1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa 2-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

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1985 Porsche 911 rally-style classic to be auctioned for good cause

Porsches are supposed to inhabit race tracks, winding roads, and wide, flashy boulevards, right? Not all of them. Take this 1985 911 Carrera, which was has been converted into a rally-style toy that we'd love to sample on a dusty, tree-lined section of dirt. Nicknamed #Luftauto, this lovely 911 is being auctioned off by RM Sothebys during Luftgekuhlt, an event dedicated to air-cooled Porsches and put together in part by Porsche racer Patrick Long. The car has been extensively modified, both aesthetically and in terms of outright performance. We're digging the 15-inch Braid wheels, custom rally lights, and an Auto Foreign Services roof rack on the exterior. The cabin gets a custom rollbar, but it's the driver interfaces we're really drooling over – there's an OMP steering wheel and a CNC-milled shift knob made of walnut and maple, while driver and passenger will be kept in their fancy Recaro seats by Schroth Rallye harnesses. The limited tweaks to the numbers-matching, 3.2-liter flat-six – the headers and exhaust have been swapped with SSi units – do wonders for the Porsche's already impressive soundtrack. The engine isn't a new unit, of course, but it's fresh off a major round of service. There are ample suspension mods, too, with a custom-designed KW setup and long-travel dampers. A cool car being put up for auction is exciting enough, but the profits from #Luftauto are going to something even cooler – cancer research. In particular, the money made will be donated to the Autumn Leaves Project, a charity that's dedicated to battling pancreatic cancer. For those not familiar, pancreatic cancer is one of the most despised, merciless forms of cancer around, infamous for its ability to remain undetected until it's far too late to combat. It's a truly hateful disease. You can check out #Luftauto in action in the video up top. It crosses the block on April 10 in Los Angeles. Additional details can be found at the Luftgekuhlt website. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

VW CFO Hans Dieter Potsch nominated as new board chairman

The search for a successor to Ferdinand Piech has come to an end as the Volkswagen Group has nominated a new chairman. The Executive and Nomination committees of VW's Supervisory Board have put their weight behind one Hans Dieter Potsch, who currently serves on the company's management board as its chief financial officer. He's expected to continue in his current role until November when an extraordinary general meeting of the supervisory board can be called to confirm his nomination and a replacement CFO can be found to take his place. As you may recall, the chairmanship of the Volkswagen board fell until recently to Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and one of the principals of the Porsche family that holds over 50 percent ownership in Volkswagen through Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Piech went head to head with VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and ultimately lost. Piech resigned and Winterkorn is about to have his term as chief executive extended through the end of 2018. In Piech's place, former union head Berthold Huber was named as interim chairman, but is now referred to in the statement below once again as deputy chairman instead. An Austrian native, Potsch is an industrial engineer by training. He started his career at BMW where he ultimately served as group controller, and subsequently served as CFO and as chairman at a number of German corporations. Potsch joined the VW management board in 2003, initially without portfolio, and soon assumed the financial portfolio – a role he has held until now. In 2009 he took on the additional role of chief financial officer at the Porsche holding company, whose supervisory board representatives are the parties proposing Potsch's nomination as the group's new chairman – even though he is not, strictly speaking, one of their own. In a related development, it appears that Julia Kuhn-Piech will be leaving her board seat sooner than expected. The departing chairman Ferdinand Piech opposed his niece's nomination to the board in his place, and now she'll apparently be stepping down to make way for the family's new choice of chairman.

Five reasons to love, or hate, the culture of German cars

A few months back, we took a 500-foot view of the culture of American cars, dissecting prides and prejudices on our way to the conclusion that automotive allegiances can be simultaneously embraced and derided. We had so much fun with the narrative that we decided to do it again, this time taking a look at Germany and its world-renowned lineup of automakers, including the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen, among others. Join us below as we discuss the points and counterpoints that make or have made the German auto industry what it is today. And remember, Germany did pretty much invent the automobile, after all... The V12 Engine If America is known for the proliferation of the V8 engine, an argument could be made that Germany owns the V12. Yes, of course, other companies have created V12 engines – Ferrari, Jaguar and Lamborghini immediately come to mind – but the big 12-cylinder powerplants from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in particular, have proven to be some of the most effortless, luxurious and downright over-built engines the world has ever seen. These days, having 12 cylinders is more a case of wretched excess than ever before, and yet, you can still stroll into your local BMW or Mercedes dealership and get a brand-new 760i, S600 or even an over-the-top G65 AMG, efficiency be damned. Best of all, since the majority of these German powerhouses depreciate as fast as an anchor sinks, nearly any auto enthusiast who dreams of a dozen cylinders can satisfy their carnal desires. Current Star: 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 View 28 Photos Diesel Engines Remember how we talked about those glorious V12 engines? Well, you can even get one from Audi that runs on diesel. If your compression-ignition fantasies err more on the side of fuel savings, that's no problem, either. Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen have got you covered, with engines starting as small as 800 cubic centimeters (Smart Fortwo). If you want something a little more practical, it's hard to argue with a VW Golf TDI, which will provide plenty of space for you and three of your best friends, plus a fair bit of luggage, all while returning 50-ish miles per gallon. For the purposes of this discussion, we'd rather focus on the asinine levels of torque provided by Germany's high-end diesel engines than the lower-end fuel sippers.