Here’s something unexpected: Porsche will be showing something called the Boxster Spyder at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. Not only does the car look interesting, and what Porsche has said about it continues that interest, but also it is said to be lightweight (Porsche getting back to its roots?) and, they are also saying it is headed for production.

Porsche says that the Boxster Spyder will be the new top of the line version of the Porsche Boxster. And the good news is that it will tip the scales at just 1,275 kg or 2,811 lb, making the Boxster Spyder the lightest model in the entire range of Porsche cars. Porsche says that “this new mid-engined roadster represents the true, purist form of the Porsche sports car – light, powerful, consistently open, and very efficient.”

OK by me. Continue Reading…

Although Porsche has seen its share of trouble recently, from the back and forth, who’s going to own who take over bids with Volkswagen (VW won that round) to the critical panning of the Panamera, that doesn’t mean Porsche isn’t forging ahead.

As a matter of fact, word on the street is that Porsche will be rolling out seven (count ‘em seven” new models in the coming years. That’s a pretty ambitious task for a company that already makes only … just a second, let me count this out on my fingers … only four models already. I got that right, right?

The 911, Cayenne, Cayman, Boxster … oh, and the Panamera. OK, make that five models.

So adding seven is a pretty big deal.

Continue Reading…

Here’s an ugly thing to wake up to: There’s rumors that Porsche is going to make a convertible version of their Panamera four-door. The Panamera has gotten its fair share of beatings in the press, and most of the time, I’ve been on the press’s side. It’s a bad idea poorly executed. And just when you think it’s over, comes new like this, and it looks like Porsche could make it even worse.

Continue Reading…

It has been said that Porsche really only made one car, at least they made a good one. The 911 is it. Sure, the 944 was impressive, and a lot of the more vintage rides, like the 550 Spyders, sure are a hoot, but when you get right down to it, when Porsche made the 911, they pretty much stopped looking. As direct and logical as a slug to the nose, the 911 is a hard car to argue with. Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. Especially when consider older 911s versus the new ones (whatever the new number designation might be up to, they’re still 911s in my book).

Take the Singer 911 for example. It started out as an 80s vintage 911, but by the time they got done with it … well, looks pretty good, huh?

Continue Reading…

It looks like one of consequences of VW buying Porsche is that the controversial Porsche Panamera is likely to become some sort of permium, high end VW product. If not ending up a VW, the four-door coupe’s platform might end up with one of VW’s other brands, either Bentley, Bugatti or Audi. After amortizing all the development costs, the platform will most likely go away all together next decade.

Continue Reading…

So yesterday I was harshng on Porsche’s mellow as far as the Cayenne and Panamera were concerned. So today, head guy Chris decided to send me word about a new, and sadly exclusive, 911 variant that is much more my style. Check out the 911 Sport Classic. Now what does that remind you of? I can answer that for me: Boy does this thing remind me of the first Carerra RSs from the early 70s. It’s got that whole ducktail spoiler fender flairs thing down.

That’s the good news, the bad news, apart from being way outside my price range is that this is a limited edition model. Porsche is only rolling out 250 of the beasts. But the details are oh-so-delicious.

Continue Reading…