Weekly Porsche Wrap

Porsche GT3 R Hybrid finishes in 6th place – Not too shabby given that this was pitched as primarily a live test opportunity rather than a serious entry into the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. The 6th place finish was in a 4 hour qualifying event at Nürburgring. I don’t know why, because I really am a rookie when it comes to racing, but I’m really excited to see how this car does in the race. I love the hybrid technology Porsche is using and can’t wait to see if it ends up affording the team any advantages. [Via Autoblog.com]

Porsche reports an increase of 9% in U.S. sales for March 2010 – In fact, this is the 7th time in the last 8 months that PCNA has recorded an increase in year-over-year sales. Sales in March were at 1,905 units. Gotta love it. Here’s a breakdown from Porsche’s press site:

PORSCHE REPORTS U.S. SALES FOR MARCH

Not only were March sales up, sales for the first 3 months of 2010 are up 6% over last year. Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicles sales also saw an increase from 528 in March 2009 to 704 in March 2010. [Source & Image: Press.Porsche.com]

Porsche Cayenne line up looking good for 2011 – USA Today had a nice little synopsis of the 2011 Porsche Cayenne line up:

  • The base will be the plain Cayenne, which has a 3.6-liter, 300-horsepower engine that is 20% more fuel thrifty than the previous generation. Starting at $46,700.
  • Next is the Cayenne S, with the 4.8-liter V-8 that is 15% more fuel stingy than the previous model. It helps, too, that it is 400 pounds lighter than the previous model.Starting at $63,700.
  • The Cayenne Turbo develops 500 horsepower as the performer of the group.Starting at $104,800.
  • The Cayenne S hybrid is meant to deliver a combination of performance and good gas mileage.Starting at $67,700.

The Turbo and S models are supposed to hit dealerships starting in July with the other two following in the Fall. I’m especially interested to see how the Cayenne S hybrid fares in the real world. [Via USAToday.com]

Sad 9ff GT9-R accident – The only 9ff GT9-R in existence, the very same one that recently set a world record reaching 257 mph, crashed last week on a track in England. Fortunately no one was hurt, but the car looks like it’s trashed. Evidently the car veered off the track for some reason doing 217 mph…and….these things just aren’t made to run on grass! The picture communicates an even sadder story when you consider the car cost over $1 million to build. [Via mibz.com]

First drive in a Porsche 911 – This is a great write up/review on a 1400 mile, 5 day run in a 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S by a Jalopnik.com writer. I find it a bit hard to believe the dude has never driven a Porsche 911 before, but I suppose it’s possible. Here’s a little summary:

If you don’t want to read all of that, here’s a summary: A wedding. Highway 33. Big Sur. Highway 1. The Golden Gate Bridge. Mulholland Drive. John Steinbeck. Highway 154. The 101. Aziz Ansari. A quarry. The Goodyear Blimp. 1,404 miles. And last but not least, one of the greatest sports cars on the planet.

The whole post is worth the read with a couple of funny experiences along the way. [Via Jalopnik.com]

Comments

  1. Good to see Porsche sales are up. Maybe the economy will follow.

    Sure sad to see that 9ff all messed up.