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Porsche Backpedaling on the Pajun: Says "Not a Done Deal"
  It seems like it was just last week that we were reporting that Porsche was officially announcing the Pajun. Oh, that’s because it was just last week, but now Porsche is reneging on its upcoming plans to add in an entry-level performance sedan. In an interview with Stuttgarter Zeitung, Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller made it quite clear that the Pajun is not a certainty, yet. Per Automotive News, Mueller stated that the Pajun is in no way a done deal and might arrive in five to six years. The words “might arrive” are dripping with uncertainty and leave all of us pretty much standing around wondering what’s going on. Being car folks, we understand that Porsche needs to be very careful with its fan base, so we get it that they are a little secretive at this time. Many enthusiasts did not take to well to the Panamera’s release a few years ago and they certainly had their voices heard. Placing a vehicle below it may cause a complete uproar in the Porsche world, so it is best for Mueller to be as indecisive as possible with this potential launch. One car that was undeniably axed in the same interview was a smaller entry-level roadster. This sub-Boxster, or baby Boxster as many were calling it, was completely eliminated, as Mueller stated "We would do no good to the brand if we were to lose traditional Porsche customers" when he was asked by Stuttgarter Zeitung about the baby Boxster project. So for all of you fresh grads dreaming of a smaller and cheaper version of the Boxster as a graduation present, you can forget about it. For those that were hoping for a sports sedan under the Panamera, we’ll just have to take the old wait-and-see approach. Spy Shots: Porsche 918 Spyder caught testing in Germany
 Porsche has just dropped a series of new official details and images on their upcoming 918 Sypder, and while we were reading the press release, our spy photographers sent us a new set of spy shots of the upcoming supercar. We’re guessing these photos were taken in the same place the "official" spy shots were taken, but our images show the car from a few more angles. The future 918 Spyder is set to be unveiled at the end of September 2013 as planned, with the first customers receiving their vehicles before 2013 is out. It will combine a 4.6 liter V8 of combustion engine and two independent electric motors – one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels - for a total output of more than 770 HP according to Porsche. However, if rumors are true, then this Porsche will be dishing out somewhere in the 800 HP area (570 HP from the V8 engine, 120 HP from the rear electric motor, and 110 HP from the front one). The hybrid supercar will also have an impressive fuel economy of 3 liter per 100 kilometers and Porsche says it will come with "spectacular solutions such as a full carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque with unit carrier, fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering, and the upward-venting “top pipes” exhaust system. " All of that gets us truly hyped about this hybrid monster, but the Porsche 918 Spyder will be priced in the $850K area and only 918 units will be built, so don’t expect to see it on every street corner. Porsche Pajun sedan and station wagon confirmed for 2017
In the past few months or so, Porsche has revealed that they are planning the production of a new model to be placed under the current Panamera. We’re not really sure why they are planning this, but it probably has something to do with the fact that the Panamera has been very well-received in spite of the huffs and puffs of Porsche fanatics wanting the company to stick to sports cars. Until now, rumors of this future Pajun (Panamera Junior) model will be offered only as a sedan, but now German magazine Autobild is reporting that Porsche will also be offering a Pajun station wagon and that both will arrive in 2017. The future Pajun will be built on an entirely new platform and will be offered with a new range of engines: six-cylinder gasoline units with 320, 420, and 520 HP and a six-cylinder diesel engine with up to 313 HP. It will especially target models like the Mercedes E-Class. The future Porsche Pajun will be priced at about €65,000, or about $85,000 at the current exchange rates.
2012 Porsche Cayenne Cayster GT 670 by Hofele Design
German tuner, Hofele Design, has earned a stellar reputation as one of the leading Porsche Cayenne tuners in the world. Their program for the Porsche SUV, called the "Cayster GT 670," has been developed for a number of model years for the Cayenne and we’re not the least bit surprised to find out that they’ve released an updated version for the 2012 model. Made up of a comprehensive aerodynamic body kit to go with a performance program, the 2012 Cayster GT 670 is one Cayenne that has truly been modded to look more aggressive than a standard 2012 Cayenne looks. The first part of the package is a 14-piece aero kit that includes a number of new "bolt-on" components, including a new front bumper with integrated LED lights, widened wheel arches, a new "PowerDome" hood, new side sills, a rear spoiler and roof wing, and a new rear bumper with its own diffuser. Rounding off the exterior changes are a new set of 20" or 22" alloy wheels that have been finished in either black or silver. Inside, the German tuner fitted new two-tone "StarLight" leather seats with quilted accents and Hofele Design logos embroidered on the headrests. As far as performance is concerned, Hofele Design has a number of modifications for both the Cayenne Diesel and Cayenne S Hybrid. For the former, the engine enhancements increased the output of the SUV from the standard 241 horsepower and 405 lb/ft of torque all the way up to 296 horsepower and 479 lb/ft of torque. Meanwhile, the latter gets an increased output of 474 horsepower and 543 lb/ft of torque, a significant improvement from the standard model’s 374 horsepower and 427 lb/ft of torque numbers.
Spy Shots: Porsche Macan caught testing for the first time
 Previous spy shots of the Porsche Macan were a little deceiving because the luxury SUV was well-hidden under the Audi Q5 body, but now we’re getting the real deal! Our spy photographers were able to catch the future baby SUV testing for the first time wearing its full body. Porsche tried to hide it under the usual array of camouflage, but it is clear that the future Macan will share design elements with its bigger brother, the Cayenne. The Porsche Macan is based on the Audi Q5 platform, but it will come with an improved chassis, better brakes, and other wheels. Under the hood, Porsche will also be using engines borrowed from Audi in both petrol and diesel variants, but tuned to deliver better performance. A hybrid version is also expected and will combine a 210 HP 2.0 TFSI with a 44 HP electric motor. This system will help the Macan deliver a Co2 emissions of only 130 g/km - a target that needs to be hit by all manufacturers by 2015 according to the new European regulations. Porsche has already confirmed that the new Macan will be produced in Leipzig starting 2013. The model will initially be offered in a four-door configuration, but a sportier looking two door version is also expected. Porsche achieves massive revenue in first quarter of 2012
 On the back of an extremely ambitious plan for the future, Porsche recently recorded revenue and sales for the first quarter of 2012 on the back of the extremely successful 991 911 sales which were dramatically up on its predecessor, the 997. For starters, Porsche increased worldwide sales by 29% up to 30,231 vehicles over the same period as last year, thus boosting revenue by 32.4% to just over 3 billion euro. Additionally, and arguably most importantly, the German company took on an additional 725 employees across the globe in the first quarter of the year with 16,032 employees now working for the company on the 31st of March. Lutz Meschke, the Chief Financial Officer for Porsche said, “We are extremely satisfied with the first quarter 2012 results. We will keep this momentum going – exactly in line with our growth strategy. We can fund both the significant increase in investment and the development expenditure for expanding our model range out of our strong cash flow. And both of those things with a return on sales of 17.5 per cent, which is significantly in excess of our strategic target value of a minimum of 15 per cent.” Although the Porsche 911 cannot be solely blamed for this influx of sales, it did play a major role with sales of the 911 alone increasing by 37.6 per cent over its predecessor, so it’s clear that the controversial electric-power steering isn’t putting prospecting buyers off. What’s more, Porsche also confirmed that it would be adding a further nine models or variants to its line-up this year with the majority expected to be derivatives of the 911. The CEO of Porsche, Matthias Muller concluded by saying “Behind these extremely gratifying figures is a clearly defined line: we focus systematically on solid, sustainable and high-quality growth. The youngest and most efficient model range of all time gives us an outstanding platform on which to sustain this course throughout 2012.” Porsche developing new mid-engined, flat-six, four-door coupe?
 It goes without saying that Porsche has extremely ambitious plans for the future. Not only does Porsche want to almost double annual sales to over 200,000 in the next 6 years, it also plans to rapidly expand its current line-up with the addition of the 918 Spyder, junior-Cayenne or Cajun, a new sports car to compete with the Ferrari 458 Italia, and possibly a baby-Boxster and baby-Panamera. And if Automobile Magazine is to be believed, the expansion won’t stop there. According to rumors ignited by Automobile Magazine, Porsche is currently working on a brand new four-door coupe to rival the Ferrari FF, currently codenamed the “FeFi,” or ‘Ferrari Fighter’. If these reports hold water, the possible Porsche 960 would be mid-engined and feature a fuel-efficient yet extremely powerful twin-turbo flat-six motor delivering upwards of 650HP if Porsche really wants to rival the 670HP Ferrari FF. Very little else is known about this car, except for the remarkable fact that it could be built around the new universal MSB platform being developed by the Volkswagen group which would also underpin any possible VW BlueSport spin-offs, the Lamborghini Aventador’s successor, and possibly even the next-generation Porsche Cayman. One curious thing to note about the Porsche 960 is that it’s being strictly called a coupe and a mid-engined sports car, so how Porsche plans to fit a flat-six engine in the middle of the car while keeping coupe proportions and adding two additional seats is anyone’s guess, but it’s definitely an intriguing concept. If this car does in fact make it to production, don’t expect to see it in showrooms until late 2015. Please note the car pictured is the upcoming 2014 Porsche 961. Porsche R&D Chief says a diesel Boxster is in the cards
 The recent 33rd Vienna Motor Symposium brought out some of the most amazing details about Volkswagen’s future plans, ranging from internal combustion engines to hybrids and electrics. However, one of the most amazing announcements involved a diesel engine for the future Porsche Boxster. This isn’t the first time Porsche will be offering a diesel engine for their models - they are already doing it with the Cayenne and Panamera - but offering it in two large models and then going to a tiny sports car is quite a jump. It may sound crazy, but Porsche has indicated that it could happen in the future. Porsche R&D Chief and VW Group’s engine guru Wolfgang Hatz said at the conference that he is "firmly convinced the internal combustion engine will remain dominant in the foreseeable future. The diesel has arrived and is a firm part of our strategy. There will be more powerful variations with Porsche-like performance. It would be wrong to say no to a Boxster diesel for all times." This news follows the announcement of the Porsche Boxster E, which has been in the prototype stage for a couple of years ans should be debuting for the 2013 MY. The Boxster E is powered by two independent electric motors - one on the front axle and one on the rear - that develop a total power output of 241 HP and a maximum total torque of 398 lbs-ft at a maximum engine speed of approximately 12,000 rpm. With this amount of power, the car will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and can hit a top speed of 124 mph, all while producing zero tailpipe emissions. The question is which type of engine would you prefer for the Boxster: a diesel or a full electric? Let us know in the comments section below! 1976 Porsche 934 Turbo RSR FIA GR/4
When it comes to 1970s road racing events, there was Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, then everybody else. One of these fine examples is heading off to auction on Saturday May 12th in Monaco, via RM Auctions. This example up for sale is the 1976 Porsche 934 Turbo RSR FIA GR/4 chassis No. 930.670.0540. The 1976 Porsche 934 Turbo RSR FIA GR/4 was one of the most important years in road racing series, as in the years following, each of the large road-racing series implemented rule changes that would eliminate these cars being road legal. This 1976 Porsche is one of the last examples of a road-legal racecar, which means you can title it and drive it on any city street. This model is also important, as its chassis number shows that this was the final model of 31 built of this type. This not only makes it a rare beast, but also a collectable one, being the final production model. The only more desirable chassis would be the first one built. Despite the fact that this model Porsche was racing against non-road-legal models, it still pulled off some impressive races. By far its biggest success was its 4th overall finish in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans. This makes it no surprise that this car also won many overall class championships between 1976 and 1977. Want to own a true racing legend that was the last road-legal and top-level race-ready Porsche ever built? This is your model. Click past the jump to read our complete review. Full story 2005 Porsche 996 Turbo Cabriolet Seriously Blinged Out
A few weeks ago we brought you Justin Bieber’s completely ruined – chromed – Fisker Karma and we pretty much marked that monstrosity up as the world’s worst car modification. Well, it didn’t take too awful long for something a little more disgustingly over the top to unseat Bieber’s rolling mirror. This 2005 Porsche 996 Turbo Cabriolet, which we all know and love dearly as the 911 Turbo Convertible, has received some real blingage in the form of gold leaf covering the entire body of this once gorgeous machine. According to rumors afloat around the Interwebz, this debacle of a modification took somewhere in the range of $600,000 to create. Should you desire to be as conspicuous as possible and snag up this rolling theft bait, you can do so at the tune of just 1.8 million Russian Rubles, which equates to just a tick above $61,000. That price has to be rather disappointing for its owner if those $600,000 build cost rumors are actually true, as that is only about $9,000 less than you can get a mint condition 911 Turbo Convertible with 58,000 km (36,371 miles) for, sans the gold. With a price that low, there may be quite an interesting back story to this entire sale, given the price is 10% of the initial cost and less than the actual market value of the car. There are no mentions of its mechanical condition, so that could be the reasoning for its low cost, or maybe the owner is tired of panhandlers peeling off sections of his car to pawn. Here’s to hoping that someone buys this once awesome car and converts it back to its correct form, which shouldn’t be too hard since the interior looks pretty much stock. | featured reviews:Porsche cars reviews2016 2014 2013
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