Cars

2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo

A German sedan with 500 horsepower is nothing new; nor is a twin turbo or controversial Porsche new to the automotive landscape. But what happens when all those traits combine? You get the Porsche Panamera Turbo, a 500 horsepower twin-turbo V8, 4-door Porsche controversy not-withstanding. Porsche purists cried and moaned when the car was released hoping Porsche wouldn't follow the same route they took with the Cayenne. Well, after releasing an SUV some say a sedan was the next logical step to compete with Porsche's other German rivals from Mercedes, BMW and Audi.

And compete they will with the quickest 4-door production sedan accelerating from 0-60MPH in 3.4 seconds. That's quicker than any AMG Mercedes sedan, BMW M sedan, and even the venerable Cadillac CTS-V sedan, the quickest American-made 4-door sedan, which is powered by the supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1.

Reviewers all found something to complain about with the Porsche Panamera Turbo but no one claimed it was underpowered. U.K.'s CAR Magazine claims Porsche missed an opportunity by claiming the car's design focus oriented it too much towards comfort and not enough on lightness. Road & Track magazine attempts to explain the styling  as the "elephant in the room" referring to the "ungainly roof and awkward slope of its hatch," neglecting to mention the Panamera's "elongated 911" appearance the Porsche styling designers were aiming for. Overall, however, the reviews were generally positive complementing the speed and the cocooning interior most of all. Check out the reviews, videos and gallery below and decide for yourself before you buy!

Reviews:

Autoweek (an AutoWeek Drivers Log)
Car and Driver (Review)
Popular Mechanics (Test Drive)
Road & Track (Road Test)
Motor Trend (First Drive)
Edmunds.com (Road Test)
National Post (Canada, Road Test)
Times Online (UK, Jeremy Clarkson Drive)
AutoBlog (blog, First Drive)
AutoGuide (First Drive)

Video Reviews:

iMotorMag (UK, YouTube)
Fifth Gear (UK, YouTube)
AutoCar (UK, YouTube)
Drive Time (Review, YouTube)

2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo

The legendary Porsche Cayenne Turbo returns for the 2011 model year; everyone's favorite "love it or hate it" SUV has come back for an encore. After its 2002 unveiling and subsequent 7 year production run, including a mid-cycle mild refresh, the Cayenne has sold like hotcakes allowing Porsche to focus on its core products (i.e. the 911 range). Obviously, acceptance for a Porsche SUV has gained some ground ironically causing Porsche to soften the most utility attributes out of the venerable SUV.

For 2011, the Cayenne Turbo model offers a carry-over engine choice from 2010 matching the 500 HP from the 4.8L V8. However, new for 2011 is a 23% increase in fuel economy thanks largely to the 8-speed transmission built to replace lowest of ranges of a transfer case. Porsche claims the 8-speed slush box offers substantial weight savings and is capable of propelling the 2011 Cayenne Turbo to 60 MPH in 4.4 seconds, though Porsche performance figures are usually conservative.

Today's eBay Find is a 2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo finished in silver with sport bucket seats wrapped in black leather throughout. Not much else is known about this Cayenne other than its one of the first, if not _the_ first 2011 Cayenne on eBay. With only 8 miles on the odometer and located in Bend, Oregon bidding for this truck starts at $121,850 but thats a small price to pay to be the first on your block with the shiniest of Cayennes!

Porsche : Cayenne GTS GTS Low Miles 4 dr SUV DESIGN EDITION..ORG. MSRP$98,810

US $70,000.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-09-2010 9:21:03 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Porsche : Cayenne GTS 2010 Porsche Cayenne GTS Stunning

US $55,100.00 (10 Bids) End Date: Thursday Sep-09-2010 15:34:27 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Porsche : Cayenne GTS 2010 Porsche Cayenne GTS Tiptronic - Air Suspension

US $64,999.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Sep-11-2010 19:01:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $84,997.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Porsche : Cayenne AWD 4dr Tipt AWD 11K Miles 18"Turbo Whls,Bi-Xenon,Bluetooth,Moonroof

US $48,750.00 End Date: Tuesday Sep-14-2010 12:30:32 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $48,750.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

2010 Porsche 911 997 GT3 RS

Ah, the Porsche 911. Jeremy Clarkson, host of BBC's Top Gear, once described the engineers and designers the laziest in the industry because they never actually restyled the car, only refreshed it. And why should they? For almost 50 years now the Porsche 911 has graced streets the world-over with its svelt rear-engined body. Emphasizing Jeremy's point that the engineers are lazy they've "refreshed" the entire line-up with the Type 997.5 iteration halfway through the life cycle of the Type 997 body style, awaiting the Type 998 lineup in late 2011. The refresh took almost 2 years and is now complete with the release of the 997.5 GT3 RS.

The Porsche 911 GT3 is essentially the street-legal version of the 911 race car (originally for homological purposes) but quickly proved popular as sales figures show. Air conditioning, Sat/Nav, cruise control, and heated leather seats can all be had (actually, with the exception of Sat/Nav, they're standard equipment) on this street-legal "race-car," giving the driving enthusiast modern comforts and amenities without sacrificing much track performance. In fact, the suspension, gearing, ECU, some engine internals and a less aerodynamic body (producing more down force) are all that separates the GT3 from a "regular" 911.

The GT3 RS takes it one step furthur with some rather extreme weight reducing practices, taller gearing for a better bottom end and a slightly remapped ECU for better performance. For 2010, the GT3 RS receives a new 3.8L boxer flat-six producing close to 450HP (a 35HP increase over the outgoing 997 GT3 RS) and with a curb weight of just over 3,000 lbs the power-to-weight ratio works out to be close to 300HP/ton. Some examples of the extreme weight savings are a smaller fuel tank, the body emblems have been replaced with stickers and the wheel nuts have been replaced by a single titanium central-locking nut.

Today's GT3 RS is the first one posted on eBay and is located nowhere else but in Beverly Hills, CA. Described by the seller as "barely street legal"  it comes in Carrera white with black alcantara and leather interior. Unique styling cues to the GT3 RS are the asymettrical GT3 RS badging (only on the port side of the car) and featuring (the signaturely random Porsche) seat belts in red. So if you're looking for the ultimate streetable track-car, this car has just 16 miles on the clock and an opening bid of $170,000.

Porsche : 911 GT3 2010 GT3 with under 1000 miles! Black on Black MINT!!!

US $122,000.00 End Date: Thursday Sep-09-2010 8:27:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $122,000.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Porsche : 911 GT3 RS 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS

US $140,000.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-09-2010 17:12:19 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Porsche : 911 GT3 RS 2011 GT3RS IN GT3RS GREEN ONE OF A KIND

US $163,675.00 End Date: Friday Sep-10-2010 10:21:02 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $163,675.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Porsche : 911 GT3 2010 PORSCHE GT3 / 900 MILES MSRP $ 153,610 ONE OWNER

US $119,000.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Sep-10-2010 11:01:03 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $129,800.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list