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Porsche again staring down another $1.8B in hedge fund lawsuits

The sequence of events from 2007 that began with Porsche's secret attempt to take over Volkswagen, and instead lead to Porsche being taken over by VW, continues to instigate lawsuits against the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer. A group of hedge funds that suffered over $1 billion in losses sued the car company in New York. Porsche had publicly stated it wasn't trying to buy VW, the hedge funds in question were shorting VW stock, and when Porsche's actual intentions were revealed, the stock shot up and the hedge funds took a beating.
The case was thrown out over the issue of jurisdiction, then appealed, only to see another suit filed on top of that. After that, most of the hedge funds withdrew their claims in New York and Porsche offered a 90-day window to refile in Germany where it is already fighting a number of other suits over the same issue. The hedge funds accepted the offer, refiling in Stuttgart for $1.8 billion in damages. According to Bloomberg, Porsche hasn't commented on the refiling, but as the same plaintiffs are involved, it's safe to assume that the carmaker still feels the case is "unsubstantiated and without merit." It has fared alright so far even in German courts, with two lesser cases against it thrown out last year.

Porsche moving all Boxster/Cayman production to Zuffenhausen

The Porsche Boxster and Cayman have been built at a variety of locations over the years. But in its latest announcement, the German automaker has revealed its intentions to bring production of its entry-level models back home to Stuttgart. The decision was announced today as part of a major investment program being undertaken by Porsche. Porsche intends to spend over ˆ1.1 billion (equivalent to over $1.2 billion at current exchange rates) to expand several of its facilities. Those include the factory at Zuffenhausen, the sales and marketing department at Ludwigsburg, and the famed R&D facility at Weissach – all of which would undergo upgrades and renovations by 2020. The biggest component of the wide-ranging plans, however, would ostensibly be the expansion of the Zuffenhausen assembly line. While the Panamera, Cayenne, and Macan are handled largely at a second facility in Leipzig, the 911 is built at the company's historic home at Zuffenhausen, on the outskirts of Stuttgart. The Boxster and Cayman are built there as well, but excess capacity has been outsourced to other facilities: first by Valmet in Sweden, and then at the former Karmann plant in Osnabruck, Germany. That additional off-site production, however, will come to an end starting in August 2016, both for the current models and their replacements. In addition to the expansion of the assembly plant, the Zuffenhausen site will also get a new body shop and engine production facility. In the process, Porsche has also ruled out laying off any workers until 2020. The entire proposal was announced by the company's Executive Board and the General Works Council that represents its employees, but still needs to be approved by the Supervisory Board. Related Video: Executive Board and the General Works Council sign agreement to secure locations Porsche is getting fit for the future: Further flexibilisation, a high level of investments and safeguarding of jobs Stuttgart. The Executive Board and the General Works Council of the Porsche AG have adopted a pioneering package of measures for the long-term safeguarding of the company locations. Porsche is to invest more than a billion euros in the expansion of its factories. The objective of the new agreement with the title "Fit for the Future" is also to boost the productivity, flexibility and efficiency of the company while maintaining the social standards for the employees.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS spec sheet leaked, promises 500 hp

Axis of Oversteer has three pages of what's purported to be the spec sheet for the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and it's got a few bolded items noting key differences with the already spectacular 911 GT3. Prime among them is its output, pegged at exactly 500 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque, which looks at first blush to be a minor bump: just 25 hp and 14 lb-ft over the GT3, and the redline drops 200 rpm to 8,800 rpm. If the document is accurate, though, there will be a hefty dose of weight loss to make the most of it. The bodyshell and doors are aluminum, carbon fiber reinforced plastic is used for those vented front fenders (the vanes are plastic), the front trunklid, the rear engine cover, and the rear wing, while the roof is made of magnesium and the side windows are polycarbonate. The bucket seats, door entry guards, and other interior trim pieces are also fashioned from CFRP, and it gets lightweight door panels with pull-loops. Elsewhere around the coupe, the body grows wider by 50 millimeters in front and 30 mm in back over a track that's 36 mm wider. There's a pit-lane speed limiter for track days, tinted taillights, an optional Clubsport package with a six-point seatbelt, and GT3 RS logos everywhere. It's looking more and more like this car was developed to define the word "epic." Featured Gallery Porsche 911 GT3 RS spec sheet Related Gallery 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS News Source: Axis of Oversteer Geneva Motor Show Porsche Coupe Performance 2015 Geneva Motor Show porsche 911 gt3