Car and Driver Magazine recently published spy shots of the 2013 Porsche Boxster. I like the Boxster, but I have to say, I really like the look of this new model. Definitely more 911-like and the open top lines are mighty sexy.

A few details seem to be known such as 50 to 100 pounds lighter, LED turn signals, a little bump in power, optional PDK as before. There’s a possibility of a four cylinder engine, as well as an option on the other end of the spectrum producing 350 hp.

Check out all of the pictures and more info here: 2013 Porsche Boxster Spied Completely Undisguised.

[Source & Image: CarAndDriver.com]

This is an interesting approach. We’ve all seen the spy shots floating around. Porsche, along with other car manufacturers, attempt to hide new models while they put their cars through real world tests. Porsche, this time, kept a bunch of the camo on their new Porsche 911, the Porsche 991, but let a select group of media have access to the car to experience it prior to the official unveiling. I like that approach.

Scheduled to be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September, the new Porsche 911, the 991 series, promises to propel the 911 model to the next level. The car takes advantage of technology Porsche has been experimenting with, which have also shown up on other recent models. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Wider and longer wheelbase than the current 997 model
• Lower stance with a more severely raked windshield
• 3.4 liter engine cranking out 350 hp, with the S model hitting 3.8 liters and 400 hp
• Two 7 speed transmission options in the form of an improved PDK dual clutch version or a “manually controlled single clutch version of the PDK”
• Initial 0-60 mph times in the 4.5 second range
• Top speed of 186 mph

According to Car & Driver, August Achleitner who is Porsche’s head of the 911 range indicated the 991 in “best setup” form ripped around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes, 37 seconds. For comparison, the 911 GT2 RS makes the trip in 7 minutes, 18 seconds.

A new iteration of the Porsche 911 always gets me excited. I love hearing the reviews, the newcomers to the 911 series that get excited about owning one and the die hard 911 fans who hate every new model. It’s always unbelievable how far the 911 has come and how long it has lasted. Makes you wonder sometimes how much farther it can go.

[Source & Image: PCA]

I’ve been mulling over the Porsche Boxster E since the trio of cars showed up at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Berlin in May. Two Boxster E models were represented: one car containing two electric motors, and two cars with just one electric motor. The tests of the day were successful as far as Porsche was concerned. Their engineering team, I’m sure, gleaned loads of valuable test and real world experiential data as a result of the outing.

Interestingly, the Boxster E with two motors turned out some decent specs for Porsche’s first all-electric offering:

• 0 to 62 mph in just 5.5 seconds
• Top speed that’s limited to 124 mph
• 107 miles of driving pleasure
• Road ready weight of 3,527 lbs

Specs are fairly close to a Porsche Boxster S. Not bad. The two motor Boxster E will recharge in 9 hours on 220 v power. What’s interesting about the dual motor version is the increased efficiency of the drive unit as a result of two motors being used. More power is recovered due to more energy being captured during braking.

Here’s part of my hang up though. From the Porsche press release:

Because all Boxster Es are comparatively quiet on the road, Porsche engineers have designed an Active Sound Design system that provides drivers with acoustic feedback as well as alerting any passersby.

Now call me crazy, but it just feels like we’re getting away from some of the things that have not only defined automobiles, and specifically Porsches, but part of the allure and thrill of driving these cars in the first place. At the point where we have to manufacture a sound track not produced by the engine itself, I start to think we’re moving too closely to the Jetson era where none of us will even be able to enjoy the thrill of driving any longer.

I know electric cars are coming (heck, they’re already here), and it’s an important step in the evolution of the automobile. I’ll even admit I thought the Toyota Prius was the best thing since sliced bread when I first saw it and wanted one I could mod to double the battery power. Essentially coming close to what Porsche has done with the Boxster E, minus the good looks and power.

Maybe it’s all the futuristic “what will the road be like in 20 years” articles I’ve been reading lately, but I’m starting to wonder if I really want an Electric Porsche. This despite feeling the Tesla Roadster is one heck of a cool sports car. I guess I fear losing what I’ve come to love about Porsche (and other exotic greats like Ferrari and Lamborghini)…the sound…and possibly the place to even drive these cars if the bumper-to-bumper self-driving car predictions are to be believed.

That said, I know there is much to be gleaned from Porsche’s tests of the Boxster E. What they’ve put together with the Porsche 918 Spyder surely hasn’t disappointed! Nor has their advancements on the track with the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. I gladly embrace those cars as true Porsches through and through. I trust Porsche knows how to maintain the fabric woven into the brand and the cars they’ve successfully created for so many years. Maybe I just need to embrace change a bit more readily.

Would love to hear what you all think about an Electric Porsche and what that means for the future of the brand.

[Source & Images: Porsche]

When Porsche announced the official production of the Porsche 918 Spyder, they also announced the opportunity to purchase a special edition Porsche 911 Turbo S. You have the option of a Coupe or Cabriolet. The car carries inspired design cues from the 918 Spyder’s styling on both the interior and exterior.

Some of the features include:

• Similar exterior colors
• Carbon-fiber elements inside and out
• Enhanced leather equipment
• Numerous acid-green accents on items such as the brake calipers, illuminated sill plates, interior stitching and instrument cluster needles

Probably one of the most notable things is a limited edition badge on the glove compartment door. It will feature the same production number as your Porsche 918 Spyder. LOVE that!

The Porsche 918 Spyder is limited to 918 units, thus limiting the Porsche 911 Turbo S Edition 918 Spyder to the same production of no more than 918 cars. Unlike the 918 Spyder, the 911 Turbo S will begin hitting customer’s doorsteps later in 2011.

Base price for the 918 Spyder Edition of the 911 Turbo S is set at $160,700 for the Coupe version and $172,100 for the Cabriolet model. Add that to the 918 Spyder’s price tag and you’re dropping a cool mil on the package.

This has got to be one of the coolest special edition cars Porsche has ever offered. Not necessarily because it’s so much different than anything you could currently get your hands on, but more due to the tie in to the Porsche 918 Spyder. The personalization of the badging between the two cars is pretty sweet too.

It’ll be interesting to see how many 918 Spyder orders include an order for the 911 Turbo S. My guess is about 50%. I’m also curious to see how much these special edition 911 Turbo S cars will appreciate in value and how quickly.

A couple of weeks ago, Porsche officially announced it would be building the Porsche 918 Spyder concept car it showed off for the first time at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Dealers are taking orders for the $845,000 Über Porsche for delivery towards the end of 2013.

As a side note, I can’t imagine spending nearly a million dollars on a car I’m not going to see for at least two and a half years, possibly more if any production delays enter into the picture. Guess there are some seriously patient rich people out there.

The Porsche 918 Spyder reminds me of the Porsche 959 back in the 80′s. I just caught the Top Gear episode where they test drove a Porsche 959 alongside a Ferrari F40. Such an advanced car for it’s day. The 918 Spyder promises to be the same for today.

Here are some highlights:

• 500+ hp 4.0 liter V8 with a pair of electric motors providing a combined boost of 218 hp (at a minimum)
• Fuel economy on the order of 3.0 L every 100 km, which equates to nearly 16.5 mph, based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC)
• Manual roof system with removable panels you can store in the front luggage compartment
• 7 speed PDK transmission
• 0 to 60 in just a touch over 3 seconds
• Estimated top speed of 199 mph
• Anticipated times around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under 7 min, 30 sec
• Capability of reaching speeds up to 94 mph solely on electric power
• Batter rechargeable via a standard household outlet

This is going to be one heck of a car. Fast, efficient, and filled with technological advances. One of those cars we see from Porsche once a decade or so.

Can’t wait to see one of these babies parked at the local Papa Murphy’s for a pizza pickup.

Two for one goodness today. Shortly after announcing the Porsche 911 Black Edition, they announced another black beauty. This time for the Boxster line.

The Porsche Boxster S Black Edition is due out in the Spring as a 2012 model. Here are the feature highlights:

• 3.4 liter 6 cylinder engine with direct fuel injection
• 320 hp, 10 hp more than the Boxster S
• PDK transmission
• 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds
• Top speed of 170 mph
• 19″ wheels that are the lightest in the lineup
• Convenience & Infotainment Packages included standard

MSRP is $65,200. Even though it’s a special edition, it represents a $3,200 savings over a similarly equipped Boxster S. Only 987 of the Porsche Boxster S Black Edition cars will be produced.

Here are a few more features from the press release:

This new mid-engine sports car is only available in solid black and features a monochrome treatment with a black body, black convertible top and black-painted 19-inch Boxster Spyder design wheels. Normally contrasting trim pieces from the Boxster S are also painted for a uniform look: the supplemental safety bars and side air intake grilles are painted black, as are the twin exhaust tailpipes and the model designation on the rear luggage compartment lid. A Black Edition model designation is embossed on the side of the fabric roof.

The monochromatic theme continues to the interior where black is the only available color, with aluminum and stainless steel used as accents. The brushed stainless steel door-entry guards feature Black Edition lettering, and the standard SportDesign steering wheel features twin aluminum-look spokes with a rim of smooth-finish black leather. Also painted black are the trim strips on the dashboard and around the six-speed manual shift lever or the gear selector for the optional Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) seven-speed double clutch transmission, while the instrument dials are black instead of the usual white. Two final touches are the Porsche crest embossed on the headrests and a limited-edition badge on the glove compartment.

This is a gorgeous car with similar accents and features to the 911 Black Edition. I’d happily drive one of these Boxsters.

[Source & Image: Press.Porsche.com]

Thanks to 9Magazine for posting about the Porsche Boxster E “Rolling Laboratory” this morning. This appears to be a platform for Porsche to test it’s electronic drive components for upcoming models.

According to the 9Magazine site, the Boxster E has the following features:

• 240 hp motor (I’m assuming some type of gas/electric type thing, but maybe it’s all electric)
• 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds (this is why I was assuming something other than all electric, the #’s seem a bit slow)
• 29 kWh battery pack providing a range of around 100 miles on a charge

Porsche CEO, Matthias Müller, said, “Electric mobility will be one of Porsche’s central challenges in the coming years, and our engineers are ready to meet the challenge with their usual high standards.”

Porsche is supposed to be testing 3 Boxster E’s in and around Stuttgart, Germany in the coming weeks. There is supposed to be a new model announced at the Geneva Motor Show next month. Be interested to hear if it’s along these lines.

If you haven’t been out there yet, check out the 9Magazine site and consider subscribing. You can find them here: 9Magazine.com.

[Source & Image: 9Magazine)

This morning, at the Detroit Auto Show, Porsche unveiled the latest of it’s creations. This time it was the 918 RSR. The car is a race track bound vehicle that takes design cues from the Porsche 918 Spyder concept car and the hybrid technology from the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car.

This is one heck of a melding of two cars. I love the look and the fact that they have the hybrid technology included. Would be sweet if left the hybrid components exposed next to the driver like they have in the interior pictures.

No word on release date or if they’re even going to build the thing. Although I’m assuming since the 918 Spyder has a green light, this will as well.

Here’s the full press release if you want to see it:

Detroit, Jan. 10, 2011 — Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is continuing to extend its performance and high efficiency competence via intensive development work in the field of hybrid technology. With the Porsche 918 RSR, the manufacturer of sporty premium vehicles is presenting a high-end synthesis of 2010′s successful hybrid concepts. The two-seater mid-engine coupé 918 RSR clearly reveals what happens when the technology fitted in the 911 GT3 R hybrid and the design of the 918 Spyder are transferred to a modern, innovative super sports car.

With its highly-efficient flywheel accumulator, the 911 GT3 R hybrid racing car proved to be an attention magnet during competition racing on the Nuerburgring Nordschleife circuit, during the American Le Mans Series races (ALMS) in Road Atlanta/USA and the ILMC run in China’s Zhuhai. It demonstrated its massive performance potential under realistic motor racing conditions against top competitors. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid, referred to internally as the “Race Lab” actually surpassed the high expectations of Porsche Motorsport. Competitiveness, high reliability and exemplary fuel efficiency combined with top performance under-scored the Porsche technicians’ basic idea of generating additional power in an intelligent manner. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid obtains its additional power from its own vehicle dynamics when braking. Porsche is now transplanting this technology into the mid-engine coupé 918 RSR, the motor sports version of the 918 Spyder concept car.

From the tradition established by classic Porsche long-distance race cars such as the 908 long-tail coupé (1969) and the 917 short-tail coupé (1971), the Porsche designers created a link to the postmodernism of the “form follows function” philosophy. In the 918 RSR, the lines’ elegant flow is dominated by muscular wheel arches, dynamic air intakes and a pulpit-like cockpit. A visible fan wheel between the ram air intake tubes and a rear spoiler with RS Spyder dimensions additionally emphasize the racing laboratory function. The new “liquid metal chrome blue” color which has been created underscores the sculptured curves of the forms, whilst the typical Porsche hybrid orange color on brake calipers and the body’s longitudinal stripes lends remarkable touches.

Motor racing technology also dominates within the particularly light, torsionally stiff carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque. The V8 engine is a further development of the direct injection engine from the successful RS Spyder race car and now offers an output of precisely 563 hp at 10,300 rpm in the 918 RSR. The electric motors on the two front wheels each contribute 75 kW, i.e. a total of 150 kW, to the peak drive power of exactly 767 hp. This additional power, which is generated during braking, is stored in an optimized flywheel accumulator.

In the 918 RSR, the two electric motors offer a torque vectoring function with variable torque distribution to the front axle. This additionally increases agility and improves steering response. Mounted upstream of the rear axle, the mid-engine is integrated with a racing transmission also based on the RS Spyder race car. This further developed six-speed constant-mesh transmission with longitudinally mounted shafts and straight-toothed spur gears is operated using two shift paddles behind the racing steering wheel.

The vehicle’s functional equipment underscores its puristic motor racing character. Whether it be the characteristic doors which open obliquely upwards, the air intake in the roof bet ¬ween the wing doors, the quick-action locks on the front and rear CFRP lids, the two roof-mounted aerials for pit radio and telemetry, the RS Spyder-like small, lateral front flics or the air splitters beneath the front lip or no-profile racing slicks on 19″ wheels with central locking, the vehicle can be clearly recognized as an experimental racing laboratory.

In contrast to the 918 Spyder concept car, unadorned racing atmosphere predominates in the interior of the 918 RSR. The figure-hugging bucket seat’s brown leather covering cites the history of the gentleman driver; the gear flashes on the racing steering wheel and a recuperation display on the steering column in front of the display screen supply the pilot with information. Instead of the futuristic, ergonomically avant-garde centre console with touch-sensitive user interface from the 918 Spyder concept car, the 918 RSR’s cockpit is split by a minimalistic console with rocker switches. Instead of a second seat, the flywheel accumulator is positioned to the right of the console.

This flywheel accumulator is an electric motor whose rotor rotates at up to 36,000 rpm to store rotation energy. Charging occurs when the two electric motors on the front axle reverse their function during braking processes and operate as generators. At the push of a button, the pilot is able to call up the energy stored in the charged flywheel accumulator and use it during acceleration or overtaking maneuvers. The flywheel is braked electromagnetically in this case in order to additionally supply up to 2 x 75 kW, i.e. a total of 150 kW, from its kinetic energy to the two electric motors on the front axle.

This additional power is available for around eight seconds when the system is fully charged. In the successful 911 GT3 R Hybrid, this additional power can also be used as a consumption aid depending on the racing situation, e.g. to delay pit stops or reduce the fuel tank volume and therefore the weight of the vehicle.

With the new 918 RSR racing laboratory, Porsche is now elevating this motor racing hybrid concept to an experimental level. In the 918 RSR, “Porsche Intelligent Performance” equates to research into methods for further sustainable efficiency improvement under the intensified conditions of the race track, lap times, pit stops and reliability – a metier in which Porsche has been demonstrating its success for over 60 years.

Finally, the starting number, 22, pays homage to the anniversary of a further triumph. Back in the days when overall victories in Le Mans were not yet an entirely routine matter within the Porsche racing department, the pilots Dr. Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep were the first to cross the finishing line in 1971′s 24-hour classic. The distance record set by their Porsche 917 short-tail coupé – 5335.313 kilometers (3315.21 miles) at an average speed of 222.304 km/h (138.13 mph) – did not remain unbeaten for an eternity, but for exactly 39 years until 2010. At the time, the 917 in the Martini colors was also an experiment and far ahead of its time: a magnesium space frame set new standards in Porsche’s lightweight construction domain.

[Source & Images: Press.Porsche.com]

News on this one has been out for a bit, but I had to post pictures up of this car. I love the styling of this new Porsche 911 Carrera S that Porsche announced a couple of months ago. The Carrera Cup Asia will only be available in the Asian market according to 9Magazine (I searched for news on Porsche’s site, but didn’t find anything…at least in a language I could understand). Some other specs on the car:

• Offered in Guards Red, Carrera White and Black – Each color will have contrasting decals
• Engine will be the same as the Carrera S model outputing 385 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque
• PDK transmission will be the only option
• The interior is gorgeous with Alcantara wrapped seats, carbon fiber and red accents all over
• Possibly limited to 30 cars (based on a plaque shown on the 9Magazine site)

This is a great looking car. The interior is amazing looking.

Check out the post on 9Magazine.com for more pictures here: 911 Carrera S Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Unveiled.

[Source & Images: 9Magazine]

Last Wednesday, at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Porsche announced a new Cayman model we’ll see early next year as a 2012 model. I was never much of a fan of the Cayman until I flew down to California earlier this year with a buddy and helped him drive a Cayman Design Edition back (Porsche Cayman ROAD TRIP!!!). I had a chance to drive his car again a couple of months ago and the memories of what a stellar car it was came flooding back.

I’m sure part of it is the Porsche Design Edition trimmings that I fell in love with, but the handling of the car, it’s comfort on long stretches of seat time, and the overall look has really taken ahold of me. I’m still a bit on the fence between a Cayman vs. a 911 if I had to choose between the two, but there are plenty of times I would swing towards a Cayman.

This latest iteration of the Cayman only makes the decision harder. For a long time people have felt (and probably for good reason) that Porsche has intentionally held back the performance capabilities of the Cayman in order to keep it from outpacing the 911. This model helps close the gap with a small performance increase along with a whole lot of weight savings.

Here’s how Porsche summed it up in their press release:

The main objective in the concept and execution of the Cayman R was to improve the already energetic two-seater through a systematic reduction in weight, thereby increasing performance, driving dynamics and agility. With a DIN unladen weight of 2849 lbs. (1295 kg), Porsche engineers were able to achieve a power-to-weight ratio of 8.58 lbs. per hp (3.9 kilograms per hp) and with 8.8 lbs per hp (4 kilograms per hp) with the PDK.

Things like A/C and the stereo were scrapped, along with other standard equipment “not directly associated with driving performance” according to Porsche. A sports suspension system was included lowering the ride height of the Cayman R by 20mm, giving it a lower center of gravity.

The result? A dang impressive 0 to 60 mph sprint in 4.7 seconds with the standard six-speed manual transmission. Opt for the PDK tranny and you’re getting to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds.

Although styling is not all that different, I love the look of this Cayman R. I even like the cross between pea green and lime green exterior color.

Porsche reported the car will go on sale in February 2011 at a base price of $66,300.

[Source & Images: press.porsche.com]