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Porsche 911 GT3 RS facing delay over GT3 fire problems?

Porsche has never been afraid to introduce variants of its cars. However, its even higher spec, next-generation 911 GT3 RS may be delayed from its planned launch this summer while the engines in the standard GT3s (pictured above) are replaced.
A delay isn't certain, but executives want to make sure the high-strung mill is no longer a problem before they press forward with another model using it. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport asked Porsche CEO Matthias Müller about pushing back the launch, and he responded that it was too early to say. The company's current focus is making sure the engines get fixed and working on internal measures to prevent this kind of flaw in the future.
When fires claimed two 911 GT3s in Europe, Porsche initially stopped the model's sales and asked owners to stop driving them. It finally diagnosed the blazes as being caused by a loose screw on a connecting rod, which then resulted in crankcase damage and an oil leak. The company is replacing the engines on all 785 affected cars. A source told Autoblog that under 200 customers were actually affected, and the other cars were either at port or dealer lots. Hopefully, the recall doesn't postpone the road-going GT3 RS too far because we want to see what Porsche has up its sleeve.

Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.

McQueen's Porsche 917 from Le Mans races to the auction block

Steve McQueen may have been the headline actor of the motorsport cult classic film Le Mans, but we all know who the real star was. Or rather, what: the Porsche 917. More specifically, it was the Gulf-liveried #22 - not McQueen's #21 - that won the race, making it one of the most iconic cars ever to drive across the silver screen. And now it's going up for auction.
This 1969 Porsche 917K, chassis 917-024, has a storied history both on and off the screen, even if it didn't win any (off-screen) races of note. This example was the first 917 to be campaigned in an actual race when Porsche handed it to Jo Siffert to drive against the Ferrari 312P and Ford GT40 at the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 Km race in 1969. Siffert found the early example too unstable and ultimately drove an earlier 908 to the checkered flag, but after 917-024 set the fastest time at the following year's Le Mans test day, Siffert acquired it outright.
The Swiss racing driver loaned the car to Solar Productions for use in the film, after which it returned to Siffert's collection until he was killed in an F1 exposition race at Brands Hatch in 1971. In a testament to how much he loved the car, it was 917-024 that lead the funeral procession. The car subsequently fell off the radar until it resurfaced in 2001 as one of the greatest barn finds of the new millennium. Now fully restored and resplendent in its original baby blue and orange, 917-024 is headed to the auction block at Pebble Beach where you can be sure that Gooding & Company will bring in a suitably high price for arguably the most iconic example of one of the most iconic Porsches of all time.