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Video: 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 rolls into Jay Leno’s Garage Thursday, 29 July 2010, 5:31 pm

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Porsche, Celebrities

Porsche recently dropped off a new 911 GT3 at Jay Leno’s garage where racer Justin Bell picked it up for a bit of a road trip. Before the trip, Leno and Bell discuss their preference for normally aspirated manual transmission Porsches over the more powerful turbos and dual-clutch PDKs.

On his way to Laguna Seca for the spring American Le Mans Series event, Bell finds a perfect little road for his own private hill climb and gushes over the responsiveness of the non-turbo engine and enormous Brembo binders. At Laguna, Bell hooks up with factory pilot Patrick Long to discuss the differences between the Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 he races and the roadgoing GT3 which spawned it. Even within the limits of the rules set out by the ACO, Flying Lizard and Porsche have managed to find a lot of creative ways to extract more speed out of their competition machine. Check out the full video after the jump.

[Source: Jay Leno's Garage]

Continue reading Video: 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 rolls into Jay Leno’s Garage

Video: 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 rolls into Jay Leno’s Garage originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Sam Abuelsamid

Porsche Panamera touring car is victorious, proves mass is no object [w/video] Thursday, 29 July 2010, 2:59 pm

Filed under: Motorsports, Sedan, Performance, Europe, Videos, Porsche, Racing

We’re guessing that Porsche had to do some head scratching when it came to figuring out which motorsports arena would best suit its big Panamera. After all, the company prides itself on forging its wares in the fire of competition. Heck, it even managed to find a suitable arena for the high-riding Cayenne in the Trans-Siberia Rally. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the scientists at Stuttgart to locate a racing league that would suit the portly Porsche’s talents: The N.Technology team chose to campaign a modified version of the fast four-door in the Italian Supercar series.

The field is made up of other massive bruisers, complete with front-mounted V8 power plants. On any given race day, you can easily see a Chrysler 300C tango with a Maserati Quattroporte – something that few other race leagues on the planet can boast. Evidently, the big Panamera is off to a good start – the car managed to take the checkered flag on its very first outing. We haven’t been able to lay our hands on any footage of the N.Technology car dishing out heaping spoonfuls of hurt to the rest of the field, but we have found a quick clip of last year’s season for a little taste of incredibly compelling action. Hit the jump to see for yourself.

[Source: Jonsibal via Autoguide]

Continue reading Porsche Panamera touring car is victorious, proves mass is no object [w/video]

Porsche Panamera touring car is victorious, proves mass is no object [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Zach Bowman

Rumormill: 2012 Porsche Cayman Clubsport headed for LA Auto Show Wednesday, 28 July 2010, 7:29 pm

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Porsche, Rumormill

According to Porsche enthusiast site Planet-9.com, a hardcore version of the Cayman, dubbed CS or Clubsport, will be shown at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show in December. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumblings of a lighter, more powerful Cayman, but now that Porsche has successfully launched the Boxster Spyder, it’s only fitting that the same sort of package be offered on its harder-core hardtop sister.

Expect the Clubsport to produce around 333 horsepower from its 3.4-liter flat-six, an increase of 13 hp over the Cayman S. From there, lightweight 19-inch wheels will be standard, as will fabric door pulls, aluminum body components and a slightly revised front fascia that we’ve seen on the Boxster Spyder. Obviously, the real goal with a Clubsport model is lightness, and Planet-9 reports that the CS should be about 162 to 184 pounds lighter than the stock Cayman S.

If the LA Auto Show reveal stands true, the Cayman CS should be hitting the road sometime in 2011 as a 2012 model, priced from around $66,300. Fingers crossed, everyone.

[Source: Planet-9]

Rumormill: 2012 Porsche Cayman Clubsport headed for LA Auto Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Steven J. Ewing

Video: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche GT3 sets Pikes Peak Time Attack 2WD class record Wednesday, 28 July 2010, 5:29 pm

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Porsche, Racing

We’ve seen footage of Jeff Zwart practicing for his recent run up Pikes Peak, now filmmaker Will Roegge has delivered unto us the footage from Zwart’s Time Attack 2WD class record.

Zwart ran his 911 GT3 up 12.42 miles and through 156 turns in just 11:31.095, averaging over 65 miles per hour. But you don’t need us to tell you about it – these things tend to speak for themselves. Follow the jump to watch a record being set.

Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Sources: Will Roegge, YouTube]

Video: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche GT3 sets Pikes Peak Time Attack 2WD class record originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Jonathon Ramsey

BREAKING: Porsche approves 918 Spyder for production Wednesday, 28 July 2010, 4:32 pm

Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Hybrid, Porsche, Electric

As expected, the Porsche supervisory board has approved the development of the 918 Spyder concept into a series production model. The 918 debuted as a concept at this year’s Geneva Motor Show with a plug-in hybrid powertrain claimed to provide 78 miles per gallon.

The concept used a 500-horsepower V8 along with a pair of electric motors with 109 hp each and a lithium ion battery that can provide 16 miles of emissions-free driving from grid energy. The powertrain is not expected to be changed much for production and Porsche has not announced when 918 will be available. There has been speculation that the production model could cost up to €500,000 (about $650,000 USD), although if it comes to the States, it should be eligible for a federal tax credit. Even with up to $7,500 it still makes the Chevrolet Volt look downright cheap.

Before you start looking in your couch cushions for a down payment, check out the official press release after the jump and our high-res gallery below.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading BREAKING: Porsche approves 918 Spyder for production

BREAKING: Porsche approves 918 Spyder for production originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Sam Abuelsamid

Autoblog Podcast #188 – with Mike Spinelli of 0-60 magazine Tuesday, 27 July 2010, 9:30 pm

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Porsche, Toyota, Design/Style

Chris Shunk, Alex Nunez and Dan Roth are joined this week by Mike Spinelli, editor-in-chief of 0-60 magazine. Topics for Episode #188 of the Autoblog Podcast are the 2011 Ford Explorer, Audi’s A7 Sportback, the announcement of the Hyundai Equus coming to the U.S. market, hybrid/electric Porsches and zombie-like rumors of a new Ford Ranger for North American showrooms. We also pepper poor Mike with our impressions of his fine publication. It’s an hour-and-ten of stellar repartee this week, thanks for listening, see you next time!

Autoblog Podcast #188 – with Mike Spinelli from 0-60 magazine

In the Autoblog Garage:

Dodge Challenger R/T
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Sienna Limited AWD

News:

• Mulally unwittingly confirms next-gen Ford Ranger for U.S.
  
• 2011 Ford Explorer unveiled
  
• Audi A7 Sportback images leaked ahead of Monday reveal
  
• Hyundai reveals 2011 Equus details
  
• Porsche testing three electric Boxsters in 2011

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Alex Nunez, Chris Shunk

Runtime: 86:17

---

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #188 – with Mike Spinelli of 0-60 magazine originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Dan Roth

Unlikely Ire: Dan Neil excoriates 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder Tuesday, 27 July 2010, 12:01 am

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Porsche, Design/Style

When we look at the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder rap sheet, it’s hard not go get a bit excited. It looks seriously terrific, it weighs but 2,811 pounds, and it packs 320 mid-mounted ponies. Good stuff. When we spent some time behind the wheel of the Spyder, we fell more than deeply in love with this, the purest of Boxsters. If only automotive super-journo Dan Neil agreed.

Neil’s review of the Boxster Spyder in The Wall Street Journal falls somewhere short of glowing prose – in fact, it’s about 500 miles short of glowing and a mere six inches past poor. The Pulitzer prize-winning author pans the Spyder’s top as beyond difficult (we called it “trick”). Okay, so a convertible top that was designed to save 46 pounds is probably going to shape up as less than ideal (Neil: “Find me the guy who designed the canvas top. Bring me his head on a platter”), but if Neil thinks this top is Erector Set hell, he should get his hands on a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster.

Anything else wrong here? Well, there’s the power for starters. Neil feels the Spyder’s 320 horses are hamstrung by 273 pound-feet of torque that can only be best accessed when pushing the flat-six hard. And then there is the six-speed manual transmission, which Neil feels is inferior in every way to the PDK dual-clutch tranny (”Those purists out there still clinging to your six-speed manuals, please go home. Your black-and-white TV is on the fritz.”).

So… is the Boxster Spyder God’s gift to lightweight roasters or is it a reason to fire the engineers who designed this Porsche’s lightweight top? We know Dan – he’s a swell guy and one hell of a writer, but even though we’re decidedly short on Pulitzers, we can’t help but think that to slate the Spyder for not being a great everyday car is to miss its point altogether. Factory lightweight specials like this one are always a bit silly for street use, always ask for more concessions of their drivers, and, if they’re German, they always cost a bunch more, too. And yet… we’d still rock the top Boxster any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Oh, and we’re just fine with the three-pedal setup, thanks – like seemingly every dual clutch gearbox, the PDK still has lousy low-speed drivability – and you can call us hopeless romantics, but when it’s not about chalking up lap times, we still love to row our own gears.

Head over to the WSJ to read Neil’s scathing review for yourself.

Photos by Michael Harley / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal - sub. req.]

Unlikely Ire: Dan Neil excoriates 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Chris Shunk