Porsche has just sent out the first official pictures and details of the new 911 GT3: series 991.
Technical highlights are:
Porsche Motorsport has just sent over this teaser pic of a new 991 race car with its nose sticking out of a garage. It’s a very small view of next year’s big deal, but still creates some excitement.
This new 991 racecar is showing GT3 R-style/Cup Car bodywork: quite a bit narrower than the Porsche 991 RSR spy shots we revealed a few days ago. The rear shot attracted the most likes ever on the burgeoning Ferdinand Porsche Mag Facebook page, with almost 600 thumbs to its credit so far. Here’s some video of the new 991 in action:
Stuttgart is starving us of technical details for the 2013 Cup car and RSR programmes, but we’ll share what we learn as it comes along.
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The new Porsche Cayman has been scooped ahead of its LA Show launch later this month. An Instagrammer in an Atlanta warehouse caught it hiding out. Lights are disguised but you get the picture. Follow Ferdinand Magazine on Instagram as @CultofPorsche.
Almost eight weeks after its debut at the Paris Motor Show, people are still talking about the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo. Porsche has taken the model’s online microsite down, but there’s no doubt Stuttgart has plans for the concept.
Porsche supremo Matthias Muller gave a production version the strongest green light yet when he told one reporter: “The Panamera Sport Turismo sells. The next generation of the Panamera is expected to more sporty and coupe-like, then next place for such a model.”
Autoweek’s coverage of the concept Panamera station wagon revealed some interesting details on the production and likely market positioning of a production Sport Turismo.
“The body concept of the Panamera Sport Turismo is an outlook on a possible Porsche sports car of tomorrow,” said Matthias Muller, without providing any official time line for the introduction of the production version.
Porsche says it investigated spinning a wagon off the current Panamera design, but the high cost of re-engineering the rear body structure, including vital changes to the bulkhead to open up the loading area, proved prohibitive. As such, the new model has been integrated into the development process of the second-generation Panamera.
“In terms of the overall concept, the wagon is not too far removed from the liftback. Both use a large tailgate, with the structure engineered appropriately to suit both,” Porsche revealed. “The decision to push ahead with plans for a Panamera wagon has been driven by customer feedback. We have existing Panamera owners who seek greater practicality but don’t necessarily see the Cayenne as a solution.”
No official measurements are available for Panamera Sport Turismo’s luggage space, but it’s said to offer seven cubic feet more than the Panzer hatch’s 15.7 cubic feet. This puts it close to Audi A6 Avant, at 20 cubic feet, and the Mercedes CLS shooting brake at 20.8 cubic feet.
Porsche announces the 2013 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S: 550 horsepower in 2,250 kg/5,000 lbs, give or take some man maths. Germany says it’s “the top athlete in SUV clothing: all of the basic Cayenne properties such as versatile offroad capabilities, high ride comfort and superior towing power have been preserved.” 0-60 is now 4.5 seconds and the top speed is 283 kmh/175 mph.
A 3 year-old, £25,000 used Porsche Cayenne diesel does “all of the basic Cayenne properties” Porsche mentions more than well enough, and proves that you don’t need 550 hp in a keep-it-for-years Porsche utility. Keen as it looks, what does a Cayenne Turbo S add to the best execution of a Stuttgart SUV?
It comes with active suspension management, dynamic chassis control, torque vectoring and standard Sports Chrono. It’s got glossy exterior trims, specially designed 21-inch rims, and bi-colour leather inside. It costs €150,000 in standard form, but does no practical SUV job better than the oil-burning benchmark. It’s shinier, but horses don’t care about that when they’re standing in a box, bolted to the back.
Ferry Porsche’s favourite cars always encapsulated a sweet-spot of engineering, performance and common sense: bling was not Ferry’s thing. China is currently awash with people who buy stuff because it’s the dearest, but will China buy enough of this to make it worth bothering with? What about Europe? The prestige market here is struggling, and Porsche has already cut production in response. Its hard not to feel that more power means more irrelevance out west, as luxury Europe contracts and California fuel prices hit an all-time high.
Cayenne Diesel has many of the qualities held in high regard by Porsche’s founders, but the Cayenne Turbo S is not Porsche as many know and love it. Stuttgart better hope that China stays rich: let’s hope it has plans for smaller, lighter modes of transport to support the founder’s vision.
“The future of Porsche” was how Porsche President, Matthias Müller, described the Panamera Sport Turismo concept, just unveiled at the Paris motor show. Turismo features what Stuttgart calls e-hybrid: plug-in hybrid with a petrol engine.
“Today we’re taking a look at Porsche’s future,” said the President. “We’ve developed an entirely new vehicle concept, which did not exist so far. A very special sports car, which is perfectly in line and a perfect fit with our customers and the future of Porsche.
Transport Bulky Sports Equipment
“It’s become an uncompromising Porsche for active people who not only want to experience the fascination of power and dynamics on the road. This innovative vehicle design is tailored to our customers’ needs, like a bespoke suit. Customers who want very good everyday usability and flexibility, without renouncing the Porsche typical performance, who occasionally need sufficiently large luggage space to transport bulky sports equipment, however still appreciate the elegance of an exclusive Gran Turismo.
“Innovative: that is also the drivetrain. It’s a highly efficient plug-in hybrid system. Looking at our concept car is, at the same time, a look at the future of Porsche. Not just in terms of the drive; the design anticipates many of the things that our customers will find with Porsche in the future.”
Muller repeated his assertion of this as the future later in his presentation, so it’s clearly more than fantasy. How will Porsche fans greet the news that a five-door estate with a silent electric motor is the future? Or are shareholders’ reactions more important?
What do you think? Is it a sports car, or a big, fast Prius? Note: I am pro-Prius.
Visit the Panamera Turismo Microsite
The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo microsite is here, including a 360-degree rotator and video of the unveil. These screen grabs are from the site.
If you watch the English version, your sound will take until Müller exits the car to come on, so do not adjust your set. Note that the pop-up window for video is also titled “direction future”.