Recent reports revealed that Gemballa has scheduled a Monday press conference where they will announce plans to relaunch the company.
At this point in time the details are limited, but the German tuner will be headed by new CEO Andreas Schwarz who has acquired the rights to the Gemballa name. Financing will be provided by Steffen Korbach and possibly several dealers.
In Prestige Cars magazine, Schwarz has stated that “The design guidelines should continue on the basis of previous works and we are already working on concepts for the Porsche Panamera, the new Cayenne and the Ferrari Enzo. The know-how in terms of finance provided by Korbach as (the) investor should also enable the company to access the capital market more easily in the future.” He also revealed that the first new products will be introduced at Top Marques Abu Dhabi in January 2011.
According to Porsche, the 500 bhp Porsche Cayenne Turbo gets from zero to sixty in 4.4 seconds. The 385 bhp 911 Carrera 4S with PDK takes 4.3 seconds to run the same distance. With such remarkably close acceleration times, Autocar wanted to see how the Cayenne Turbo would handle compared to the 911 around Millbrook’s 1.39-kilometer Outer Handling Circuit. The answer: An extraordinary performance. Check out the race to watch Steve Sutcliffe scorching the Porsches around the circuit.
Porsche Panamera Rivage GT 970 by Tuner Hofele-Design
The German tuner Hofele-Design have released a tuning package for the Panamera. The package includes a new body kit, suspension, exhaust and braking upgrades. The Porsche Panamera Rivage GT 970 features remodeling all around the exterior, as well as refinements to the car’s interior.
‘Above is a video showing the new Ferdinand GT3 RS, a zero-emissions car named after the legendary Porsche founder. Unfortunately the car has nothing to do with Porsche, other than being shaped like a 911.
It features a “gold-painted” exterior, has a big rear wing and “massive air inlets at the front spoiler to save the driver from sweating too much.” Amazingly it weighs just 99.6kg (219.6 lbs). Even more amazing is that it does not have an engine, “because of economic reasons.”
Switzer Performance has a new, pumped up version of the Porsche 911 GT2.
The details are very impressive, it gets dialed up significantly to 911 hp - a full 291hp more than the recently revealed GT2 RS. That number is not a coincidence either. After all, it is an iteration of the Porsche 911.
For the suspension the tuner adds “Switzer-specific titanium inverted-front-strut and a remote-reservoir suspension engineered by the track experts at JRZ.” The R911S will also feature “hand-selected spring and damping rates.”
A R911S Carbon edition will also be available with a set of carbon fiber parts that lighten the car and drop its center of gravity.
Switzer’s prices for the car are, most surprisingly, lower than Porsche’s own MSRP for the 620hp 911 GT2 RS. The Switzer GT2 R911S can be in your garage for $199,900 (€158,692), while the R911S Carbon comes in at $239,900 (€190,447).
Porsche’s new GT2 RS will sell for $245,000 (€193,000) in the U.S. market.
9ff GT9-R crashed at Vmax Armageddon, Bruntingthorpe, UK
German magazine Autobild has reported on a string of crashes lately, the most recent one of a 9ff GT9-R which crashed at the VMax Armageddon 2010 Bruntingthorpe event on March 13 in the UK.
Luckily, no one was hurt in the crash when the highly modified 1135 bhp Porsche 911 race car went off the track during a high speed braking maneuver. The car was going by number 00/20 for the event.
9ff did not mention the crash in their latest newsletter which did mention, though, that the car had broken a record at the track, reaching a new top speed of 356 km/h (222 mph) and doing it already in its 5th gear - with the track being too short for a shift into 6th.
A GT3 RS also crashed on March 30 on an autobahn in Germany, tragically killing its 39-year old driver and his 40-year old wife. A Pagani C9 test mule also crashed on March 31.
Porsche will be upping the ante on its 911 series when it introduces the 911 Turbo S at the Geneva Auto Show next month!
The 911 Turbo S features a boost of 30 bhp over the standard 911 Turbo, dialing horsepower up to 530 bhp (390 kW / 523 hp), while torque stays put at 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) including the overboost, 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) without. Top speed is up just slightly (by 3 km/h) at 315 km/h or 195 mph. Fuel consumption also remains the same as the standard Turbo at 11.4 liters/100 km (24.8 mpg UK).
Additional goodies to entice buyers to this range-topping 911 include providing the 911 Turbo S with all the options available on the 911 Turbo as standard. The 911 Turbo S will come with Porsche’s 7-speed PDK (double-clutch) transmission, Porsche traction management (PTM) for the all-wheel drive system, as well as Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) which includes a differential lock for the rear axle. Also part of the standard package is the Launch Control and Sport Chrono Package that help accelerate this 911 Turbo S from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds, shaving up to a tenth of a second from the “regular” 911 Turbo’s time with PDK.
Other standard features include 19-inch central locking wheels in an RS Spyder design and a two-tone leather finish in either Black/Crema or Black/Titanium Blue.
The Porsche 911 Turbo S will come as both a cabriolet and coupe model. It will be available in dealerships starting in May (2010). Prices in Germany, including VAT, are €173,241 for the Turbo S Coupe, and €184,546 for the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet.
A new film showing the life and crimes of Serbian Vlada Vasiljevic premiered earlier this week in Amsterdam. Titled The Belgrade Phantom, for Vasiljevic’s nickname, the story follows the man after he stole a white Porsche 911, and used it to torment the police over a ten day period during Serbia’s communist era.
First-time feature director Jovan Todorovic used a combination of archive footage, radio interviews, and original dramatized material to create the story. Several car chases were shot throughout the Serbian capital of Belgrade to recreate the Phantom using his stolen 1979 Porsche 911 Targa to easily outrun the 60hp Zastava police cars.
The Belgrade Phantom is currently being shown at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.
In this video you’ll see Car and Driver testing a Porsche Panamera Turbo for 24 hours. The 2010 Panamera Turbo only takes 3.3 seconds to reach 0-60 mph and its top speed is 193 mph. Enjoy!
The German firm is busy developing a luxurious, 2+2 front-engined grand tourer – it’s a spiritual successor to the 928. This ‘new 928’ will be a fifth model line, and is designed to sit above the sportier 911 in the range.
With this new front-engined GT car, Porsche hopes to take on rivals such as the Ferrari 599 GTB, Bentley Continental GT and Aston Martin DB9. And looking at the exclusive picture, we think the Panamera-based coupé could very well stun the competition.
While the nose is virtually identical to the Panamera, its shortened wheelbase and 2+2 layout results in a far more curvy design and smoother lines at the back. While some have criticised the Panamera’s bloated rear, the 928’s muscular haunches and neater proportions should attract a new group of style-conscious customers.
A variety of big V8 engines will be available, set to come with four or rear-wheel drive. Yet in these times where everything that ‘green’ is hot, Porsche is planning to bring the Cayenne SUV hybrid next year, shortly followed by a petrol-electric version of the Panamera. And there’s no doubt that the new 928 will get the hybrid drivetrain too.
The 928 is going to fit nicely into Porsche’s pricing line-up somewhere between the 911 and Panamera. The four-door supersaloon ranges from £70,000-£95,000, while the 911 starts a little lower, at just over £60,000, but stretches to £128,000 for the GT2.
One could expect the 928 to get a pricetag between £65,000 and £90,000 when it goes on sale in 2012.
