“Production of the 918 Spyder in a limited series proves that we are taking the right approach with Porsche Intelligent Performance featuring the combination of supreme performance and efficient drivetrain concepts,” said Michael Macht, President and Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche AG. “We will develop the 918 Spyder in Weissach and assemble it in Zuffenhausen. This is also a very important commitment to Germany as a manufacturing base.”

The internet is awash in rumors that pricing on the new Porsche Spyder will be somewhere in the $630,000 range. As of last night, Porsche wouldn’t confirm or deny pricing, but they did say that the numbers currently being thrown about didn’t come from an internal source, officially or otherwise. They did, however, go on to say that additional details will “be disclosed in the months to come.”

Given that today’s announcement provided the go-ahead for the “development” of a production car “based” on the plug-in hybrid Concept Study, I think it’s a little too soon to be talking pricing. According to Porsche, “The 918 Spyder Concept Study combines the performance of a super sports car with CO2 emissions of just 70 g/km and with fuel consumption of 3.0 L/100 km in the New European Driving Cycle.” Let’s see just how true to the original concept Weissach can stay and what they come up with for the production model first before we continue the speculation.

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[Source: PCNA]

There’s always a lot going on and this month is no different. Filled with interesting facts and figures about past and upcoming races, along with changes to team and crew, the Porsche Motorsport Newsletter is an easy way to keep on top of this year’s racing activities within the Porsche community.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid to race in the USA and China

Following the impressive performance at the Nürburgring 24 hour race where the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid led the overall classification for more than eight hours, the Hybrid-911 will now compete in the USA and Asia. Porsche has received an invitation to contest the season final of the American Le Mans Series at the 1,000 mile ‘Petit Le Mans’ race on 2 October. For November 7, Porsche plans to contest the season final of the new Le Mans Intercontinental Cup in Zhuhai, China. The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid will not be eligible for points, as hybrid technology is not yet included in the GT regulations.

Spa 24 Hours: Works drivers reinforce customer teams

With seven factory drivers, Porsche supports various customer teams at the prestigious 24 hour race in Spa (BEL, 31.7/1.8). Joerg Bergmeister, Romain Dumas, Wolf Henzler and the former Porsche Junior Martin Ragginger pilot a 911 GT3 RSR for BMS Scuderia Italia. Works drivers Richard Lietz, Patrick Long and Patrick Pilet take up the race with Raymond Narac in the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by IMSA Performance Matmut. Marc Lieb shares the cockpit of a Prospeed Competition 911 GT3 RSR with Porsche Junior Marco Holzer as well as Marc Goossens and Richard Westbrook.

ALMS: Double victory entering second half of season

Claiming a double win at the fifth round, Porsche guns into the second half of the American Le Mans Series season. In Lime Rock (24 July), Porsche factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long snatched back the GT class points’ lead with their third victory of the season in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR run by Flying Lizard Motorsports. In the Porsche RS Spyder fielded by Muscle Milk Team Cytosport, Klaus Graf and Greg Pickett secured their best result of the season with first overall. At round four in Salt Lake City (10 July), Bergmeister and Long saw the flag as fifth in the GT class after two punctures. Klaus Graf and Greg Picket in the RS Spyder finished third overall.

Le Mans Series: Lietz and Lieb defend points’ lead after troubled start

Richard Lietz and Marc Lieb pocketed third at round three of the Le Mans Series in Portugal’s Portimao (17 July) in a Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to defend their GT2 class points’ lead. Repairs early on cost the duo more than a lap – at the finish line just one second separated them from the second-placed Ferrari.

Marcel Tiemann: Race driver surprises doctors with rapid recovery

Pikes Peak: Jeff Zwart sets new record time at famous ‘Race to the Clouds’

International GT Open: Double win for Porsche customer teams

Porsche Mobil1 Supercup: Important guests in Hockenheim – Armindo wins

Patrón GT3 Challenge by Yokohama: Smith brothers dominate in Utah

Carrera Cup Great Britain: Tim Harvey writes history

Race notes:

• With a win and fifth place in Mugello (25 July), Gianluca Roda defends his points’ lead in the Italian GT Championship with the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Autorlando Sport. Works driver Richard Lietz shares driving duties with Roda.

• Two wins in Rockingham (18 July) put Trackspeed pilot David Ashburn into the lead of the British GT Championship.

• James Koundouris wins the first two rounds of the Australia GT on Phillip Island (11 July) in a Supabarn Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S.

• Porsche remains unbeaten in the VLN Nürburgring Long Distance Championship: Lance David Arnold and Christian Menzel claim victory at the sixth round (17 July) in Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R.

• Carrera Cup Deutschland: Frenchman Nicolas Armindo snatched the points’ lead from Britain’s Nick Tandy with his second win of the season at round four on the Norisring (4 July).

• Carrera Cup Scandinavia: Fredrik Larsson wins both home races in Falkenberg (SWE, 9/10 July) and heads the championship over Robin Rudholm.

• In Imola at the Carrera Cup Italia, Alessandro Balzan and Stefano Comandini win races 7 and 8 respectively. Vito Postiglione retains the points’ lead.

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[Source: Porsche Motorsports]

If Porsche’s 918 Spyder Concept is a glimpse of what’s to come, we say it’s time to go by an extension cord.

In today’s press release, Porsche announced they will begin “practical e-mobility tests” on three research cars, based on the Porsche Boxster model, but with all electric drives. The test is designed to provide insight into new electric drive components and battery systems for a possible electric sports car in the future. In other words, they want to play with it on the road and see what works and what doesn’t.

With the recent on track success of the new GT3 R Hybrid and having just had the chance to play with the new Cayenne Hybrid S at Barber Motorsport park, we feel that Porsche is well on their way to achieving an all electric sports car with “the performance and range” comparable to today’s Porsches. The full press release is below for your review.

Furthering the Porsche Intelligent Performance development philosophy of combining high performance with lower fuel consumption and emissions, Porsche AG will begin practical e-mobility tests as part of the Stuttgart Model Region for Electromobility in early 2011.

With the Cayenne S Hybrid, Porsche also offers its first production car able to run under electric power alone. With maximum output of 380 hp, the Cayenne S Hybrid consumes just 8.2 L/100 km in the NEDC cycle and pares CO2 emissions to 193 g/km. The hybrid technology from the Cayenne S Hybrid will also be featured in the Panamera S Hybrid, which will enter the market next year.

[Source: PCNA]

The car, which debuted a year ago at Mid-Ohio after Pickett purchased it from Dyson Racing, has now finished on the podium all ten times it has entered a race, with a class win at Sebring (LMP2) and now an overall victory at Lime Rock. Graf now trails Brabham/Pagenaud by only seven points in the championship chase with four races remaining (Pickett did not participate in one race, putting him behind in the points).

In GT, Patrick Long (USA) and Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) bounced back from a disappointing fifth place two weeks ago in Salt Lake City to score their third win of the season in the Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The victory also vaulted the pair back into the top spot in the driver standings by 14 points, and puts Porsche ahead of BMW in the manufacturers championship by one point.

Greg Pickett started in the Porsche RS Spyder, and drove for the first 45 minutes, avoiding the three accidents which brought out three early yellow flags, and ran fast enough to stay in contact with the leaders. Both the Dyson Mazda and the Intersport Lola were sidelined with mechanical problems, so Graf found himself in second place with fresh tires with two hours to go, and a Honda in front of him that seemed content to not change tires.

When David Brabham got into the Honda with fresh tires and an hour to go, he pushed Graf to the limited, cutting a 13-second lead down to a half-a-second with four minutes to go, when Graf was forced to the inside of the track at the same time Brabham was trying to pass on the inside, and the cars touched. Graf received a stop-and-go penalty for blocking, while Brabham suffered a flat tire. They both came into the pits, but Graf got back on the track before Brabham, clinching the victory.

“Greg Pickett did a great job keeping in touch with the leaders for the first 45 minutes, and I knew I would have to push for my entire two-hour stint to beat Pagenaud and Brabham. It was hot and traffic was bad, but the Muscle Milk crew came through with great green-flag pit stops. The team engineers from Porsche and Michelin were key to our win, and we are proud to be the first U.S. customer team to score an overall win for the Porsche RS Spyder – a great race car. We didn’t take tires near the end at Salt Lake City, and we decided to give ourselves better grip here late,” said Graf.

On the stop-and-go penalty at the end, Graf said he had nowhere to go.

“I was forced to the edge of the track– I did not even know Brabham was there. I didn’t mean to block him, but I understand the officials have to call what they see. I did not know he had a flat tire until afterwards, and my stop-and-go beat his flat tire change out of the pits,” said Graf.

ALMS GT Class

Patrick Long put the Lizard Porsche on the pole during a driving rain storm at the track on Friday, but pointed out that all the teams only had one dry warm-up session this morning to prepare the car for a dry race track for the two-hour, 45-minute event. Long, who finished the race at Laguna Seca in a similar fashion, edging out the BMW, thought this race topped that excitement.

“I thought nothing could top our dramatic win at Laguna Seca in May, but I am the first to admit I am wrong. We had to push 100 percent to the last lap to beat the BMWs, and Pierre Kaffer was not far behind in the Ferrari. While the Melo/Bruni Ferrari is our closest rival, relaxing when they dropped out early would have been a mistake, as we could have ended up fourth or fifth. Our pit stop strategy put us in the lead, and it was up to Joerg and me to bring the car home. Our Michelin tires worked well in both the wet for qualifying yesterday and in the dry for today’s race.”

Joerg Bergmeister, who has won the GT class five years in a row at Lime Rock – a series record, admitted that this was not his favorite track, but pointed out he has learned what it takes to win here.

“When someone asked me what it has taken for me to win five races in a row here at Lime Rock, I thought a bit, and realized it comes down to one work: patience. The track is so short and there are four classes of cars running together, so you have to pick your spots both to pass and to has move over for faster cars. The BMWs were more powerful in a straight line, but the straights here are very short, and we seemed to have better traction. With our extra pit stop on the early yellow, we had a bit more fuel at the end, and the stop did not cost us track position. Patrick did a great job holding off Auberlen at the end,” said Bergmeister.

ALMS GTC Class

In the GTC class for matched Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, the departure from the series of the points-leading Gonzales/Leitzinger car has left the championship wide open. It was the TRG entry piloted by Andy Lally and Henri Richard that took the victory, edging the Jeroen Bleekemolen/Tim Pappas Black Swan Porsche, which Bleekemolen had put on the pole. Lally and Richard now lead the GTC points.

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[Source: Porsche Motorsports]

With temperatures in the mid 90’s and humidity to match, the hot and steamy track pushed cars and drivers to perform in extreme conditions.

In the process of winning the two hour 45 minute event at the historic 1.53-mile circuit, the independent Benicia, Calif. based team and drivers Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf became the first to claim a second MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge victory in 2010.

The MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge victory was the fourth of the 2010 season for Porsche which earlier this week confirmed plans to enter its exciting new Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the final race of the 2010 season.

“We are very pleased to win the Michelin Green X Challenge at Lime Rock, especially since we have now won it twice in GT for the 911 GT3 RSR and twice in LMP for the Porsche RS Spyder. Our goal is performance with efficiency, and today, the Muscle Milk Porsche did both,” said Paul Ritchie, president of Porsche Motorsport North America, Inc.

Developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and SAE International to accelerate the development of new technologies and fuels through competition, the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge recognizes the prototype and GT car that go farthest, fastest and with the smallest environmental footprint at each ALMS event.

“Once again, we saw that the same type of efficiency that produces speed in the racecar also helps produce a cleaner more efficient car,” said Silvia Mammone, manager motorsports, Michelin North America.

ABOUT THE MICHELIN® GREEN X® CHALLENGE

The American Le Mans Series is the only series currently recognized as “Green Racing” by the U. S. Department of Energy; Environmental Protection Agency and SAE International.

All five energy sources identified as part of the United States government energy policy (E10 ethanol blended gasoline, E85R gasoline blended ethanol, GTL (natural gas to liquid) biodiesel, E10-electric hybrid power, and Iso-butanol gasoline) have been used in ALMS competition.

The MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge trophies are presented to the respective Prototype and GT winners. The bases for the unique MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge trophies are made of rubber recycled from MICHELIN® GREEN X® labeled consumer tires.

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[Source: Porsche Motorsport]

PorschePurist is back in Birmingham, Alabama, and I’m getting ready to spend time with the Panamera V6 and Cayenne (including the much anticipated Hybrid). Over the next two days, I will drive the full range of Cayenne models and the Panamera V6 – Porsche’s newest introduction to the growing Panamera model line. The venue of choice, Barber Motorsports Park, is not only visually impressive (Barber is a lover of four and two-wheeled vehicles, as well as.) The famed track is lined with all sorts of sculpture and the on-site Barber Museum boasts the largest collection of motorcycles under one roof (approx. 1200), one of the largest collections of Lotus and various other automotive assets from Bonneville salt flat racers to street and racing Porsches from years past. There’s even a 2002 Arrows F1 poised on the roof of the elevator! The icing on the cake? Barber is also the home track for the Porsche Sport Driving School (the pictures immediately below and further down use flash, if you’re having trouble viewing them in your email simply click on the title of this post to view on the site).

Adding to the already good mix of Barber and Porsche is a solid group of experienced Porsche drivers, who will serve as my “guides” as I get to know the new Panamera and next generation Cayenne. David Donohue, David Murry and Porsche icon Hurley Haywood, to name a few, are on site gingerly answering my questions and encouraging me to… (yes! back to full throttle.”)

During this visit, I’ll be looking to compare the Panamera to the Panamera S I drove in last year, test the subtle differences between the 2 wheel and 4 wheel drive versions and test the entirely new generation of Cayenne (especially the hybrid drive). The Gen 2 models have lost 400 lbs and are practically 90 percent new (all share the same engines except for the hybrid). I am really looking forward to the 2011 Cayenne. We will test the new clutch based all-wheel drive system on the race track and on the off-road course and have our first drive with the PTV (Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus).

Check in with us over the next week or two for the Panamera V6 and Cayenne reviews, coming soon!

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For November 7, Porsche then plans to race the 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the season final of the new Le Mans International Cup, the six hour race in Zhuhai, China. Again here, the vehicle is not competing for points.

“After the 911 GT3 R Hybrid’s fantastic performance at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, we are now eager to gain more experience with the hybrid technology on a variety of race tracks,” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “At the same time, we would like to show fans and customers in our most important markets how our ‘race lab’ performs under racing conditions,” adds Kristen.

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, featuring two electric motors at the front axle each developing 60 kilowatts to supplement the 480 horsepower normally-aspirated rear-engine, expressly typifies the philosophy of “Porsche Intelligent Performance”: Under braking, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid converts kinetic energy into electrical energy and stores it in a flywheel. During acceleration, this energy is automatically delivered to the front wheels, supporting the combustion engine. This leads to a reduction in fuel consumption and increases the cruising range. Moreover, drivers can manually utilise the stored energy with a boost-paddle on the steering wheel for overtaking.

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[Source: PCNA]

The core agreements are as follows:

• Job security for the coming five years for the entire staff of Porsche AG.
• Uninterrupted production of the mid-engine sportster Boxster as second mainstay along side all 911 models in the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen.
• The hiring of 100 trainees or dual college students per fiscal year for technical and sales positions. Further, through 2015, the company pledges to hire graduates to positions with open-ended employment contracts.

In addition, beginning in the spring of 2011, the Board of Management and the Group Works Council agreed to produce the mid-engine sportster Cayman at its Zuffenhausen plant. The lacquered body of the Cayman model will continue to be supplied by our Finnish assembly partner Valmet Automotive.

Should vehicle production reach capacity in Zuffenhausen, Porsche will draw on its production turntable capacities of the Volkswagen Corporation

It is agreed that the production location Weissach will continue to be strengthened: Going forward, Porsche will continue to employ all significant developments and intensify research into alternative engines. Further, in the summer of 2011, all segments of Porsche marketing will be centralized at the Zuffenhausen location.

Michael Macht, Chairman of the Board of Porsche AG, stated: “With this agreement securing production locations, we will be optimally positioned for growth in the coming years. This socially balanced compromise guarantees Porsche employees more job security in the future. It also guarantees the company a high degree of flexibility. With this agreement as a foundation, we are optimistic that we can increase sales and profits in the coming years. Worldwide, Porsche received the highest number of contracts in the company’s history during the months of June and July, proving that the company is on the road back to its former power.”

Uwe Hück, Chairman of the Group Works Council, commented: “This arrangement guarantees that in the near future, Zuffenhausen and Weissach will once again run at full capacity. With this, the highest level of investment in the history of Porsche, we will secure our economic self-sufficiency and thereby our competitiveness. Further we have stipulated additional development capacities and added the Boxster as the second mainstay to Zuffenhausen. Our employment for 2015 is thereby secured. I fear that we will add extra shifts as early as January. I am especially happy once again to be able to train 100 young people per year and offer future-oriented training through our program ‘Fit for Electric Mobility’. The best part is that all trainees will be hired with an open-ended term. This agreement is the first step. By the end of the year we want to secure production lo-cations for our subsidiaries as well.”

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[Source: Porsche AG]





]]> http://993c4s.com/porsche-news/safeguards-employment-increases-productivity/feed/ 0 http://993c4s.com/porsche-news/safeguards-employment-increases-productivity/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/993c4s/CZav/~3/Bs8JFFbDlPs/ http://993c4s.com/porsche-culture/craigslist-porsche-swap/#comments Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:38:50 +0000 Pepper Girl http://993c4s.com/?p=7148 Could you swap an old cell phone for a Porsche Boxster? According to an article in the San Grabriel Valley Tribune, that’s exactly what 17 year old Steven Ortiz did. How, you ask? Time, an eye for a deal and Craigslist.


Craigslist is many things to many people, and for a growing number it’s become a hot bed of barter. In other words a place to get rid of previous purchases no longer needed and acquire additional assets in a swap of sorts.

Starting with “an old cell phone” that most would throw away, Steven spent the next two years making 14 different trades that eventually led to the 2000 Porsche Boxster S you see above.

Not possible you say. Surely you remember the story of Kyle MacDonald who famously traded a red paperclip for a two-story farmhouse in 2006.

It seems Steven has a similar knack for the art of the deal. For the full story, check out Rebecca Kimitch’s story. over at sgvtribune.com

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[Source: SGVTribue]





]]> http://993c4s.com/porsche-culture/craigslist-porsche-swap/feed/ 4 http://993c4s.com/porsche-culture/craigslist-porsche-swap/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/993c4s/CZav/~3/6aHqe7aGVbU/ http://993c4s.com/porsche-culture/porsche-club-of-america/2010-parade-wrap-recap/#comments Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:20:52 +0000 Pepper Girl http://993c4s.com/?p=7115 As our coverage of the 2010 PCA Parade comes to an end we want to thank Mobil 1 for the opportunity to, once again, attend the parade and share our experiences with you. This year, Mobil 1 sent three of our writers (Valerie, Christian and Andrew) to cover the TSD Rally and as much of the parade as we could for the benefit of you and all PorschePurist.com readers.



As was the case last year, there’s simply too much to do at Parade and not always enough time to get it done. Valerie and Christian spent a lot of time on the Concours and driving the TSD Rally. Andrew, on the other hand, explored the family and personal side of the parade as well as acting as the PorschePurist.com official photographer. This was Andrew’s first parade, so his experiences are even more special as a result.

You’ve already read about their first impressions of the parade, the Concourse D’Elegance, the Mobil 1 TSD Rally (and the Rally class before it). And, if you have done so already, we would encourage you to look through the pictures on PorschePurist.com’s Facebook page and our Flickr page. Now, take a minute to read the parting thoughts of both Valerie and Andrew as they recap their experiences at this year’s Porsche Parade.

Another Porsche Parade Comes to an End…are you going to Savannah in 2010? By: Valerie Roedenbeck.

Why You Should Attend the 2011 Porsche Parade. By: Andrew Granieri.

The two articles above don’t conclude our Parade coverage. Over the next week or two be on the look out for an interview and videos with Mike from Alaska (you may remember he drove his ’85 911 to Parade this year), a drive and compare article on Michelin tires and the new Boxster Spyder, and we’ll also speak to Cam Ingram of Road Scholars to see just what kind of magic their restoration shop performed to enter four Porsches in the Parade Concours and come out with four wins!!!

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Mobil 1 TSD Rally Explained
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Why You Should Attend the 2011 PCA Parade





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