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Porsche ready to pick itself up after Le Mans failure

It's safe to say that things for Porsche didn't go quite as well at Le Mans this year as it might have hoped. After a sixteen-year gap, the winningest manufacturer in endurance racing history returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe this year hoping maybe not for outright victory in its first time back, but definitely a strong finish on which it could build on for next year. All the while it undoubtedly hoped its 911s would hold their own in the GT classes.
Unfortunately for Porsche, neither happened. After racing around the clock, and despite actually leading the festivities for some time, the best its 919 Hybrid could manage was an eleventh-place finish, lagging lamentably behind not only the other LMP1s (like the race-winning Audi) but also a handful of LMP2s. Meanwhile the LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am titles went to the factory-backed teams of its arch-rivals Ferrari and Aston Martin, respectively.
Not a stellar result, in other words, but Porsche is taking it all in stride - accepting that it has a ways to go while congratulating its vanquishing rivals in the video below. It's good sportsmanship if we've ever seen it. Next year's race starts now.

Porsche patent sketches show removable headrest wind deflector

While driving around in a convertible might seem glamorous, ask anyone with long hair and they'll likely tell you how it really is: the wind buffets, your hair goes everywhere and it's anything but glamorous. That's why you see so many convertibles driving with their tops up, their windows up or wind deflectors in place. But Porsche is apparently preparing to kick it up to the next level.
These patent drawings have leaked out, demonstrating what appears to be some new kind of wind-deflecting device being developed by Porsche. The mechanism is apparently fitted to the headrest itself and designed to keep the wind buffeting specifically around the head down to a minimum while allowing the car's occupants to enjoy the top-down driving experience.
No word on when it might hit the market, but we won't be surprised to see this kind of device appear on a future version of the Boxster or 911 Cabriolet. But nowhere else: despite the apparent leak, the patent drawings suggest that Porsche will be keeping this technology proprietary. Whether sister brands like Volkswagen, Bentley or Lamborghini will get their hands on it remains to be seen.

Porsche Macan to get four-cylinder engines

Porsche hasn't offered a four-cylinder engine since the 968 went out of production in 1995 - the better part of two decades ago. There'd been talk of a four-pot Boxster or an even smaller model to slot in below it, but while the latest intel indicates that Porsche is moving ahead with its four-cylinder plans, it's a different kind of vehicle that will get it first.
That, of course, would be the new Macan. Just revealed a few weeks ago at the LA Auto Show, the Macan crossover is being launched with a pair of twin-turbocharged V6 engines (a 3.0 with 340 horsepower and a 3.6 with 400 hp) and a six-cylinder turbodiesel with 258 hp. But smaller engines, according to emerging reports from Autocar and Auto Express, are on their way.
Word has it that Porsche is preparing a 2.0-liter turbo four with 280 horsepower and a diesel with the same displacement and cylinder count, engines that will power new entry-level Macan models that will slot in beneath the existing Macan S, Macan S Diesel and Macan Turbo. While the diesel is tipped to be ported over from the Volkswagen parts bin, the four-cylinder gasoline engine is said to be under development by Porsche itself, which could mean it will have a boxer layout.