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Porsche's 959 is still poster-worthy after all these years

Today, we have the Porsche 918 Spyder. Before that, there was the Carrera GT. While both of those cars are dramatic departures from the traditional, rear-engine Porsche formula, they owe their very existence to another wild child of the iconic German brand - the 959.
Like so many of the great performance cars of yesteryear, the 959 was a homologation special, built just so Porsche could go racing in the clinically insane Group B rally series. Fewer than 400 959s hit the streets, but those that did were some of the most advanced cars of the 1980s. A rear-mounted, twin-turbocharged flat-six sent its power through a still-rare all-wheel-drive system, creating a race-inspired rocket that was, for a short time, the fastest production car on the planet.
Xcar has the story of the 959, from its inception to its conquest of the Paris-Dakar rally, which is interspersed with a drive of the legendary coupe. Scroll down for the full video.

Porsche to offer next-gen 911 GT3 with a manual

Porsche may have offended some of the purists among its customer base when it rolled out the current 911 GT3 with only a dual-clutch transmission. But according to Car and Driver, the next GT3 will get a stick again. The development comes as the good folks at Zuffenhausen (and Weissach) attempt to balance the instant-shifting benefits of a DCT with the direct involvement of a conventional manual transmission. On the one hand, Porsche introduced a new seven-speed manual with the 991-generation model. On the other, it didn't offer that manual (or any manual for that matter) on the GT3 or even the more hardcore GT3 RS. In response to customer demand for a more back-to-basics approach, Porsche is preparing to introduce a new variant expected to be called the 911 R, with a manual, no turbos, and skinnier tires for a more linear driving experience. And the Cayman GT4 was launched only with a manual instead of a DCT. "The GT3 is full of systems that make sense on the track, but for the purist, there may be something lost," Porsche GT chief Andreas Preuninger told C/D. "It is our long-term goal to have the customer decide between the two approaches." In addition to the DCT, the current GT3 also features a four-wheel steering system. The shift (so to speak) back to a manual option in the next GT3 will undoubtedly come as a welcome development for those purists offended by the DCT-only option – to say nothing of Porsche's movement towards SUVs, diesels, and hybrids. That manual option may not, however, offer all seven forward cogs available in the stick-shift Carrera. One way or another, though, we don't doubt that most customers would still go for the dual-clutch option over the single on they can actuate themselves. Related Video:

Coronavirus prompts VW to stop production throughout Europe

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen Group, the world's biggest carmaker, is suspending production at factories across Europe as the coronavirus pandemic hits sales and disrupts supply chains, the company said on Tuesday. The German carmaker, which owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands, also said that uncertainty about the fallout from coronavirus meant it was impossible to give forecasts for its performance this year. "Given the present significant deterioration in the sales situation and the heightened uncertainty regarding parts supplies to our plants, production is to be suspended in the near future at factories operated by group brands," Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Tuesday. Volkswagen's powerful works council concluded it was not possible for workers to maintain a safe distance from each other to prevent contagion and recommended a suspension of production at its factories from Friday. Production will be halted at VW's Spanish plants, in Setubal in Portugal, Bratislava in Slovakia and at the Lamborghini and Ducati plants in Italy before the end of this week, Diess said. Most of its other German and European factories will prepare to suspend production, probably for two to three weeks, while Audi said separately it would halt output at its plants in Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Mexico. Volkswagen's vast factories in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Puebla, Mexico, and plants in Brazil were not affected, but that would depend on how the coronavirus spreads, VW said. Volkswagen has 124 production sites worldwide of which 72 are in Europe, with 28 in Germany alone. "2020 will be a very difficult year. The coronavirus pandemic presents us with unknown operational and financial challenges. At the same time, there are concerns about sustained economic impacts," Diess said.   Production in China resumes Volkswagen Group sold 10.96 million vehicles last year, putting it ahead of Toyota based on the latest figures from the Japanese carmaker. Globally, VW employs 671,000 people and it delivered 4.86 million vehicles to European customers in 2019. Only last month the car and truck maker based in Wolfsburg, Germany, predicted that vehicle deliveries this year would match 2019 sales and forecast an operating return on sales in the range of 6.5% to 7.5%. "The spread of coronavirus is currently impacting the global economy. It is uncertain how severely or for how long this will also affect the Volkswagen Group.