First drive: Porsche Cayenne

Porsche Cayenne

It may look like a big chunky off-roader, but most owners of the first generation Porsche Cayenne used it to tackle nothing more challenging than urban speed bumps. For the second generation, Porsche has caved in and dropped some of the off-road pretence, billing this as a purely sporty SUV.

This means the ungainly looks of the original have been toned down in favour of a sleeker, more pointed style. The result is undeniably Porsche, with 911 design traits obvious all over the big car.

The front has been sharpened up, and the snub nose has been dropped but the best changes come at the rear, with the previously utilitarian tail now sculpted in a more flowing manner. With this new look comes a new mentality – the Cayenne feels more at home on the track than plugging up and down muddy hills. There are a host of buttons on the centre console that will help with the rough stuff, but everything is now electronic so there is a slight feeling of detachment while tackling tricky terrain. This is unlikely to bother most of the Cayenne's owners, as most will never take it off road. Should they ever need to though, tricks like hill-descent control, ride-height adjustment and custom off road modes that change the gearing and throttle response means there is a fair amount of capability here.

Porsche Boxster Spyder road test

Porsche first used the Spyder name for a sports roadster in 1953, when it introduced the 550 Spyder (the car that, famously, James Dean was driving when he died). For over half a century, the name has only been used for very special models such as the 909 Bergspyder, 718 RSK Spyder and the RS Spyder Le Mans Prototype race car, and now it has been given to a special edition of its “entry-level” mid-engined roadster, the Boxster. But is Porsche indulging in a marketing-inspired devaluation, or is the Boxster Spyder really special enough to justify using a name so steeped in heritage?

With a purchase price of £46,387, the Boxster Spyder isn’t cheap: in fact, it’s about £6,000 more than the Boxster S model it’s based on. On top of that, there’s a fairly extensive options list that can add back in some of the features that have been taken out (air con, radio, sat nav, etc), plus the likes of ceramic brakes (£5,349,) PDK automatic gearbox (£1,962) and sports seats (£2,049) that will quickly rack up the price of the car. Indeed, initial buyers are spending £56,000-57,000 speccing their cars. It won’t be exactly cheap to run,

Porsche 918 Spyder green revolution

Porsche 918 Spyder
The green revolution seemed to slowly hit the automotive business. Sure, we had emissions standard a long time ago, but many states and local regions do not enforce them, even to this day. Automakers continued to make bigger and more obscene vehicles such as the Hummer, and sports cars that get single-digit gas mileage without even driving them hard.

Porsche 918 Spyder

Recently however, the automakers have been jumping on the green revolution, realizing that their high-end customers have both image-driven and genuine ecological concerns. You can't really support a charity to save silverback ape habitats and save CO2-digesting rainforests, and drive a Ford GT that gets just about the mileage of cruise ship. Eventually, the image backlash will catch up with you.

Even Ferrari has announced a hybrid version of their top line car, and other high-end luxury brands are rumored to be doing the same.

Last year at Sebring, we overheard Porsche factory people speaking in German about a hybrid racing car that could compete in the USA in 2010. We weren't entirely sure about that, as my German is a little bit spotty. Then they announced their GT3R Hybrid.
This car has been a tremendous success in its maiden race outings, proving to be even faster than the current GT3 racer, and stretching the fuel even further. Still, the technology in this car is not likely to translate to the road, which would make homologation unlikely for the car to compete for points and wins, and of course bragging rights.

Now comes the 918 Spyder. This is a road going sports car of astounding performance and even more astounding fuel economy. Some might wonder how this fits with the philosophy and image of a sports car company. Well, since Porsche's history has always been in endurance racing, this makes perfect sense. Stretching fuel further reduces time consuming pitstops and can provide an advantage. It also is the ultimate statement of efficiency, which is part of the essence of any sports or racing car, as efficiency produces speed. In this case fuel efficiency produces speed as well, over a course of time.

Beyond the aggressive styling that one might almost mistake for somewhat Italian-inspired, there is an unmistakable Porsche look to the car. with a low crouchy stance augmented by large rims and low profile rubber, the car looks as fast as it's numbers.
The interior is riddled with stylishly placed carbon fiber accents, and a classic Porsche inspired gauge set. A couple of key styling points really stand out. The mirror pylons are something we really cant seem to figure out. They are far too small to be mirrors, so we assume they are pylons for a camera system of some kind. Then there is the elevated console that hints of a chassis stiffening structure. It also happens to put the console controls in perfect ergonomic position, so it is difficult to tell which purpose it serves; perhaps both.

It certainly doesn't look like a Honda Insight (first or second generation) or a Prius. It doesn't look like anything one might think of a hybrid.

The technology of the 918 is different from the GT3R however, as it does have a battery unit. It is really more similar to the Toyota approach. The 918 uses the parallel power approach, with the car able to operate on either power source. There are about 500 horses coming from a v8 in the rear, and another 218 from electric power. So that puts a total of 718hp on tap to the right foot when you want it. There is a control that allows the driver to select various modes for more economy or more performance; each with different ratios of gas or electric power.

Porsche's stated CO2 emissions for the car are 70 grams of CO2 per Kilometer. That exceeds the Toyota Prius, which is rated as the cleanest car on the road today (except for electric vehicles) by over 20%.

As a person who does drive a Honda Insight, I get comments and reactions and questions about the car every single day. Though this is interesting, it seems to me that greener cars, hybrid, electric or alternative fuels, need to be more like what people are already willing to buy. After all, if a car gives them everything they expect in a car, and just happens to be emissions-free or get great fuel mileage, then their is really no decision to make.

Getting back to the Porsche 918 Spyder, which is currently only a concept car, we hear that this car could quickly transition to production based on response. With the response it has already generated, we would say that is a forgone conclusion.

Porsche’s 918 Spyder Hybrid Model Draws 900 Potential Buyers

Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid
Porsche AG said it has almost 900 potential buyers for its 918 Spyder hybrid prototype as the manufacturer moves toward approving production of the vehicle.

Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid

Porsche, which unveiled the 918 Spyder at the Geneva auto show last month, will probably decide to build the model once 1,000 potential customers have pledged interest, Porsche’s development chief, Wolfgang Duerheimer, said in an interview at the Beijing Auto Show.

“I’m confident that we will soon reach the threshold of 1,000,” he said in an April 24 interview. “We need 1,000 seriously interested people to make a sound business case.”

Porsche, based in Stuttgart, Germany, plans to add models with a goal of doubling yearly sales to as many as 150,000 vehicles over the medium term, and benefit from savings from a merger with Volkswagen AG. The two carmakers will conclude their talks on a future model strategy and sharing platforms in about six months, Duerheimer said.

“We’re very optimistic that we’ll be able to further expand our leading position in the sports-car segment,” he said.

The 918 Spyder, one of three hybrid models Porsche presented in Geneva, relies on a 500-horsepower V8 engine and electric drive-systems allowing the vehicle to go up to 25 kilometers on electric power. The two-seater limits gasoline consumption to three liters per 100 kilometers, emitting 70 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.

Pre-Orders For 2011 Porsche Cayenne Exceed Expectations

The new 2011 Porsche Cayenne is lighter, sleeker and more attractively designed. The car is scheduled to arrive in the European showroom on May 8th. The already placed pre-orders for the new Cayenne have exceeded expectations, says Chief Executive Officer, Michael Macht.

“We’re looking at an incredibly high order intake from almost all markets,” Macht said yesterday at the Porche’s factory in Leipzig. He also added that the new 2011 Porsche Cayenne’s pre-orders are “clearly exceeding our expectations.” The vehicle in up for order in Europe and the report says that orders are coming in from every part of the continent.

The news also marks the return of the automobile industry into business. Porsche is currently pursuing its goal of doubling yearly sales to as many as 150,000 vehicles over the medium term. It is also looking forward to benefit as much as it can from a proposed merger with Volkswagen AG.

2010 Porsche Carrera S

2010 Porsche Carrera S
The 911 S is a mechanical dream, watch-like precision in a car. There's a reason German engineering comes with such a glorified reputation and the 911 S proves this at every turn.

When I sat inside the cabin for the first time, I was in awe -- it didn't even matter that I was driving the 2009 model of the 911 S when the 2010 version with a few updates was starting to roll into dealerships. (There have been some additions to the 2010 model year, but most are minor and the 2009 is a good representation.)

So as I took the keys and started it up, I listened to the 3.8 liter purr like a Katzen after a bowl of Milch. Unlike big American V-8s that rumble and chug and delight the senses with their nearly grotesque power, the Porsche offers a higher pitched growl that doesn't do its abilities justice. The difference is like an accent -- it's not better or worse, but when it's foreign there's an inexplicable appeal to it.

Pumping out 385 horsepower and 310 pound-feet or torque, both respectable but not through-the-roof numbers, the Porsche's engine is only part of the package. This car is a study in efficiency and performance. It weighs a mere 3,100 pounds and uses all of its muscle to toss this car around as if it were in a video game. The only thing it might feel challenged by is the driver.