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Showing posts with label Porsche 911. Show all posts

Game Over for Porsche 911 GT3 RS (?) at the Nürburgring

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Losing control and trashing your car on a wall while playing Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport might be fun in a sadistic kind of way, but that's something you never, ever want to experience in real life on a track, or anywhere else, for that matter, even though, truth to be said, statistics are stacked against you…

The driver of what may or may or not be a Porsche 911 GT3 RS (it doesn't sound like one, if you want our opinion) was lapping the Nürburgring, accelerating to a speed of close to 200km/h (124mph) when at the Bergwerk corner, the car's rear end starts to slide, possibly after stepping on leaked water coolant.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The owner of a new 991-generation 2012 Porsche 911 has posted a short video of his car on YouTube under the alias "tmayeli", where he seeks the assistance of the online community to trace a problem with his ride.

From the clip, we hear a thumping noise when he turns the steering wheel at low speeds.

We don't have a lot of details to shed on this, but the owner stated that he took the 991 to a Porsche dealer after hearing the sound, which he says is sourced from the front end of the car. The dealer told him that this is something normal when outside temperatures are under 40 Fahrenheit or 4 degrees Celsius.

Friday, January 18, 2013

If you’re a Carscoop regular, or if your memory is strong enough, you may recall the Singer 911 we featured back in 2011. It’s a custom-made 911 built by Los Angeles-based Singer Vehicle Design that wanted to create the ultimate air-cooled Porsche.

In spite of starting with the classic 911 chassis, which was manufactured until 1989, Singer decided to switch to the more modern 964 that replaced it – and that meant a whole lot of development.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Truth be told, 911 purists mostly considered the all-wheel drive version of Porsche’s icon to be less desirable than the rear-wheel drive model as the latter had a better steering feel.

The same lot was disheartened to learn that the new model, aka the 991, has switched from a hydraulically assisted to an electric power steering in the name of fuel economy.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The easiest way to tell a Porsche 911 Turbo from a 911 GT3 when they're running wild on a fast circuit like the Green Hell and on top of that, they're plastered in black camouflage, is to try to take a look at the exhaust pipes.

You see, the milder Turbo edition has two outlets on either side of the rear diffuser while the rougher GT3 sports two centrally mounted pipes.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

While some tend to believe that certain cars are like a fine bottle of wine that improves with age, truth is that, once you begin counting a vehicle's age in decades, the more attention it needs to keep it up and running.

When time came to spruce up his car, this owner of the classic 993-generation Porsche 911 GT2 from the mid-1990s, decided to not only restore but also turn the German sports coupe into a street-legal track racer.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Porsche Cars North America informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it is recalling certain 2010 MY 911 GT3 cars over an issue with their rear wheel hubs.

The GT3s that are recalled were manufactured between May 15, 2009 and February 11, 2010 and the potential number of affected vehicles is 455 units.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Even Porsche itself knows that, if it weren’t for its large fan and more importantly, customer base, the 911 would be long gone and replaced by something that adheres to, rather than disregarding, the laws of Physics.

No matter how you put it, letting the engine hanging out behind the rear axle may provide superior traction from a standstill but, when it comes to cornering, it creates a pendulum effect that’s hard to contain.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Porsche is far from done showing off its most prized version of the 991-generation 911, the all-new GT3 Cup racing model, but if you're expecting to see the car roar through a circuit with no other distractions in this new video, we're sorry to say, you will be disappointed. Read more »

Seventh Son: Porsche Unveils 991-Based GT3 Cup Racer [w/Video]

Sunday, December 9, 2012

When you have a brand-new model in your showrooms, it doesn’t really make sense to have participants run your own one-make series with an older generation car. Even more so if you are Porsche and the car in question is the 911 that takes part in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Well, that’s stretching the truth a bit: the racers aren’t based on the base 911 Carrera or Carrera S but the hardcore GT3 – hence the GT3 Cup moniker for the model that the company claims is the most successful racing car ever, having sold 2,385 units since 1998.

With the seventh generation 911, code-named 991, been on the roads for more than a year now, it was about time the Stuttgart automaker rolled out its successor. That happened yesterday during the “Night of Champions” event at the brand's R&D center in Weissach.

The all-new 911 GT3 Cup is powered by a 3.8-liter flat-six with 453HP (460PS), 10HP more than the 997 GT3 RS-based model it replaces, delivered 1,000 rpm lower, at 7,500. Power is directed to the rear wheels via a six-speed dog-type gearbox developed by Porsche Motorsport that, for the first time in a Porsche Cup car, is operated by paddle shifters.

Friday, December 7, 2012

If there’s one thing we know about Porsche is that, no matter how many SUVs or sporty saloons it may churn out, it will never tinker with the trusted, 50-year old 911 philosophy. Truth be told, it did try to kill it once, back in the 1970s with the 928, but it failed – so it was a lesson it must have learned well.

That recipe isn’t just about maintaining the iconic shape and the flat-six engine hung out behind the rear axle; it’s also about launching a whole bunch of new variants of each generation.

Monday, December 3, 2012

When it comes to future models, nothing is written on stone, especially when we are living what the Chinese like to call, "interesting times", as carmakers frequently make new plans and discard old ones, depending on how the economy is doing.

As far as Porsche's future is concerned, the Stuttgart-based company is already in the final development phase of two brand new models, the mid-size Macan crossover and the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar, both of which will launch next year.

Speaking to Autonews Europe, Porsche boss Matthias Mueller talked about the company's plans and the models that are currently under discussion.

Friday, November 30, 2012

When it comes to insane Porsche builds, few companies can compete with Germany's 9ff and especially its crown jewel, the GT9, which is appearing in an updated form at this week's 2012 Essen Motor Show.

The GT9 Vmax is a new edition of the 9ff's supercar that is loosely based on the previous Porsche 911.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

While we have no problem replacing everyday products such as DVD players and cell phones with new ones once they go bad, if the same thing happens to our car, it's a whole different story, and rightfully so, since automobiles are the second largest investment in most single family households.

Cars tend to be much more complex than most household appliance and face seriously more adverse conditions day-in, day-out. No matter how good the car is or how much carefully you maintain it, at some point, something is bound to go wrong.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Since September, Porsche’s main plant at Zuffenhausen has been running eight extra shifts in order to satisfy demand for the all-new 911. Yesterday, the carmaker announced that its global sales increased by 24 percent, to 11,688 vehicles, in October.

Demand in the Chinese and U.S. markets has increased by double digits, easily offsetting the 4.5 percent decrease in European sales. As the European debt crisis remains unresolved, though, things may not be as rosy in the near future.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Porsche says it has selected the 2012 edition of the Los Angeles Auto Show, open to the public from November 30 to December 9, for the world premiere of a brand-new, never before seen model together with a US premiere.

The German company says the world debut will take place on November 28 and it concerns a "compact sports car". While Porsche won't name the car, from what we have heard, the "mystery" model is the new Cayman coupe based on the latest generation of the Boxster (981).

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The ever-expanding world of Porsche tunes for the company's latest, seventh-generation 911 coupe will soon welcome a new customization program from Canadian tuning brand 'Anibal Automotive Design'.

Teased here in realistic renderings and an animated video, Anibal Automotive Design's package is called "Attack" and it is currently in the final development phase with full details and a production date to be announced.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

In its past issue, CAR magazine celebrated its golden anniversary and declared the Porsche 911 the best car ever in its 50-year-old history.

Editor-at-large Chris Chilton decided to take the new Porsche 911 with the internal codename 991 to the famous Furka Pass in the Swiss Alps. He also brought along a 1965 version of the 911 that's identical to the original launched in 1963.

Monday, October 29, 2012

There are many ways to modify a Porsche 911, but to be candid, turning Stuttgart's sports car into a three-seater of sorts featuring a 1+2 seating arrangement with the driver positioned in the center, is something that never really crossed our minds.

Which brings us to this creation named the "Centro 911" built by Nigel Tuckey from Trinity Motorsports in Lima, Ohio.

Monday, October 22, 2012

When Porsche introduced the 997-generation 911 GT2 RS in May of 2010, it was not only the most powerful series production 911 ever built, but also the most powerful road going Porsche period.

In factory trim, the €237,578 (about US$310,300 at today's rates) was blessed with a 3.6-liter flat-six engine boosted by two turbochargers with variable turbine geometry allowing for an output of 612hp (620PS) a peak torque of 700Nm (516 lb-ft).

Nevertheless, that wasn't enough for German tuning brand Wimmer RS, which has introduced a special package aimed at any of the 500 owners of the 997 GT2 RS that want to take their car to the next level .