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We know when it happened, we just don’t know why it happened. Autoblog reader Joshua Silverman sent in some cellphone pictures of a Panamera he drove by in Denver, Colorado. And all of a sudden — like the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes — we liked it. Or at least, we got it.

Just to make sure, we had a look at the last set of Panamera spy shots, the ones that this very blogger lambasted as “still ugly,” and, well, we kinda liked those, too. We could see possibilities. When the car is given the S and Turbo treatment, we could even imagine, incredibly, beauty. Have a look at the photos below for yourself, and tell us if we should take a bow for discovering the vision, or take a nap.

Sour grapes or legitimate complaint? That’s the question we’re left pondering after reading that Porsche believes Nissan must have cheated to record its 7:29:03 lap time of the famed Nürburgring race circuit. Porsche claims that it had been suspicious of the Nissan’s lap times, so it acquired a U.S.-spec GT-R for testing back-to-back with its own 911 Turbo and GT2. The result? The mighty Godzilla was toppled by the Teutonic German duo, with the GT-R posting times a good 25-seconds slower than Nissan’s claim.

How can Porsche explain the discrepancy? “This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car. For us, it’s not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tires,” says August Achleitner, the man in charge of the 911 program. There is footage of the GT-R lapping the ‘Ring at high speed, but it’s taken from inside the car where the tires cannot be seen.

Considering the fact that Nissan saw fit to issue a press release commemorating the car’s fast-lap, we doubt this is something that will be taken lightly. There’s a big can ‘o worms here, and Porsche’s in the corner holding the opener.

Volkswagen is set to debut a mid-engine concept at this year’s LA Auto Show, and an Audi R3 derivative that could replace the TT is reportedly also being considered. With Porsche’s increased stake in VAG, it was just a matter of time before rumors of sharing this mid-engine platform between VW, Audi and Porsche began to surface, and a new model destined to slot in below the Boxster is the obvious conclusion.

Once again, CAR is leading the speculative charge, with sources suggesting that Porsche will use the mid-engine architecture to revive the 356 marque – not the 914 moniker – to create a baby Boxster priced around £20,000-35,000 and produced in very small numbers.

Unlike the stillborn Audi R4, the R3 and its Porsche sibling wouldn’t encroach on Boxster sales due to their limited availability. Fixed roof and convertible versions of both models are planned, but engine choices would be limited to turbocharged four-cylinders displacing between 1.2- and 2.0-liters and ranging in output from 105 hp to 280 hp. Diesel variants could also be offered in the Audi, but Quattro all-wheel-drive wouldn’t be part of package due to weight and friction penalties.

It’s a very compelling proposition, particularly since the new architecture is reportedly being developed to accept everything from electric drivetrains to hybrids, and with a curb weight around 2,200 pounds. But don’t expect anything to come to market until 2012 or 2013 at the earliest, assuming that Porsche doesn’t get cold feet and kills off the project before it leaves the drawing board.

CAR has gotten its hands on the Porsche Cayman spy shots we featured earlier, along with a few new snaps of the next 911 undergoing testing. While the Boxster facelift – due to be unveiled at the LA Auto Show this November – and the tweaked Cayman – coming out early next year – won’t be anything revolutionary, CAR has revealed speculated that big changes are underfoot for the 911, taking technology, power delivery and driver comfort to levels never thought possible in the iconic coupe. Check out what we’re talking about after the jump.

The next 911, internally code-named the 991, is due out in late 2011 and will share several components with the 981 Boxster and Cayman. According to CAR’s Porsche source, Mr. Durheimer, “The design can of course be evolutionary, but beneath the skin, almost anything is possible.”

To the first point, Durheimer says that “there is no need for old-fashioned protruding door mirrors” and that the newly adopted pedestrian crash standards will cause Porsche to make obvious alterations to the front of the car. The rear will be reshaped to further enhance aerodynamics, along with a new active rear spoiler, adjustable front splitter, integrated “jet vents” in the wheel arches to keep the 911 planted at speed and a new floor pan design.

On the engineering front, the new dual-clutch PDK transmission will be around until 2018, when Porsche may implement a seven-speed CVT (!) into it’s range-topping coupe. New materials are also part of the package, and with the knowledge gleaned from the Carrera GT, Porsche hopes to reduce the 911’s curb weight by 10 percent through the use of composite materials replacing aluminum.

Within the next decade, Porsche plans to use more active steering and torque vectoring on its new models, along with next-generation PSM stability management, a water-level sensor to combat hydroplaning and, of all things, a parking system with a rear-mounted camera similar to that found on the Lexus LS range and some new Volkswagen products.

Big things are obviously on the way; too bad we’ll have to wait 10 years to see if any of it comes to fruition.

Under proposed new fuel economy rules set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), automakers with powerful short-wheelbase models are going to feel some pain. The agency is considering a plan to create two sliding scales of efficiency for cars and trucks of different sizes. Automakers will be assigned fuel economy standards based on the “footprint” (short wheelbase = small footprint) of their vehicles, and the number of vehicles they sell. Companies like Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, independent luxury brands with high-performance models, will be hit the hardest. Interestingly enough, Toyota, Chrysler, and General Motors, big players with diverse model lineups, won’t feel as much pressure.

Conforming to the tough new proposed rules may be very expensive. As a result, some industry executives expect some automakers, such as Porsche, just to pay the fines–it’s less costly than changing a model lineup. Regulators are under the gun to adopt a policy by April 1, 2009. In the meantime, the NHTSA will be taking public comments over the next two months. Time to send ‘em a letter…
[Source: Autoweek]

If you love racing games, have a PS3 or PC, and have no problem parting with a hefty $349, Fanatec’s wireless steering wheel is right up your alley. Sure you can get a gaming steering wheel for a lot less money, but it won’t come fully equipped with a 6+1 shifter, three working pedals, and an official seal of approval from Porsche. Fanatec spent seven years coming up with a setup that was worthy of the Porsche name, and the end result is pretty damn sweet. The steering wheel is adorned with real leather, it has three feedback motors, a key-shaped 1GB memory stick for storing settings, and both the wheel and pedals are completely free of wires.

There is no question that $349 is probably too much to spend on a gaming wheel, considering a PS3 only costs $399. But if you spend as much time in the virtual world of video games as you do out in the real world, this may be as close as you’ll ever get to driving a Porsche, and it costs a lot less than the real thing.Thanks for the tip, Rick!

[Source: Engadget]

Every time we hit up our local newsstand, ten minutes is inevitably spent flipping through the automotive masterwork known as Car. Unfortunately, we have a hard time justifying the exorbitant price tag, so it’s a rare occasion when we walk up to the register and plunk down our hard-earned $10.95. But when the August 2008 issue hits the shelves, it’s coming home.

Car is doing a 60-year retrospective on Porsche, looking back on the storied marque from Stuttgart to attempt to find the ultimate model to wear the crest. Thankfully, the cash-strapped among us can join in the fun. Car is running dozens of features on its website that correlate with its print issue, including new and archived reviews, stories of Porsche’s racing triumphs and videos, plus one absolutely addictive game that’s kept Editor Neff sated while recovering from another trip to the dentist.

Naturally, no Car-created retrospective could be complete without stunning photography to match the mag’s pithy prose. We’ve assembled a small gallery of some of our favorite pics from the website, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t go to Car Online to enjoy the features first hand.

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It’s far too early to come up with suitable jokes to make, so we’ll just give you the facts. According to Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, Police are investigating a case of corporate eavesdropping in the form of a baby monitor that was found in the hotel room of Porsche CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking. Wiedeking was in Wolfsburg, Germany visiting Volkswagen headquarters for a board meeting when a security firm found the monitor behind a sofa in the CEO’s room. An investigation is underway, however, it deserves noting that the alleged spying took place in November of last year and that Der Spiegel isn’t citing any specific sources for their story.

[Source: Forbes]

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The so-called “VW law” was struck down by the European Court last October. Previous to that, the state of Lower Saxony was able to veto any Volkswagen shareholder action it didn’t like. When the law was struck down it looked like the Lower Saxony had no choice but to watch Porsche, which had been circling shark-like around Volkswagen for a bit, decide on the day it chose to take majority control of the much larger company.

But Lower Saxony had a much bigger shark on its side in the form of the government in Berlin. Politicos in the German capital have been drafting a law that would “replace” the “Volkswagen law” and put Lower Saxony, with its 20.1-percent holding in VW, back in effective control of the company. The law still has hurdles to overcome, such as approval by the German parliament and then approval by the EU. Frankly, we don’t see how the EU could approve the law if it artificially inflates the state’s position over that of a shareholder. Porsche is going to wait for the law, and elections in Lower Saxony, to run their courses before proceeding with its efforts to take a majority stake. Der Saga continues.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Porsche has definitely been testing diesel-powered versions of the Cayenne SUV as evidenced by the recent spy shots of on filling up from a diesel pump in northern Sweden. However, that doesn’t mean the Stuttgart-based high performance manufacturer has definitively decided to actually produce such a beast. Klaus Berning, Porsche’s head of sales and marketing has said that a diesel Cayenne won’t come to market unless it can be a sales success in the U.S. market. So far, there have only been a handful of light duty diesels available and none at all in some of the biggest markets like California. Later this year a flood of new clean diesels will start hitting the market in all fifty states including the new VW Jetta TDI, a trio of Mercedes SUVs and the BMW X5 and 335d. Early next year, the Cayennes cousins - the VW Touareg and Audi Q7 - will join the party with a 3.0L V-6 TDI. Porsche will be closely watching the U.S. market acceptance of all these new models and if American drivers take to them in significant numbers, Porsche will move forward. Since the U.S. is the largest market for the Cayenne, if diesel sales are lackluster, Porsche will likely just hold off until the hybrid is ready for market. If the Q7 TDI I drove for the last few days is any indication, torque loving Americans will snap them up.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req’d]