[Updated gallery] The Tokyo Auto Salon is always a blast featuring all sorts of unique tuning proposals, like this here Porsche wannabe. When our Tokyo show man Phil e-mailed the above photo, we assumed it pictured a Porsche -possibly a Boxster- modified to resemble a Panamera Convertible. We were quickly proven wrong, however, when he sent over an image of the interior and some video footage revealing that the Porsche Panamera tune was actually a...masqueraded Nissan 350Z Roadster. More photos after the jump.
Porsche's return to the Detroit Show after a four year-absence is marked with the introduction of a new racing concept based on the company's 918 Spyder from last year's Geneva Salon. The 918 RSR is a two-seat mid-engined coupe, and according to Porsche, it demonstrates what happens when the technology fitted in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car and the design of the 918 Spyder concept are combined together.
The motorsports version of the 918 Spyder concept car gets a V8 engine based on the RS Spyder race car's 3.4-liter unit tuned to deliver 563HP at 10,300 rpm, and is linked to a six-speed racing transmission with shift paddles that feeds the rear wheels.
A pair of electrics motors mounted on the two front wheels each contribute 75 kW (102 hp), or a total of 204HP, lifting the combined output to 767HP. The German maker notes that the extra power from the electric motors is available for around eight seconds when the system is fully charged.
As with the 911 GT3 R hybrid racing car, the additional power from the electric motors, which is generated during braking, is stored in an optimized flywheel accumulator.
In the 918 RSR study, the two electric motors also offer a torque vectoring function with variable torque distribution to the front axle, which increases agility and improves steering response.
Aside from the coupe configuration with the fixed roof and the characteristic doors which open at an angle upwards, the 918 RSR also features an added air intake in the roof between the wing doors, a special aero package that includes air splitters beneath the front lip and a huge rear wing, plus slick tires on 19-inch wheels with single centre locking nut.
The interior of the road-spec 918 Spyder has also been modified and comes with a single figure-hugging bucket seat, while the passenger seat has been replaced by flywheel accumulator.
We already know that Porsche plans to debut a new model at the rapidly approaching North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit next week, but the problem is that the German sports car maker is keeping its cards close to its chest about the type of vehicle it will unveil.
Adding to the many rumors already circulating on the internet, Bloomberg today reported that the model in question will be a racing coupe version of the 918 Spyder hybrid concept that was first shown at last year's Geneva Show.
Citing two people with knowledge of the matter, the news agency said that the car will be a two-seater concept coupe featuring a 600-horsepower V8. We'll remind you that the 918 Spyder, which was recently approved for a limited production run, gets a 500HP 3.4 liter V8 electro-enhanced by way of motors that add another 160 kW (218 hp).
We'll monitor the story and post an update if anything new arises, but for now, check out some renderings of a competition 918 made by a member of the Teamspeed forums in the video below.
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.
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.
Jeff McCabe owns a Porsche 928. However, he wanted an electric Porsche 928 in the vein of the Tesla Roadster that he can't afford. So here's what Jeff did: he removed "over 1,700 lbs" of dead weight by eliminating a bunch of useless stuff like the standard engine, transmission (actually just 1st, 4th, and 5th gears), and a bunch of electronics, pop-up headlights, and so on.
He also replaced the wheels and brakes with lighter units and made sure to ace that heavy glass. Once that 1,700 pounds was in the trash, he added 1,300 pounds in the form of 750 lithium iron-phosphate cells (he originally used lead acid batteries).
The result is a car that can go for 115+ miles before it needs a recharge (versus the ~45 from the lead acid units) and can hit 85 miles per hour (137km/h). Too bad it can't do 88. For some info straight from the owner of the car, check out the vid below. Anyone interested in providing him with a CVT?
This here is the Ferdinand 911 GT3 RS - without doubt, the most technologically advanced and at the same time environmentally-friendly and fuel efficient Porsche model ever to see the light of day.
It uses a high tech chassis bonded together with a special adhesive tape coated in polyethylene while the body is finger-made from exotic lightweight materials such as thin sheets of paperboard covered in a space-age aluminum foil that serves various purposes.
In this case, power is provided by a left-to-mid-mounted human-boxer unit capable of delivering a yawn-inspiring 1 fhp (foot horsepower) when fully fed, relaxed and emotionally happy.
Unfortunately, being green comes at a price that some Porsche-philes may not be willing to pay: the Ferdinard 911 GT3 RS is also the slowest Porsche ever to set foot on earth.
Nevertheless, we suggest you watch the frisky journalist / powerplant with the awesome hood-piece taking the conceptual Porsche for a snail-spin around the Salzburgring circuit in the video below.
Following a bevy of leaks this past week, Porsche went ahead today and officially introduced its new 911 GT2 RS supercar to the world. Quick facts: it gets a twin turbocharged flat-six with 620HP and at the same time it's a whopping 70kg or 154 lbs lighter than the prior 911 GT2.
Did we mention that it's also the fastest and most powerful road-going sports car ever built in the history of Porsche and that it turns the Nürburgring race track in just 7 minutes and 18 seconds or four seconds faster than the Dodge Viper ACR?
But let's take it from the start. The crown jewel of the 997 lineup is powered by a 3.6-liter six-cylinder boxer engine boosted by two turbochargers with variable turbine geometry that churns out 620HP and 700Nm or 516 lb-ft of peak torque. It drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.
Through a series of measures that include the use of carbon fiber throughout, lightweight door panels and a reduction in soundproofing material just to mention a few, Porsche's engineers managed to keep the car's weight at 1,370kg (3,021 pounds) or as we said previously, 70kg (154 pounds) less than the previous GT2.
Porsche states that the new 911 GT2 RS can accelerate from standstill 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.5 seconds, to 200 km/h (124 mph) in just 9.8 seconds and to 300 km/h (187 mph) in 28.9 seconds, while top speed is pegged at 330 km/h (205 mph).
Despite this extra power and performance, Porsche claims that fuel consumption and CO2 emissions versus the 911 GT2 are down by approximately 5 per cent to 11.9 lt /100 km (equal to 23.7 mpg UK and 19.8 mpg US) and 284 g/km.
Stuttgart's team has equipped the GT2 RS with lightweight yet carbon-ceramic brakes and a new set of 19-inch wheels (available in three different shades) wrapped in tires size 245/35 up front and 325/30 at the back that were specifically developed for this car.
In addition, the 911 GT2 RS gets a new set-up of the springs, PASM Porsche Adaptive Suspension Management, anti-roll bars, as well as the engine mounts and PSM Porsche Stability Management.
In its exterior styling, the RS stands out from the standard 911 GT2 through the use of carbon fiber components in matt-black surface finish, the wider wheels and flared wheel arches at the front, the redesigned front lip spoiler and the 10 millimeter or about 0.4 inches taller rear wing.
The car's interior has outfitted with a pair of lightweight bucket seats made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic in carbon surface finish and lightweight door panels with door opening straps. The basic black color of the interior is contrasted by the red finish of the seat centre sections and the roof lining as well as segments on the steering wheel rim which like the gearshift and handbrake lever are covered in alcantara.
Depending on your needs and desires, Porsche also offers an optional Clubsport package that includes a safety roll bar, a six-point harness, and pre-wiring for a kill switch, as well as the option to replace the racing seats with electrically adjustable sport seats and add a navi system.
Production of the 911 GT2 RS will be limited to 500 units, with Europe getting it first in September at a base price of €199,500 (Germany: €237,578 or US$301,398, UK: £164,107 or US$245,097), and the U.S. in October at a price of US$245,000 (€193,126).
