Earlier today, we told you about the all-new 408-horsepower Porsche 911 Speedster that will have its world premiere in Paris on September 30 and hit the streets this December. Now we bring you the first video of the limited edition drop-top 911 with the chopped down windshield and double-bubble hard top, both directly inspired by the original 356 Speedster. Scroll down to watch the official promo.
On a side note, if anyone knows where the video was filmed, leave us a message in the comments section below.
The recently introduced 408HP 911 GTS (read more here) in Coupe and Cabriolet forms won't be the only newcomers at Porsche's Paris Motor Show stand. According to our insiders, the Stuttgart-based sports car maker will also stage the world premiere of the long-rumored 911 Speedster based on the current 997 series.
The last time Porsche offered a Speedster variant of the 911 was back in the early Nineties with the 964-based model (see photos below). Like its predecessor, the new Speedster will pay homage to the 356 Speedster of the 1950s, featuring a chopped windscreen and the classic twin hump behind the front passengers.
Other highlights will include the nostalgic Fuchs-style alloy wheels from the 911 Sport Classic and the wider rear end from Carrera 4 models.
The new two seater 911 Speedster will be built in a limited number of units. We'll update this story as soon as Porsche comes out with an official release, so stay tuned...
The Porsche GT3 RS is widely accepted to be one of the best handling performance cars on the road today. So how is it that this driver managed to slam it into the petrol pump at a BP service station?
In any case, you only have to type, "car + petrol station" into YouTube to see just how lucky this guy was... Sure, the repairs will no doubt cost more than a well-equipped Toyota Corolla but at least he wasn't burnt alive.
We gather this accident happened in England because of the blue-and-yellow-marked Police Mitsubishi (Shogun?) parked in the background, but that's about all the information we have.
We would have contacted BP for a statement, but we assumed they were busier with some...ahem...other, little accident...
After a three year absence, Porsche will return to the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit next year. The show's organizers say they see this move as an indication that the auto industry is getting "stronger".
The show's co-chairman, Bill Perkins said, "We're very excited about it. The demand for space is very strong. People see the market coming back."
Porsche abandoned the Detroit Show in 2008, citing that it wanted to find more personal ways to reach out to potential customers. It must have worked with Porsche selling 15,719 vehicles in the U.S. between January and August 2010, up 23.5% from same time last year.
The upcoming 2012 Porsche 911 (see spy video here), which will feature a new engine and lighter chassis, could make its world debut at the 2011 NAIAS, though chances are the Stuttgart automaker will prefer to reveal the car at the Frankfurt show in September of the same year.
Nissan, Mitsubishi and Suzuki have also been absent the past two years the show was held, and are unconfirmed for the 2011 edition.
Porsche has dropped the 411 on the latest special edition of its 911 before its debut in Paris. After such recent winners as the 911 Sport Classic (with its delicious Fuchs rims and duck-tail spoiler) and the GT2 RS (with its 620 horsepower), Stuttgart's new froggy is called the Carrera GTS and gets a 23-horsepower boost over the basic S but is just as efficient.
Available as both a coupe and convertible, the 408-horse / 310 lb-ft GTS is like a top-range naturally-aspirated model for everyday use; after all, the 435-horse GT3 isn't really a car for child-rearing families.
The car's power bump is the result of "a special resonance intake manifold [in which] six vacuum-controlled tuning flaps switch between power- and torque-optimized geometry, whereas in a Carrera S power unit there is only one tuning flap." Sounds like hocus pocus to me.
Underneath the wider Carrera 4 body is a "classic" rear-wheel drive setup. The extra 44-mm allows the car to have fat tire-wearing, center-locking, grip-providing RS Spyder 19's on a wider track. Porsche says they're painted black, but chances are good they'll cater to your every need if the checkbook's open (green, anybody?).
Body add-ons include a SportDesign front apron and the car's lower body trim painted black. The GTS logos on the doors and tail are going to be silver or black depending on the color of the car, but do yourself a favor and get the rear badge-delete option. The door logos are more than enough.
The interior, meanwhile, gets sprayed down in Alcantara and leather with steering assistance in the form of a chubby SportDesign three-spoke wheel. After all, it's important to be comfortable and collected when you're hitting the limiter in 6th at 190 mph (306 km/h).
Top speed not your bag? Just plain interested in merging and doing the touted 19 city / 27 highway? If optioned with the with PDK and a Sport Chrono Package Plus (which has to be in the Sport Plus setting), a hardtop GTS Coupe will hit 100km/h (62mph) from standstill in 4.2 seconds and then you can just cruise in the right-hand lane.
Once it hits Germany in December, the GTS Coupe will retail for €104,935 (the Cab starts at €115,050), both after a 19% VAT. When it arrives Stateside next spring, prices will be $103,100 for the Coupe and $112,900 for the convertible.
Porsche 911 Sport Classic: New Special Edition Model with Ducktail Spoiler and 408HP, Only 250 Units
Now here's a 911 to drool all over; Porsche's special edition 911 Sport Classic that will be presented for the first time at this month's 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and go on sale in January 2010 with production limited to just 250 cars. Based on the rear-wheel drive 911 Carrera S, the Sport Classic pays tribute to the brand's storied past blending retro styling cues with several performance upgrades.
The most distinguishable feature of the Sport Classic is without any doubt the ducktail rear spoiler that harks back to the iconic 1973 Carrera RS 2.7. The special edition model also gets a double-bubble roof, new front apron and side skirts as well as wider rear fenders and a set of delicious, custom-made 19-inch wheels with their rim star painted black that echo the Fuchs rims worn by 911s of the past.
The body is finished in a exclusive Sport Classic Grey paint with light grey racing stripes.
The 911 Sport Classic's interior also gets a retro touch with woven leather and yarn sport seats complemented with light-grey piping and on the door panels while the dashboard including a wide range of inserts and add-on components is finished in Espresso Nature natural leather.
But the 911 Sport Classic isn't only about style as Porsche's engineers tweaked the regular 3.9-liter direct-injection flat-six through the introduction of a newly developed resonance intake manifold with six vacuum-controlled switching flaps, increasing output by 23 horsepower for a total of 408 HP. Power is transferred to the rear wheels via Porsche's six-speed manual gearbox.
Other highlights include the wider rear body (44 mm or 1.73-in.) and the wider track on the rear axle, the PCCB Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes and the revised PASM sports suspension that lowers the car's ride height by 20 mm or 0.79-inches, as well as the standard limited-slip rear differential.
Sales of the Porsche 911 Sport Classic are starting in January 2010 with the base price of the car without value-added tax and national specifications set at €169,300.
The Porsche 996 911 GT2 is perhaps the ultimate 911. It's powered by a 3.6 liter flat-6 engine with twin variable geometry turbochargers. This gives the Porsche 520 horses and 500 ft pounds of torque. And that allows the 3,175 lb car to blast through the quarter mile at 120.6 mph in 11.9 seconds. As far as acceleration, the GT2 can go from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds and 0 to 100 in 7.5 seconds, with a top speed of 204 mph. You can pick one up for around $180,000. The fuel economy is a really quite good for a car this quick, 15 mpg city, 22 mpg highway.
The Porsche Turbo X50 is a $17,000 option available for the Porsche 996. The Porsche 996 was a water-cooled version of the famous air-cooled Porsche 911 sports car. The X50 package boosted the 996 turbo up to 450 horsepower and 457 pounds of torque. That allowed the X50 to cover the quarter mile in 11.86 seconds at 119.91 mph, and gave it a 0–60 mph time of about 3.6 seconds. There were also a few modeling changes in the 996, like wider rear wings and different front lights and bumpers from the Porsche Carrera. The 996 also had large vents on the front bumper, that were used on the Carrera 4S and Cayenne Turbo.
The Porsche 997 911 GT2 replaced the 996 in 2007. The GT2 has a 3.6 litre flat-6 engine with twin variable geometry turbochargers that puts out around 523 horsepower. That's 523 horsepower in a 3175 pound car mind you. It can run 0 to 60 in about 3.4 seconds. The GT2 has a top end of around 204 mph. This little rocket can also turn a quarter mile in approximately 11 seconds at 127 mph. And this little baby retails for around $191,700.
