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Are you the 2017 Porsche 911 GTS Targa?

Our spy shooters have caught a strange, mash-up beast wearing a Porsche badge. Superficially, this is a facelift for the 911 Targa that features new bumpers, door handles and a redesigned engine cover, along with new light graphics for the front and rear lights. But have a look around back, and you'll find two inboard exhaust pipes; they aren't right up against each other as on the 911 GT3, but are spaced about five inches apart. The shooters said the first time they saw that arrangement was last winter, on a convertible during testing. We saw it again more recently in spy shots of what was thought to be the 911 GTS coupe prototype at the track. But when the production GTS arrived, it wore the traditional quad-pipe at the corners. The theory put forward by the spy photog: the current GTS has a naturally aspirated engine, but facelifted prototypes they've been seeing all have turbo engines, so this could be the facelifted Targa coming in 2017, after the 991-model 911 gets a refresh. In that case, the GTS coupe prototype at the track would have also been a post-refresh, turbo-engined GTS. It's only a hypothesis, but more than one outlet has reported that Porsche is going all-turbo for the updated 2015 models – the new exhaust position and those 911-Turbo-like vents could be their identifiers. We expect to find out when the lineup is unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, possibly codenamed 992 instead of 991.2.

2015 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An earlier version of this story referenced the 911's six-speed manual transmission, but of course, Porsche uses a seven-speed manual in this car. The text has been changed to reflect this. There are no fewer than 19 different models in today's Porsche 911 series. While each appeals to the enthusiast, the race-bred GT3 is the pinnacle of the automaker's rear-engined lineup. Unfortunately, and despite the GT3's racing circuit prowess, its rigid track-tuned persona is too grating for many as a daily driver. To satisfy those who put sporty driving dynamics at the top of their list, but don't want to compromise comfort, Porsche has introduced the 2015 911 Carrera GTS. Raising its performance quotient, the GTS model boasts a handful of standard features that elevate it above its Carrera S siblings. Mechanically, it features an enhanced 3.8-liter flat-six bolted into the tail of the widebody platform (shared with the Carrera 4 and GT3). Other goodies include Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), a black-tipped Sport exhaust system and centerlock 20-inch 911 Turbo S wheels (five-lug wheels are a no-cost option). Cosmetically, the GTS is differentiated by its darkened lights, painted black wheels, Sport Design front spoiler, Sport Design exterior mirrors, black engine grille, rear black louvers (or lights on all-wheel drive models) and a 'GTS' logo on the lower doors. Inside the cabin are standard Sport Plus seats, Alcantera upholstery throughout with contrasting stitching, black gauges and anodized black aluminum trim. Offering us an excellent opportunity to put the second-generation GTS through its paces on a variety of roads, Porsche tossed us the keys in the LA Basin and pointed us towards Willow Springs Raceway, in the Mojave Desert. Driving Notes The GTS is offered in coupe or Cabriolet body styles, each with a choice between rear- and all-wheel drive. Buyers are also offered a choice between a traditional seven-speed manual gearbox or Porsche's seven-speed dual clutch transmission (PDK). The GT3, meanwhile, is only offered as a coupe with PDK. We grabbed the keys to a Guards Red rear-wheel drive coupe with PDK for our outbound drive, and a GT Silver Metallic all-wheel drive Cabriolet with a seven-speed manual for our return trip. Finding another 30 horsepower from the naturally aspirated 3.8-liter flat-six required some old-fashioned tricks.

Audi and Porsche squabble over future product platforms

In the buildup to the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi delivered an amusing video that worked on the playful rivalry between the German brand and its favorite frenemy, Porsche. We called it sibling rivalry, and at the time, it may have been just that. But just like sibling rivalries, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and that's just what seems to be about to happen in the formerly peaceful Volkswagen Group family.
A new report from Automobile calls out the growing animosity between Porsche, who is backed up by Bentley, and Audi, whose primary ally is Lamborghini. No blows have actually been thrown, although there is a fair amount of "he said, she said" going on.
As Porsche tells it, for example, the new global fullsize SUV architecture being developed by Audi isn't up to snuff, citing size and structure issues, as well as an inability to accommodate a wide variety of engines.