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Porsche exec confirms Macan Diesel for US

The idea of a diesel-powered Porsche is the sort of thing that sounds really, really weird... until you actually drive it. The result of sticking glow plugs under the hood of Stuttgart's finest, though, is a vehicle that's nearly as entertaining as a gas-powered model but with much more torque and better fuel economy. Considering that, we think it's absolutely splendid news that following previous reports, Porsche has now confirmed a diesel-powered Macan for the US market.
"We are now busy with the development and the engineering," Andre Oosthuizen, Porsche's North American marketing VP, told Automotive News. "I can confirm that V6 diesel offering with about 245 horsepower."
Yep, that's the same 3.0-liter V6 found, most notably, in the CUV's Audi Q5 platform-mate as well as a plethora of other Volkswagen Group vehicles, both in the US and abroad. Stuttgart already offers the 3.0-liter oil-burner in the Euro-spec crossover, where it churns out 258 hp and 427 pound-feet of torque.

Porsche to only build next Panamera in Leipzig?

Manufacture of the next-generation Porsche Panamera could be moving, if a report from Reuters is true. The current-generation Panamera range has its bodies welded together and painted at a Volkswagen facility in Hanover before being shipped to Leipzig where final assembly takes place.
According to Reuters, Porsche is looking to cut VW out of the equation and focus production of the Panamera in Leipzig. While this could cost 800 of the 14,300 workers at Hanover their jobs, it's not entirely clear what Porsche stands to gain by the move. It recently invested 50- million euros (about $680 million at today's rates) on a paint and body shop for its Leipzig factory, ostensibly so the facility could have Macan production underway by that car's spring 2014 on-sale date. If the facility was also designed with next-generation Panamera production in mind, then Porsche's decision to put all of its eggs in one basket could make a lot of sense. It currently ships the semi-completed Panameras from Hanover to Leipzig, a distance of around 160 miles by road, and presumably it's a costly and time-consuming process.
The Leipzig factory produced 27,000 Panameras last year, although it's unclear just what its production capacity really is. Besides the Panamera and the upcoming Macan, the factory also builds the Porsche Cayenne.

Porsche resurrects V8-powered 911 prototype from the Eighties

These days, we take it for granted that the Porsche 911 uses a flat-six engine. That's because every version of the iconic rear-engined sports car has had one. Right? Well, for the most part. There was the 912 that joined the original in the late Sixties with a flat-four. And in the mid-Eighties, Porsche toyed around with the idea of a V8-powered 911.
After the first-generation 911 had been in production for over two decades, Porsche began development of its successor, the 964, in the 1980s. And one of its ideas was to use a V8 engine. So it took a 964, borrowed a V8 from Audi, gave it the rear bodywork from a 959 and dubbed it the 965.
The idea was to create a more affordable successor to the 959 that included its advanced all-wheel drive system and active suspension. The Audi V8 would have been replaced with one of Porsche's own design - possibly based on the it had built for Indy racing - but Dr. Ulrich Bez (who was then head of Porsche R&D long before taking the reins at Aston Martin) ultimately killed the project.