Porsche 911 2.4 T Coupe Concourse Restauration on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Porsche Panamera Turbo S vs Ariel Atom Supercharged in unlikely drag battle

David versus Goliath battles are always an enticing proposition, because they offer the chance to watch scrappy underdogs take on their bigger rivals. Evo has set up just such a battle with its latest drag race between the minimalist Ariel Atom 3.5 Supercharged (Ariel Atom 3 pictured below) and the plush Porsche Panamera Turbo S.
The two cars couldn't be more different. The Atom personifies Lotus founder Colin Chapman's well-known axiom: "Simplify, then add lightness." Most of the car doesn't even have a body; it's just an exposed frame with a 310 horsepower supercharged Honda four-cylinder mounted behind the driver. On the other side, there's the Panamera Turbo S. In the latest version, it packs 570 hp and 553 pound-feet from its 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8 and it features all-wheel drive. Of course, all of that comes with a significant weight penalty.
Off the line, the differences are even more apparent. The Atom doesn't have any of the Porsche's technological wizardry, so launching it challenges the driver to build the revs and let out the clutch just right. The car screams like a banshee as it goes, though. The Porsche is the exact opposite. Its launch control system lets the driver hold down the brake, get on the throttle and accelerate away in just the right way.

Porsche sells 919 Hybrid mockup for $100k on eBay

Want to spend $100k on a new Porsche? Your local dealership will gladly sell you a new 911, Panamera, or Cayenne in the right trim level and spec, with all the right boxes ticked. But one buyer in Singapore recently spent that on a Porsche he (or she) couldn't even drive. The non-functional vehicle in question was a full-scale replica of the 919 Hybrid – just like the ones that just took a one-two finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only this one was based on the 2014 spec that brought Porsche back to the forefront of endurance sportscar racing. Oh, and it has no running gear - electric or conventional. Porsche made a baker's dozen of these replicas to serve as showpieces and development models where a fully functional example wouldn't be needed. They're seldom sold, but Porsche Asia Pacific was given the green light to auction one off. Proceeds went towards charities helping disadvantaged children and the disabled. The fortunate collector ended up paying precisely $106,100 – that's in US dollars, not Singapore's – on eBay for the opportunity to put an all but completely authentic 919 Hybrid in his garage. Said collector won't be able to drive it, of course, but unless he was put through the kind of training that Mark Webber and Nico Hulkenberg have been, we doubt it'd be of much use anyway. And that's assuming Porsche were ever convinced to part with one of its high-tech, all conquering prototypes, which it likely won't for many years to come.

We get wet with Porsche's Cayman GT4 and 911 GT3 RS

In case you missed them, we recently published our First Drive impressions on the super-hot 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 and the 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Spoiler alert: they're lovely. In order to properly test these new machines, Porsche let senior editor Alex Kierstein loose on Road Atlanta. But rather than a blissful day of warm, dry conditions, this test session proved to be a super gross experience. The track was soaked. But that didn't stop Kierstein from manhandling both coupes with confidence. Credit where credit's due, Alex said the tires on the GT3 RS were absolutely amazing, and proved helpful for getting the most out of the most hardcore 911 in these incredibly damp conditions. Have a look at Kierstein's experience in both cars, in the video above. We can't wait to get these bad boys out on some dry roads.