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Bill Gates’ old 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo hitting the auction block
 
We’re all aware of who Bill Gates is as he’s remained one of the richest people in the world for the better part of two decades. But just like any other successful businessmen, Gates started off with relatively humble beginnings studying at Harvard University in the early 1970’s, before founding the company which has made him so wealthy, Microsoft, in 1975. Just four years after founding the company, Bill gates purchased an awesome Porsche 911 Turbo and registered it in Seattle, Washington. That same Porsche was then sold in the ’90’s, but has recently resurfaced and will be put up for auction with Gates’ signed registration details. The auction will be in Vienna, Austria in the coming days and we expect this particular 911 Turbo to fetch a handy amount. The current owner selling the car is said to have repainted the 911 to the bright blue seen in the above picture. He then got Porsche Classic to kick-start additional life into the sports car by uprating its standard 3.3-liter flat-six engine which when stock, produced 300HP. That was a mighty impressive feat for a car in that era. The 911 Turbo is expected to sell for between $55,500 and $71,000 when it’s put under the hammer on the June 6,2012. Even though it’s unclear how the Porsche made its way to Austria from the U.S., it is clear that it has lived a very privileged life and hopefully it goes to a suitable home.
Video: Nissan GT-R Track Pack vs Porsche 997 Turbo S
Chris Harris decided to put two of the greatest competitors - the Nissan GT-R and the Porsche Turbo - face to face in an epic battle for supremacy. To make it even better, he brought out the GT-R Track Pack and the most powerful version from the Turbo line-up: the Turbo S. So in yet another battle in the ongoing war started in 2008 when the GT-R appeared on the market, which car will pull ahead for the time being? Well, Harris claims that the Nissan GT-R Track Pack is worth the extra cash, while the Porsche 911 Turbo S’ place is not on the track! Ouch, that’s got to hurt Porsche! What do you think? Is the Nissan GT-R really better than the Porsche 911 Turbo? Let us know in the comments section below!
2013 Porsche 911 Club Coupe
Porsche built its first model back in 1948 and the first Porsche Club arrived four years later. Today the company is celebrating "60 years of Porsche Clubs" with the unveiling of the special edition Porsche 911 Club Coupe. The model is based on the 911 Carrera S and will be limited to only 13 units. Prices for the US market start at $175.580. This special edition comes offered in a very special "Brewster Green" exterior paint combined with trim strips in a high gloss finish. The model will be offered with a standard Sport Design Package that includes a distinctive front with front spoiler and a rear spoiler derived from the classical "duck tail". A new set of 20-inch SportTechno wheels completes the exterior look. The interior gets Luxor beige leather and embossed lettering "911 Club Coupe" as well as the illuminated door entry guards painted in Brewster Green with an inlay made of brushed stainless steel. Under the hood Porsche has placed the same engine as in the Carrera S, but equipped with a newly developed Powerkit upgrade that helps the engine to develop a total of 430 HP (a 30 HP compared to the 911 Carrera S). This extra power helps the car to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.0 seconds. Bad news is that the new Porsche 911 Club Coupe will be limited to only 13 units.
Spy Shots: Porsche 911 GT3 stripped of camouflage and caught testing
 Just a few hours ago, we released a set of spy shots for the upcoming Porsche 911 Turbo Convertible, but that wasn’t the only model out for a little test spin today. Our spy photographers have hit the jackpot with images of the 911 GT3 completely stripped of all of its cammo! Compared to the previous prototypes caught testing, this model is still donning the new rear wing and front spoiler. Most of the body’s components will be made out of composites to help reduce the car’s weight by about 180-200 lbs. The biggest mystery regarding the next GT3 is what’s going to be tucked underneath its hood. It is rumored that the next GT3 will get a new 4.0 liter engine and not the 3.8L naturally-aspirated six cylinder found in the current model. Regardless of the engine choice, Porsche has promised an output of about 480 HP. Porsche CEO Matthias Muller also announced that the new GT3 will not use Porsche’s new 7-speed PDK transmission. It will actually come standard with a six-speed manual transmission, with the technologically-advanced, yet less satisfying, PDK transmission set to be available as an optional extra. Expect to see the new GT3 launched later in Summer 2012 when we hope this engine mystery will finally be solved.
Spy Shots: Another test run for the Porsche 911 Turbo Convertible
 While Porsche is trying to delay the official launch of the new generation 911 Turbo, our spy photographers have caught the convertible version testing yet again, this time wearing less camouflage than ever. Compared to the standard 911 models, the future Turbo variant will be distinguished by wider rear fenders, additional cooling vents, a new active rear spoiler, and of course, a soft-top for those nice long drives. Under the hood, Porsche has placed the same 3.8 liter turbocharged flat six engine tricked to deliver a few more HP compared to the current model. Just like all of the other 911 models previously launched, the future Turbo model will get auto start/stop, thermal management, electrical system recuperation, and the world’s first seven-speed manual transmission (or an optional PDK). Porsche has also been working on improving fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, so expect to see a drop of up to 15%. The new 911 Turbo, in both coupe and cabrio versions, will be launched sometime during Summer 2012, so stay tuned!
Chris Harris tests the BMW M3 GTS, Mercedes C63 AMG Black, and Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0
In what can only be described as a truly incredible and informative review, Chris Harris recently pitted the BMW M3 GTS, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series, and Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 against each other for the Drive network and has delivered yet another piece of automotive art. All three cars, particularly the BMW and Mercedes-Benz are aimed at a very small, niche segment of the market where prospecting buyers want cars which can perform equally well on the track as they do on the road. The 911 on the other hand, is for all intents and purposes, a full-on race car converted for road use and carries much greater expectations. This may surprise some, but all of the aforementioned cars were priced fairly similarly when they first hit the market and even though the BMW M3 GTS is no longer produced, it’s as relevant as it was back in 2010 immediately after its launch. Sure, more fun can be had in other cars than in these three, with Harris highlighting the fact that an Ariel Atom could be purchased for the same money but that of course, doesn’t work on the road like a truly incredible car should. As a result, Harris assembled these three cars to test both their on-track and off-track capabilities while also seeing which promotes the greatest amount of hooliganism. We won’t spoil the end result for you, but needless to say, this is one of the very best ways to spend 25 minutes.
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.” 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. Video: Nissan GT-R Black Edition vs Porsche 911 Turbo S
Ever since Nissan unveiled the GT-R sports car, there’s been nothing but a growing rivalry between it and the Porsche 911 Turbo. Every time Nissan GT-R broke a record, the Porsche 911 Turbo was right behind it, trying to one-up its efforts. The same can be said when Porsche succeeded at breaking a record; Nissan was right there with their GT-R trying to get one in over Porsche. With a heated rivalry forging on, the new 2013 Nissan GT-R Black Edition went up against its twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive rival, the 2012 Porsche 911 Turbo S courtesy of MotorTrend’s Head 2 Head show. With more than 500 HP under their hoods, both supercars annihilated California’s canyon roads, then squared off for an epic quarter-mile drag race. We have to admit, this is one of the most impressive video we have ever seen featuring these two sports cars. Let us know in the comments section below what you think about it. | featured reviews:Porsche 911 latest reviews:Porsche 911 tuning:
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