Auto blog

Porsche celebrates 50 years of 911s with limited edition model

Despite being 50 years old now, the Porsche 911 sure is looking good for her age. And to commemorate this milestone anniversary, Porsche has created the 911 50 Years Edition you see here, which will make its debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show - 50 years after the original 911 debuted at this very same expo.
What's really neat about the 50 Years Edition is that it houses a rear-wheel-drive setup inside of the wider body used for all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 and 4S models. Found at the back is the 3.8-liter flat-six from the Carrera S, upgraded with the Powerkit package that increases horsepower from 400 to 430 and includes the Sport Chrono setup. According to Porsche, hitting 60 miles per hour takes just 4.2 seconds with the seven-speed manual transmission, or 3.8 seconds with the optional dual-clutch PDK.
Visual changes include two special paint colors - a darker graphite grey and a lighter geyser grey - unique 20-inch wheels that pay homage to the original Fuchs rollers of the 1963 car, and special badging at the rear and on the door sills. Inside, there are more throwbacks to the original 911, with green labeling on the instruments, white pointer needles and silver accents. What's more, the leather seats feature a fabric insert reminiscent of the Pepita design from the '60s. Looks great to us.

Magnus Walker turbocharges his love for the Porsche 911

He's had his fill of early, long-hood Porsche 911s - he owns at least one from each model year, from 1964 to 1973 - so Magnus Walker, a fanatic of the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker, recently set his sights on the early Porsche 930, as documented by this XCAR video called 'Turbo Fever.' Let us translate: pretty soon Walker will own all of the earliest, non-intercooled 911 Turbos - at least one from each model year, starting at 1975 and ending at 1977 (though the 1975 911 Turbo Carrera never officially was imported to the US by Porsche, so it'll be tougher to find one Stateside).
Any Porsche enthusiast can tell you why they love their car, and it often comes down to the small details that differentiate one model year from another. One of many examples is the mid-'80s 928. They look similar, but the basic difference between a 1984 Porsche 928 S and a 1985 928 S (US-spec) is two camshafts and 54 horsepower, though each car's V8 has its own pros and cons. We'll let Magnus Walker tell you all about the 930 and what makes the first three years special, as he's becoming quite the expert on early, air-cooled 911s. When the nearly 15-minute mini-documentary was filmed, which you can view below, he already had added four early 930s to his collection!

Audi welcomes Porsche back to Le Mans like any sibling would

Ah, sibling rivalry. It really is a beautiful thing. It's even more beautiful when said siblings are automakers with very, very well-known racing histories. That's how you get videos like this, which is Audi's way of welcoming Porsche back to the top flight of Le Mans racing.
Yes, Audi has taken its R18 E-Tron Quattro back onto public roads, wowing schoolboys and scaring farmers (who appear to be riding classic Porsche tractors), as it travels from Ingolstadt to Zuffenhausen, just to taunt its corporate frenemy.
Take a look below for a video to see just what that teasing looks like.