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Porsche reveals new 911 GT3 R at the Nurburgring

On any given weekend, you're bound to find gaggles of Porsche 911s zipping around most any race track. Now Porsche has revealed its latest competition model at no less fitting a location than the Nurburgring. The new 911 GT3 R replaces the existing version, slotting in below the 911 RSR. It's based closely on the road-going 911 GT3 RS, and retains the same 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six with direct injection and variable valve timing, but tuned to deliver over 500 horsepower, transmitted to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox and mechanical limited slip differential. The wheelbase has been stretched over three inches for better weight balance compared to the outgoing GT3 R, further optimized by more lightweight components and a central radiator to lower the center of gravity. The lightweight bodywork is made of aluminum, steel, and carbon fiber, and for the first time all of the glass (including the windscreen) has been replaced by plexi. Stopping power is provided by six-piston aluminum monoblock calipers gripping 380-millimeter steel discs up front, with four-piston calipers and 372-mm discs at the back. The safety fuel cell can now hold 120 liters of fuel with a cut-off safety valve, the doors and windows can be removed, and the escape hatch is bigger, too. All of this adds up to the promise of a more competitive GT3 R ready to take on the competition, available to privateer racing teams from December for 429,000 euros before tax – working out to about $487k at current exchange rates. World premiere at the Nurburgring Lighter, more economical, faster: the new 911 GT3 R Stuttgart. Based on the 911 GT3 RS production sports car, Porsche has designed a customer sport race car for GT3 series around the world: The 911 GT3 R. In developing the more than 368 kW (500 hp) racing nine-eleven, special attention was paid to lightweight design, better aerodynamic efficiency, reducing consumption, improved handling, further optimised safety as well as lowering service and spare parts costs. Adopted from its production sibling, the 911 GT3 R features the distinctive double-bubble roof, and the wheelbase which had been lengthened by 8.3 centimetres compared to the previous generation. This ensures a more balanced weight distribution and more predictable handling particularly in fast corners corners in comparison to the previous GT3 R.

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid gets $3,400 price cut in Canada

It's about $2,560 to you and me, pilgrim. Porsche is cutting the price of its Panamera S E-Hybrid by $3,400 for our neighbors to the north. In US dollars, that's a haircut of about $2,560. Of course, the premium SUV plug-in hybrid is no bargain, even in Canadian dollars. The sticker price now comes in at C$106,000 for the parallel plug-in hybrid. Granted, the car is a beast, and represents one heck of an effort for the German luxury-vehicle maker to hop aboard the green-car train, however little sales they derive from it. The model delivers 416 horsepower from its V6 gas-powered engine and electric motor. So while that's good for a fuel-economy rating (here in the States, at least) of 50 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe), the car also has a top speed of 167 miles per hour. Think Montreal to Toronto in two hours and change, if the roads are empty. And not frozen. And have no speed limit. Stateside, the plug-in Panamera has been selling in pretty low volumes. The model, including the gas-powered version, moved about 4,200 units through the first 10 months of the year, or about 10 percent of Porsche's total. Through October, sales of the plug-in only were down 55 percent from a year earlier to just 358 units, so one shouldn't expect a flood of them to be sold because of the three-percent discount. Still, a price cut certainly beats a snowshoe to the head. Take a look at Porsche's press release below. Porsche Canada realigns pricing of its plug-in premium sports sedan 2016 Panamera S E-Hybrid now starts at $106,600 MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Porsche Canada announced today that it had lowered the starting price of the Panamera S E-Hybrid for 2016 model year, effective immediately. The first plug-in hybrid vehicle in the luxury segment will now be offered starting at $106,600 – a reduction of $3,400 compared to the 2015 model year. This adjustment effectively brings the price in alignment with that of the Panamera S. Now, the Panamera S E-Hybrid represents an even more compelling choice in the segment, offering such quintessential Porsche traits as style, performance, quality, and impressive efficiency of its advanced powertrain. The hybrid tradition at Porsche extends back to the year 1899 and to the Lohner Porsche – the world's first vehicle to have a battery-powered electric drive as well as a combustion engine, which was designed and built by Ferdinand Porsche.

2017 Porsche Panamera wagon spotted on Nurburgring

Back in February we showed you spy photos of a Porsche Panamera wagon that suggest the body style is slated for production. With the same car (or a nearly identical test mule) now running on the Nurburgring, we're ready to say the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo is real. The name comes from a concept shown at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. It's not confirmed whether the Sport Turismo badge will be the official name for this model. We've seen spy photos of the standard Panamera hatchback, and both it and the wagon shares similar body panels. Expect to see the new 2017 Porsche Panamera at Paris this year with new or updated V6 and V8 engines as well as a plug-in hybrid option. The new Panamera is based off the MSB platform that Porsche is leading development on. As we reported previously, the next big Porsche could come as a coupe variant as well. Autocar also reports that the MSB platform will underpin future Bentley models, and the next Audi A8 (or A9 coupe) will probably share the same architecture. Before you bemoan the shared platform as some kind of brand dilution, remember that Porsche claims the Macan SUV shares only one-third of its parts with the Audi Q5. That is, the brands in the VW maintain a lot of differentiation despite common underpinnings. Or to put it another way: if you're going to make a knee-jerk complaint about Porsche, keep it to the standard cliches about making too many SUVs or how the Panamera isn't pretty. But to go back to the wagon seen above, at least the boxy tail lends some elegance to the Panamera's generous dimensions. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2017 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Wagon Spy Shots View 9 Photos Spy Photos Paris Motor Show Porsche Wagon Luxury porsche panamera sport turismo