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Porsche Boxster mules to test EV components and battery

July 28, 2010 at 11:04 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Porsche

Porsche has confirmed that it will make electric sports cars, and three Boxsters with all-electric drive systems will kick off the research and testing process in early 2011. The trio will provide an initial insight into new electric drive components and battery systems for EVs. The field test will also give information on the infrastructure required for electromobilty, user behaviour and demands.

“We will definitely be offering an electric sports car in future. But such a concept only makes sense if it offers product qualities typical of a Porsche,” said Michael Macht, President and CEO of Porsche AG.

This isn’t a piece of surprising news as Porsche is known to be toying with the idea of putting the 918 Spyder concept into production. The stunning 918 Spyder, which wowed this year’s Geneva show goers, combines the qualities of a plug-in hybrid and the performance of a supercar. Just imagine 0-100 km/h in under 3.2 seconds and a faster Nurburgring lap time than the Carrera GT with best effort fuel consumption of 3 litres per 100km – amazing isn’t it? Click here for a seductive video of the 918.

You can’t buy that yet, but hybrid Porsches aren’t out of reach if you have the cash. The Cayenne S Hybrid will be launched in Malaysia very soon as part of the new Cayenne range that includes the Cayenne S, Diesel and Turbo.

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Porsche – made in Germany… for now!

July 25, 2010 at 4:05 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche, Volkswagen

Porsche AG have promised their German workforce that they will secure the jobs of the 8,600 workers for the next five years, on the condition that they pledge to boost productivity by more than 6 percent every year. They have also cooked up a long term plan for growth within the country, with the investment of an indefinite amount of money (few hundred millions of Euros) in three of its German plants in Stuttgart, Weissach and Ludwigsburg. Moving everything slightly closer to home seems to be their current plan of action, as they are also moving production of the Boxster roadster, which is built at Finland’s Valmet Automotive, to Stuttgart permanently next month. This will partly help to secure jobs for the German workforce while filling up unused capacity in Stuttgart.

Starting early next year, Valmet will only supply the painted car bodies of the Cayman coupe, which will be then assembled in Stuttgart. This has gotten Porsche labour leader expecting the need for extra shifts, saying daily output will likely rise from 140 units per day to 200 units. If by any chance production capacity reaches its limits, Porsche will make use of VW’s extensive manufacturing network, which is not a stretch as Volkswagen’s Hanover plant already supplies the painted bodies of the Porsche Panamera GT.

“Against this backdrop, we are confident that we can continue to increase our revenue and earnings in the coming years,” said Porsche outgoing CEO Michael Macht.

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Nissan pokes fun at German brands in new ad campaign

July 23, 2010 at 2:36 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Audi, BMW, International News, Nissan, Porsche

Nissan’s new advertising campaign is causing quite a stir, poking fun at German rivals Audi, BMW and Porsche. This was done by releasing print and poster adverts highlighting German brands flaws as compared to the 370Z and the GT-R.

Using such phrases as “The Winner Hans Down,” “The Germans Came Off Wurst,” “Kaisers Chiefed” and “Deutschland Deutschland Über-Rated,” the ad campaign was officially launched in London on a giant 360 degree 47ft IMAX billboard.

Talk about taking it to the extremes!

If you don’t think that’s enough, they’ve even scrawled statements like “More expensive, slower and less powerful than a Nissan 370Z” on an Audi TT-S. Similarly themed slogans can be seen on a Porsche Cayman as well.

Just in case you’re curious they’ve supplied the public with a spec chart comparing all the aforementioned cars, and on paper it does look like the 370Z and GT-R’s are better buys than the German equivalent. It’s also worth remembering that spec sheets can’t describe driving feel and pleasure, which can only be accomplished with a test drive.

Nevertheless Steve McLennan, Nissan UK Marketing Director, is quite pleased with his ad stating “It simply challenges the convention of German sportscars being the only benchmark for performance and quality. Nissan is confident in the ability of 370Z and GT-R to eclipse our comparable German rivals in terms of outright performance and accessibility and it’s now time to shout about it.”

Do you think Nissan has a point? An equivalent BMW Z4is M Sport costs RM598,800 as opposed to a Nissan 370Z which costs RM370,000, while the Porsche Cayman S easily reaches RM640,000.00! Have your say.

High-res pictures are also available after the jump.
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Porsche 918 Spyder price – 500,000 Euros!

July 13, 2010 at 10:55 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Porsche

The Porsche 918 Spyder seems to tick all the boxes. Porsche’s unique trophy car, check. Produces an extreme amount of power, check. Environmentally friendly, check. Looks extremely desirable, check, check and check.

Another box to tick will be the price tag. Sources close to Porsche seem to think that it might have a price tag of 500,476 Euro which exceeds the 453,000 Euro price tag of the Carrera GT. Unfortunately as of yet Porsche have yet to confirm if the hybrid will go into production. But they did say that they would need 1,000 sales pledges to consider putting this car into production.

This would mean Porsche would stand to reap a revenue figure of 500 million Euros, even if 500 of the potential clients actually buy the car. Follow the links below for more information on the car and a promo video for the Porsche 918 Spyder.

Related Posts:
Porsche 918 Spyder – first details
Porsche 918 Spyder – promo video

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Porsche plan to introduce new entry level smaller Boxster model?

July 11, 2010 at 11:49 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

It was announced recently that Porsche has appointed a new CEO who was formerly the head of product management at VW owned Audi. Matthias Mueller was said to be a driving force at Audi which is what Porsche need for their line-up of cars.

This comes after figures showing that its entry-level Boxster and Cayman models have suffered a 12 percent decline in deliveries to 7,630 in its first nine months. Counteracting this drop, Porsche introduced the 53,100 euro Boxster Spyder which featured the 3.4-litre six cylinder engine impractically designed to drive with the textile roof down, which even I could see was not great planning for an entry level model which should be more practical.

Thus the German automaker have already drafted up plans to double the number of models in its line-up from four to eight. This will include adding a new range of cars similar to the Boxster but smaller, hopefully in price as well. Accomplishing this, Porsche will utilize platforms within the VW range, already seen with the Cayenne SUV, sharing its platform with the Toureg and Audi Q7.

Rumours of a Porsche Golf have been repeated on and on in the past few years and perhaps that will finally come to reality? But the idea of a smaller Boxster-like vehicle with an engine up front driving the front wheels is just weird!

Porsche aims to bolster up sales to a point where they will be producing 150,000 units of vehicles globally by 2013, along with surpassing Toyota in deliveries and profitability by 2018.

Source

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New Porsche Cayenne to hit Malaysia by month end, among others – including the Cayenne S Hybrid!

July 9, 2010 at 5:04 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Local News, Porsche

Porsche, via its local distributor Sime Darby Auto Performance Sdn Bhd is set to launch the second generation Cayenne SUV for the Malaysian market later this month.

Interestingly the local Cayenne range will feature the full line-up which means we will have the Cayenne Diesel and the Cayenne S Hybrid as well! With this there will be no less than five variants including the base Cayenne, the Cayenne S and the range-topping 500hp Cayenne Turbo with 699Nm of torque.

The Cayenne Diesel is likely to be re-tuned to enable it to sip on Euro 2M diesel which is the highest grade diesel option available in Malaysia at the moment. In Europe the Cayenne Diesel’s 3.0 litre turbocharged V6 makes 240hp and 550Nm of torque.

Along with the all-new Cayenne, the local Porsche stable will also be joined by new Panamera models: the Panamera V6 and the Panamera 4. Both models use a new 3.6 litre V6 with Direct Fuel Injection which is able to produce 300hp and 400Nm of torque. The Panamera 4 adds on an all wheel drive configuration.

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All-new Porsche Cayenne – quick test drive review

July 8, 2010 at 8:27 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Porsche, Test Drive Reviews

Porsche unveiled the second generation Cayenne SUV a couple of months ago in February and recently the Zuffenhausen company which currently resides under the Volkswagen umbrella held a Porsche World Roadshow event down south in Singapore. Among various sessions held through out the event, there was a quick test drive of the latest Cayenne which also includes a hybrid variant in it’s line-up as well.

Joining the hybrid is the diesel and the gasoline versions that we are used to as well. I was invited to the event and I managed to get behind the wheels of both the Cayenne Turbo and the Cayenne Diesel. I was also given a short ride in the Cayenne Hybrid.

Look after the jump for my full driving experience.
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Sportec SPR1R – 846 hp, 1,295 kg, 380 km/h top speed!

July 2, 2010 at 10:56 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

It may look quite innocent, but this creation of Swiss tuner Sportec is a performance monster. This is the SPR1R, a faster, lighter, improved version of last year’s SPR1. Based on the Porsche 911 Turbo, Sportec has managed to squeeze out 846 hp and 870 Nm from the bi-turbo 3.6-litre flat-six engine. Weighing just 1,295 kg, the SPR1R does the benchmark century sprint in 3.0 seconds flat, on to an outrageous top speed of over 380 km/h.

Managing that excess of power will be the addition of titanium connecting rods, a flat carbon fibre under floor, active suspension and F1 style ceramic brake discs, composite (carbon/kevlar) body panels, forged alloy wheels, an integrated safety cage and four wheel drive.

Also on offer is a driver adjustable traction control system which is managed by a touch screen display unit that also logs data, lap times and allows customers to monitor engine data.

Want something more subtle? How about an Audi RS6?

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Porsche brake energy recuperation system now standard on V8-engined Panameras

June 18, 2010 at 9:51 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche, Technology

Porsche has announced that the Panamera has been updated with a new brake energy recuperation system which now comes as standard on all V8-engined models. This when coupled with the optional 19-inch reduced roll resistance tyres, gives an improvement of 0.9 litres per 100km, thus only using 11.3 litres per 100 km on a Panamera Turbo. While the Panamera S and 4S both produce a fuel consumption of 9.8 litres per 100 km and 10.1 litre per 100 km respectively.

Energy is recuperated while braking and when accelerating, power to the alternator is reduced thereby allowing the engine to direct all its power to the acceleration of the car. This method of charging increases fuel efficiency by another 0.7L/100km, and when used in conjunction with optional all-season tyres, this figure drops by a further 0.2 litres/100km on the Panamera models. These additions will be available from August this year.

The Panamera also now includes the optional Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus) system which was previously only available on the Cayenne, supplementing Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) which is a fully controlled rear axle differential lock. PTV Plus intervenes in the braking of the inner rear wheel when taking a corner and improves traction when accelerating out of the bend which is also helped on by the rear axle differential.

Braking a wheel in PTV Plus sounds quite similiar to ESP systems but PDCC (like other systems such as Volkswagen’s XDS) is more performance based as opposed to ESP systems that are more to do with safety.

Porsche is also extending their range of paintwork colours, leather options and special equipment such as auxiliary heating, three-spoke sports steering wheel with gear-shift paddles. 3D maps on the navigation system are another plus, and will be able to be combined with satellite images to provide realistic-looking directions to your favourite coffee shop.

Look after the jump to revisit a photo gallery of the Panamera.
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Chronolyze dissects Porsche’s Sports Chrono Package Plus to deliver more information!

June 11, 2010 at 1:18 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under International News, Porsche

Owners of Porsche models such as the Boxter, Cayman, 911 and the Panamera usually have the option of a Sports Chrono Package thrown in with their car. This adds a sport button to the centre console that changes the management of the engine revs, suspension behaviour, and throttle response.

Alternatively if you opt for the ‘Sports Chrono Package Plus’, it adds a memory function to the system and allows you to review some of your ‘racing’ data on the Porsche PCM (multi-function display).

A company that makes the software Chronolyze have said that they can extract more information from the memory chip as data on the PCM is just the tip of the iceberg. This is because the ‘Sports Chrono Package Plus’ records vehicle speed, engine speed, transmission gear, steering angle, lateral g-forces, engine temperature, outside temperature, distance travelled, altitude and GPS coordinates. It seems that all that information can be downloaded from the car via Bluetooth or an iPod connection in the form of a text file.

Chronolyze is able to collate all this information and produce a computational representation of the information. The organised data is used to produce a 3D analysis of the laps along with a graph. The result is a pretty funky 3D representation of the laps you’ve taken superimposed on an actual map of the tarmac you’ve been burning up, thanks to the GPS coordinate data.

If you get bored looking at your telemetry, you can share it, rate it and even compare sessions from multiple files making sure you have hours of fun. All this available online for free, all you need now is a Porsche.

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