2001 Porsche Boxster Base Convertible 2-door 2.7l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Porsche says half of its sales will be electric by 2023

Porsche, whose presence in the plug-in vehicle market has been pretty minimal, now plans to substantially boost its commitment to electric vehicles in the next few years. The German luxury automaker intends to dedicate up to half its annual production to electric vehicles by 2023, Electrek reported, citing comments CEO Oliver Blume made to German publication Manager Magazin. Specifically, the company says it will be able to produce as many as 60,000 EVs annually from its Zuffenhausen factory in Germany. First and foremost will be Porsche's Mission E, which is slated to debut in 2019. That model will be able to go about 310 miles on a full charge (via the more generous New European Driving Cycle, or NEDC). Porsche first showed off a concept version of that 590-horsepower beast at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2015. The company hasn't hinted at pricing for the car, which will have a 90-kilowatt battery and will jet from 0 to 60 miles per hour in a tidy 3.5 seconds, but expect it to be well into six figures. Porsche also plans an all-electric version of the Macan, its biggest seller. But Porsche's math indicates bigger plans than that. Porsche delivered nearly 238,000 vehicles last year, so an output of 60,000 EVs at Zuffenhausen is only a quarter of the total, not half. You can assume then that Porsche has plans to electrify other models that it hasn't announced yet, built at other factories. It might also be counting hybrids in its "half" projection. Last month, Porsche decided to discontinue its plans for a plug-in hybrid variant of its iconic 911 model, suggesting a temporary pullback of sorts. Then again, in April, reports surfaced that Porsche and Audi, both owned by Volkswagen, were collaborating on vehicle-electrification technology as well as autonomous driving advancement. Porsche's green-car sales have been so thin that Autoblog last year officially pulled the German automaker off of its monthly green-car sales tally. For 2015, the most recent year we tracked, Porsche sold 1,738 plug-in vehicles, about the same as 2014. Related Video: Featured Gallery Porsche Mission E Concept: Frankfurt 2015 View 37 Photos News Source: Electrek, Manager MagazinImage Credit: Drew Phillips Green Audi Porsche Volkswagen Electric mission

5 highlights from the 2018 Petersen Automotive Museum Auction

From the avant garde exterior design to the collection of vehicles between the walls, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is one of the coolest car museums in the U.S., and possibly the world. Among several others, the Petersen has two featured exhibits, The Porsche Effect and Legends of L.A. But the museum has a different type of viewing coming up at which you could touch, or even buy, a variety of special vehicles. After hosting its SoCal auction on the coast in Santa Monica for several years, RM Sotheby's has moved the event to the more central location of the museum. In addition to several works of art, the auction which takes place the weekend of December 7, will show several dozens of blue-chip vehicles, chosen by RM Sotheby's 30 car specialists. After sorting through lots that range from microcars to new-age supercars, here are five of the highlights that caught our eyes. 1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti Projected Value: $22,000,000-$26,000,000 Without question, this is the crown jewel of the entire show. As the eldest and most experienced of the 11 total Ferrari lots, its estimated value of $26 million is more than five times the values of the other five cars listed below combined. From the jump, Ferrari threw the 290 into the line of fire. Starting its life with a four-cylinder 860 Monza engine and a Tipo 520 chassis, its first race was the Mille Miglia. Peter Collins was behind the wheel and racing photographer Louis Klemantaski was his copilot. Ferrari took the top five spots in the race, with this car, chassis No. 0628, finishing second. It went on to see multiple races and took on multiple forms, including a V12 swap at one point. After switching through the hands of multiple owners, it was sent to Ferrari Classiche in Maranello, where it was restored to its form at the time of the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring. It retains its original chassis, original bodywork, and original transmission, and houses the V12 from its 290 MM spec. The restoration was completed in 2015, and the car remains in incredible shape today. 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Bertone Projected Value: $2,100,000-$2,500,000 Simply put, the Miura is one of the most significant supercars, and therefore one of the most important cars, of all time. Its two-seat, mid-engined configuration seismically shifted what a performance could and should look like, and its V12 gave it the power to be the fastest car in the world when it debuted.

Porsche wants a better 'connected car' [UPDATE]

UPDATE: In an earlier version of this story we mistakenly identified Joe Lawrence as the CEO of Porsche Cars North America; Lawrence is in fact the Chief Operating Officer, COO, of PCNA. The text has been changed to reflect this. Porsche is known for great engineering, but it's usually the type that leads to fantastic engines and sublime handling, rather than cutting-edge infotainment systems. The company wants to alter that balance in the future to put a greater emphasis on connectivity in its models. Porsche Cars North America COO Joe Lawrence outlined the brand's goals during a speech at the Bloomberg Innovation Forum in Atlanta, according to Automotive News. "Recognizing the phone is so ubiquitous in every sector, how do we integrate that into driving experience in a way that is safe and enjoyable?" he said. Lawrence suggested the company might be working with Google and Apple on future solutions. Even if Porsche is working on making more tech savvy models, don't expect the company to forget its roots. Brand boss Matthias Muller also broached connectivity during his recent speech at a conference and said the sports car business' customers didn't want "a smartphone on four wheels." He promised investments in research and development to come up with an answer. In the same speech, Muller strongly suggested fully electric Porsche models were on the way and also announced a seventh model line coming in the future. Lawrence reiterated the company's future, as well, in his address. "We will see further electrification of our product line," he said, according to Automotive News. Rumors of Porsche building a Tesla-fighter have been circulating as of late. The vehicle is possibly in the body of the smaller Panamera called the Pajun, and it could offer a 300-mile range with an electric motor at each axle kicking out a reported total of 600 horsepower. Related Video: