| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Porsche Spreading the Rev-Matched Downshifting Love  Rowing your own gears is an artwork that takes years to gain a firm grasp of and many people never truly master it. Heel-to-toe downshifting, which is essentially the replacement for “double clutching” in older transmissions, allows you to match the engine speed to the transmission speed on the downshift. This speed matching helps eliminate embarrassing and lap-time-killing bucking as the synchros attempt to match up the speed of the engine and transmission. On top of that, it can also help extend the life of the synchros. In most cars, heel-to-toe shifting takes careful placement of your right foot, so you can press the brake pedal and still tap the throttle lightly to increase the engine speed just before releasing the clutch. This takes loads of practice to master, if you can ever master it. If executed perfectly, your car eases into the downshift more smoothly and accelerates out of it much quicker. Well, Porsche is now making this heel-to-toe shifting almost autonomous on several of its vehicles. We already learned that the Sports Chrono package on the 2013 Carrera 4 and 4S will boast this feature, but now reports are saying that this system will also come to the Boxster and Cayman lineups. On the downside, you cannot fine-tune this system to meet your driving styles, like you can on the Nissan 370Z, as Porsche assumes its engineers are good enough to develop this system to cover just about any driver. Given all of their past ventures, we don’t doubt their ability one bit. With this new addition, the Porsche lineup is showing that it is dead set on allowing its drivers to have maximum fun with minimal effort.
Video: Nissan Juke-R Vs. Porsche 911 GT2 RS
It was confirmed that the Juke-R will hit production, based on the 2012 GT-R specs, so this means it is time to pit it against some of the best sports cars on the planet. Car and Driver did just that with a great piece pitting the Juke-R against the best Porsche has to offer, the 911 GT2 RS. We need to keep in mind here that the test-model Juke-R is based on the initial run GT-R’s drivetrain, including its 495-horsepower, 3.8-liter (the video says 3.7-liter for some reason) V-6 twin-boost engine. The production Juke-R will come with the 2012 GT-R specs, including a boost to 530 horsepower, but will also cost about $590,000. No, that’s not a typo. In the other corner sits the $245,000 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, which boasts a 620-horsepower 3.6-liter flat-6 and a significant weight advantage. In the video, this crazy driver decides to take the cars to Bedford Autodrome and put their lap times to the test. Following that test, the team hits up an airfield and puts the two to a 1-mile test. Putting a 620-horsepower GT2 RS against a heavier Juke-R with a 125-horsepower deficiency typically means a win on all fronts for the GT2 RS. However, this test involves a slightly wet track and the Juke-R features the GT-R’s impressive AWD system, so the Juke-R just may come out on top. To find out, you’re going to have to check out the video. Not only is the video chock-full of racing action, but it also features some kick-ass slow-motion scenes that will blow your mind and tons of sweet, sweet noise. Enjoy!
Car and Athlete: Andrew Bynum may no longer be a Laker, but he’s still a bonafide car nut
Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum - yeah, he’s not a Los Angeles Laker anymore - is a pretty tall dude at 7’0", but even with all that length, not to mention the bulk of being close to 300 lbs, the 24-year old certainly has a pretty strong affinity for top-of-the-line supercars. As we previously showed in the last installment of Car and Athlete, athletes with this kind of financial security have become more adept at splurging their dollars on something as insatiably satisfying as a limited edition model. Andrew Bynum fits into this mold because the man is more than just a highly-paid basketball player; he’s got the garage to back it up too. So have you ever wondered what kind of cars Bynum has in his garage? True to his reputation as one of the most popular auto enthusiasts in the world, Bynum’s list of cars run long and impressive. Find out what kind of cars Andrew Bynum has tried to fit his seven-foot frame into after the jump. Full story Supercar Frankenstein: Piecing Together the Ultimate Supercar
Every car nut has daydreamed about building a car. Hell, we do on a daily basis, and building one in real life would cost more money than we could ever imagine having in our checking accounts. Let’s suspend reality for a tick here and imagine that someone handed you a blank check and asked for you to build the ultimate supercar. Well, we are going to go over all of the supercars and lay out what pieces from which cars would come together to create the ultimate supercar Frankenstein. Now, there are some rules here. We have to make sure things are feasible. Things like slapping a W-16 Veyron engine into a Lotus Elise will not work, therefore it flat out can’t be done. We’ll review our favorites in each of the three major categories — body and chassis, engine, and transmission — and end it all up by giving you our estimated specifications for our new vehicle. Click past the jump to experience our build. Full story Video: Porsche Museum Secrets Part One
Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg in Germany is the home of the Porsche Museum, which holds roughly 500 various Porsche models, some of which are the rarest Porsches in the world. In the same city is a secrete compound that Porsche has purchased to store its priceless pieces when they are not being displayed. As you would expect, there are some very exciting models in this storage facility, including a family car that Porsche was experimenting with for the Chinese market. The above video is the first of a series that will go through the various cars in this storage facility and let you in on all of the little details on each vehicle. This debut video basically has just enough time to outline the Porsche Museum and the storage facility, as well as one ultra-rare model. This model in question is the first ever Porsche 911 Turbo. This model was specially built as a birthday present to the daughter of Ferdinand Porsche, Louise Porsche. Unlike every other 911 Turbo, this model actually lacks the “Turbo” badge on the rear, something that she specially requested. In all, this introductory video is pretty awesome, but we can’t wait for part two. The second part will include a wider array of vehicles stored in the facility, including: 996 Bulletproof, 906 Ollon-Villars Hill Climb, FLA Concept Study, 924 World Record Car, 928 Convertible Prototype, 908 Targa Forio, and 984 Porsche Junior. Stay tuned, as we will drop the second video as soon as we get our hands on it.
Spy Shots: Porsche 911 GT3 gets closer to its official reveal The new generation Porsche 911 GT3 is set to be unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, but we’ll be able to see plenty of pictures ahead of its debut thanks to our spy photographers. Our guys snagged up a few more images of the prototypes testing, this time with a clearer look at the future sports car. The new 911 GT3 will feature the same exterior updates as all of the other models in the 911 line-up, but Porsche’s main focus will be to reduce the car’s overall weight. Rumors say that the car will be about 180-200 lbs lighter than the current model. Under the hood, Porsche will be working with a normally aspirated 3.8-liter flat six engine with an output of 450 HP, a 15 HP increase over the current model. With the extra 15 HP and the decrease in weight, the upcoming 911 GT3 will get closer to a top speed of 200 mph. The model will also only be offered with a PDK seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic, no manual for this baby. Sales for the new Porsche 911 GT3 will begin in late 2013. 1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion
In the mid-1990s, Porsche unveiled the 911 GT1 - a race car specially developed for the GT1 class of sportscar racing. Despite being called a "911," the GT1 had very little in common with the 911: only the frontal chassis was shared with the 993 911, while almost every other element was borrowed from the Porsche 962, including the flat-six engine. During its first appearance at the 1996 Le Mans, the GT1 walked away with a second and third overall finish, as well as first and second in class. Despite these finishes, Porsche still wanted more, so in 1997, they came up with the GT1 Evo - a model that featured aerodynamic tweaks to the bodywork and a revision of the suspension. These changes helped the GT1 score more victories, including a one-two finish at Le Mans in 1998, where it beat out teams from McLaren, Toyota, and Panoz. Not willing to let the fun rest solely on the track, Porsche set out to make a street-legal version of the award-winning GT1, which is then dubbed the Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion. The model was limited to only 25 units and cost a cool $912,000. Hit the jump to read more about the Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion. Full story Car Infographics: Automotive Fantasy Football Lineup
Okay, so there are two things that I really love, besides my family and close friends, of course. Those two things are cars (obviously) and football. With my love of football comes my love of fantasy football, much to my wife’s chagrin. Well, the folks over at Shopautoweek have taken both of my loves and put them together in the form of automotive fantasy football. They chose a lineup of cars to make up the offensive side of a football team. The team consists of a full assortment of offensive linemen, which you actually don’t have in most fantasy football leagues: a quarterback, fullback, running back, tight end, and two wide receivers. They even went as far as putting out a scouring report listing why they selected each car for these respective positions. We do disagree with some of their selections, but overall it is a good effort. So check out the full infographic after the jump and let us know in the comments section what cars you would put on your team. Full story 2014 Porsche 911 Targa may not happen after all A few months ago, there was a Porsche prototype caught testing that looked to be a Targa model disguised by a convertible top. At that point, we all though that Porsche was bringing back the famous fixed Targa roof option for the new generation 911. However, according to Autoevolution, this may not be the case after all. They are quoting a Porsche insider saying that "the car maker is considering selling the new glass roof model as a special Carrera rather than a Targa." More than likely, Porsche took the public’s level of interest into account and decided that the Targa would be better off as an option as opposed to a full blown model. That would mean that this version would still get both rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive configurations and the engines from both standard 911 Carrera and Carrera S models. Previous rumors suggested that the 991 generation Targa would arrive in 2013 as a 2014 model, so we expect the new Targa option to have the same timeline. Lindsay Lohan Claims the Porsche’s Brakes Failed, Porsche Finds no Faults So there have been a few new details to emerge about Lindsay Lohan’s rented Porsche turned derby car since we last paid the story a visit, so we figured we should package it all up nice and neat, and let you know what’s up. It all begins with Lohan driving a Porsche 911, which was rented, to the studio where her newest TV show was being filmed. In the process, she managed to position the front end of this beautiful piece of German engineering firmly under the tail end of a semi-truck. Shortly after that, we found out that the insurance company insuring the TV show she is in strictly prohibits her from driving while the show is being filmed, thanks to her many run ins with the boys in blue while behind the wheel. TMZ, our leading informant on this topic, then dug up a report that Lohan was claiming that the brakes on this nearly brand new Porsche failed to stop the car when the 18-wheeler [ahem] “cut her off.” So it couldn’t have been her fault, right? It just so happens that Porsche decided that it needed to find out what was wrong with the brakes on this flagship sports car, so Porsche investigators called up the rental company that owns the car and had it shipped to a testing facility so the investigators can check the brakes. The investigators tested every inch of the braking system trying to find the root cause of his high-profile Porsche smash-up job. There was just one problem with the tests... The brakes passed all of Porsche’s tests with flying colors! So, now Lohan is caught in a boldface lie and has officially garnered a large portion of our attention to see what kind of boneheaded excuse she can come up with next. As we said before, we highly doubt that this is the end of this story and we anticipate a lot more information coming out soon. As soon as we get wind of anything else, we’ll let you know.
| Porsche 911 latest reviews:Porsche 911 tuning:
Find us on Facebook | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|