If you weren’t alive in 1979, then you probably have no idea who Vlada Vasiljevic is. But for those who know of this guy’s back-story, then you either consider him as crazed lunatic or a cult hero and nothing in between.
It’s also fitting that on the 30th anniversary of Vasiljevic’s exploits, a new film about the man people have come to know as ‘the Belgrade Phantom’ was recently premiered in Amsterdam.
Vasiljevic’s rise to fame – or infamy – started after he stole a white 1979 Porsche 911 and spent the next ten days running all over the streets of Serbia at a time when the country was still under communist rule.
After stealing the 911, Vasiljevic earned a lot of support from thousands of people for his buccaneering ways. Not content with the white 911 Targa he stole, Vasiljevic decided to steal more white Porsches and taunt the police over the radio as he did them. In the end, he was eventually arrested after a couple of people snitched on him, after which he was sentenced to five years in prison. Vlada Vasiljevic was killed during the 80s after crashing his car into a trailer. And no, he wasn’t riding a Porsche when he lost his life.
There’s no word yet as to when – or if – the Belgrade Phantom is going to be shown here in the US, but if you happen to be in Amsterdam, then you can check it out at the International Documentary Film Festival.
This may be the first time that you’ve heard about the Berlin based tuning firm XTR Carchip, but after taking a look at this wide body super sport Porsche Cayman X-Wide, XTR is a name that you won’t soon forget. Built on top of a Cayman S platform, XTR reworked almost every square inch of sheet metal in order to create the track ready machine wearing a set of gold BBS racing rims measuring 18 inches in diameter and shod with sticky Pirelli rubber that lays before you. Complete with a detachable carbon fiber reinforced plastic front splitter for more civilized use and a full jungle gym surrounding a pair of GT3 spec Recaro buckets and matching four point Scroth racing harnesses making it the ideal track day toy.
Although the X-Wide looks like it is a purpose built fire breathing beast, the mid engine flat six remains a bit tame and only benefits from a Super Sprint Magnum cat back exhaust and a slight ECU retune that brings the wide body Cayman’s maximum output up to 310 HP, raising the car’s top speed to 177 MPH. However this is just the beginning, because XTR is also working on a twin turbocharged version that will produce upwards of 850 HP. So it would appear that the X-Wide is simply a test mule for XTR Carchip’s future plans, and boy do they seem big.
Wimmer RS tuning will come at Essen Motor Show with the GT2 Speed program program for the Porsche GT2 sports car. The price for the car, and the kit is 281,000.00 euro.
Thanks to the modifications made to the engine block, pistons, piston rods, injection nozzles, sports camshafts, inlet system, throttle valve and the installation of an intercooler, the GT2 Speed Bi-Turbo delivers a total of 827hp at 7,400rpm and 948Nm of torque.
Translated into car’s performances this means a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.38 seconds, in 8,54 seconds in hit the 124 mph mark, an in 20.2 second goes to an incredible 186 mph. The car will stop at a top speed of 234 mph.
The car sits on 20" Sportec rims, and has been optimized with carbon exterior rear-view mirrors and a carbon rear spoiler lip. > More
Speaking of tire smoking drift cars and Porsches, another familiar face at the 2009 SEMA Show was Falken with a pair of very different blue and green high performance machines to show off what Team Falken is all about. It is nice to see that one manufacturer can be so successful in two completely different disciplines of motor sport.
Representing the world of drifting where goal is to get sideways, light up the tires and hope for an outstanding crowd reaction in a matter of corners was Formula D driver and recent Japanese export Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s competition drift car, a 2010 Ford Mustang with enough supercharged Detroit iron under the hood to go through a set of Falkens in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, the Falken Porsche that races in the American Le Mans Series is about getting as much grip as possible from the sticky Falken slicks, keeping wheel spin to a minimum and hoping not to get the crowd on its feet until the end of the lengthy endurance race. If they got excited any sooner, it would probably signal the end of the car’s day. However as different as the setup on each of these cars is, they are both able to excel at their particular brand of motor sport.
SpeedArt revealed the official details on the PS9 kit based on the new Porsche Panamera luxury sedan. The tuner has done intense modification under the hood, and as a result the PS9 kit can deliver up to 520, 550, 600 or 650 hp depending on the modifications made: modified turbochargers, sport-catalyst system, sport-exhaust with sound control and twin tailpipes, sport-airfilter and ECU-update.
The 650 hp version can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds while top speed goes up to 200 mph.
The Aerokit includes: speedART front chin spoiler, side skirts, rear diffuser, rear air outlet and rear spoiler, 22" wheelset type LSC-FORGED Black-Matt-Edition.
On the interior SpeedArt adds a sport steering wheel and carbon kit, aluminum F1-shift paddles, instrument backgrounds in various colors and specific floor mats.
It’s not really the most ideal promotion to entice people to buy a new Panamera, but then again, free stuff is free stuff, no matter what it is. That’s right; the first 195 people who buy a Porsche Panamera in the US will also receive a free Porsche luggage set, valued at around $3,580.
The highly-unusual promotion came as a result of the delayed release of the Panamera in the US, which came because of a malfunctioning software. To make it up to those that have been waiting longer than usual for the car, Porsche has decided to throw in some nice digs to the first 195 buyers of the Panamera. According to a spokesperson for Porsche, 72 of the 195 cars are already in dealerships with the rest of the 123 cars set to be delivered at the end of the month.
Make no mistake, it’s a nice gesture by Porsche but we’re pretty sure that all those disappointed customers would want something more than just fancy luggages. Five-year free maintenance, perhaps?
We are well aware of what the German tuning firm 9ff is capable of when they put their minds to something, like the 253 MPH GT9R or the 850 HP BT2 complete with classic Gulf Racing livery. However 9ff is set to unveil something a little more mundane at the upcoming 2009 Essen Motor Show with the Speed9. While it is based on a 911 Turbo, 9ff is paying homage to the classic 1955 Porsche 356 1500S Speedster for all those high performance Porsche aficionados who want to ride around with the wind in their hair.
Thanks to modern day running gear, the only thing that is reminiscent of the old ’55 is the styling. Covering that aspect 9ff included a new ground effects package that consists of a new front apron, side skirts and rear bumper along with 9ff Speed9 sports seats and matching steering wheel. The 911 Turbo that serves as the vehicle’s foundation received an upgraded ECU, free flowing exhaust and a set of sport catalytic converters that let the bi turbo flat six breathe to the tune of 650 HP and 656 lb-ft of torque. Even though 9ff hasn’t let us in on any performance figures as of yet, you can expect the Speed9 to go faster than you ever want to with the top down.
An enormous hurricane – Ida, as it was called - ravaged the East Coast a week ago and it’s being hailed as the worst one to hit Virginia and the Carolinas in a long time. And while there’s nothing remotely funny about natural disasters of this magnitude, this photo of a Porsche Cayman getting buried in sand along Cape Hatteras in North Carolina was – in the least bit – mildly amusing.
Good luck getting that out of its sinkhole, and on a more important note, we hope everyone is alright from that part of the US.
Porsche has launched today the 911 GT3 R based on the FIA GT3 regulations. The car will make its world debut on 14 January 2010 at the Birmingham Motor Show. Prices will start at 279,000 euro.
The 911 GT3 R is powered by a 4 liter 480 hp transmitted to the rear axle by a sequential six-speed dog gearbox. It weights only 2,646 lbs and features flared wheel arches added on to the body both front and rear. And like all second-generation versions of the 911, the new 911 GT3 R also comes with striking LED rear light clusters.
The holidays are on the way and as you can expect, the sweet treats are coming in abundance. One car manufacturer that takes the ‘sweetness’ factor to a new level is Porsche.
One Porsche dealership in the Netherlands has a brand new 911 Carrera S on display. The only thing is, this car is covered in milk chocolate. Sweet ride, don’t you think?
As you can expect, the car is not for sale and is only there for exhibit purposes. Nevertheless, the chef in-charge of covering the Carrera S in chocolate used about 175 kilos of the sweet treat – they also covered the Carrera S in plastic before dipping the chocolate - which is about enough chocolate to satisfy our sweet tooth cravings for more than one lifetime. In addition to that, the chef also used a few pounds of white chocolate to design the lights and fine trims of the 911 Carrera S.
Since the car will be on display until the end of the year, the dealership has, in effect, set a standard temperature of 27 degrees Celsius at all times, to ensure that the chocolate doesn’t melt.
So if you’re in Netherlands at any point this year, be sure to head out to the Porsche Centrum Gelderland to catch a glimpse of the chocolate Carrera S.
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