, Boxster, Macan and Cayenne. All of those but the Cayenne can be had in "S" trim as well. Accelerate is where the fun really starts. For $3,000 per month you can choose from a fleet of 911s, including the S, 4S, Cabriolet and Cabriolet S. If those aren't enough, you can also get the Panamera 4S, Macan GTS and Cayenne S. There are no mileage limits and you can change vehicles as often as you'd like. Also included in the price is insurance, repairs, detailing and any maintenance. It might be extremely expensive and limited to Atlanta only, but this subscription service is second-to-none for what you get. Audi Select Audi just launched its subscription car service, and it's offered in one version for a flat fee of $1,395 per month. For that you'll have access to five different cars including the A4, S5 Coupe, A5 Cabriolet, Q5, and Q7. Not a bad range of vehicles, but it would've been neat to see the recently updated A7 in there too. Maybe in time. Like the others, insurance and maintenance are wrapped up in the price. Audi is allowing for unlimited miles and two car swaps per month here. In addition to that, you'll get two days of free rentals through Audi's Silvercar rental agency should you go on a trip.