2002 Blue Porsche 911 Carrera 134541 on 2040-cars

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Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS caters to a very specific customer [w/video]

Porsche is happy to cater to some very specific buyer demographics, and the brand's newly unveiled 911 Targa 4 GTS at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show is the perfect example of that tendency. The sports coupe is aimed at the customer who wants open-air driving without a full convertible, all-wheel drive traction and a little extra performance, all wrapped in a sporty package. Launching in the US in late-April, 2015, for $132,800, plus a $995 destination charge, this high-performance Targa benefits from all of the goodies from Porsche's GTS line. That gives it a 3.8-liter flat-six boasting 424 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of twist, and the choice of either a seven-speed PDK or seven-speed manual. The model also gets the Sport Chrono package, PASM, 20-inch wheels and a sport exhaust. Picking the PDK means the Targa 4 GTS can hit a top speed of 188 miles per hour and sprint to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. Opting for the manual makes the run to 60 take a few more ticks at 4.5 seconds and scarcely cuts the top speed to 187 mph. The Targa 4 GTS is more than just about boosted performance, and shows off some handsome styling tweaks, as well. It wears a modded front bumper with an extra opening to cool the middle radiator. Plus, the wheels are 20-inch units from the 911 Turbo S, and the Bi-Xenon headlights get smoked coverings. Inside, drivers are held firmly in place by Sport Plus seats covered partially in black Alcantara. Porsche apparently sees a hole in its lineup that a higher-performance Targa can fill, and here it is. Look below for a video of intricate top doing its fascinating dance and read the German brand's full press release about the its latest take on the venerable 911. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The new 911 Targa 4 GTS More powerful, dynamic and exquisitely styled To mark the 50th anniversary of the 911 Targa, Porsche is offering this very popular model in the more powerful and dynamic GTS version for the first time. The targa concept of the 911 Targa 4 GTS delivers very safe driving enjoyment with all-wheel drive and a rollover protection bar; it also delivers open-air fun with a targa top that stows fully automatically. Contributing to a boost in dynamic performance are the 430 hp (316 kW) GTS engine together with the standard Sport Chrono package, PASM chassis, 20-inch wheels and a sport exhaust system.

2017 Porsche 911 Carrera experienced from the passenger seat

Autoblog joins Porsche for Rennsport Reunion V at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the fifth international gathering of all things Porsche. If you've ever had a picture of a Porsche on your wall or dreamed of owning a certain model, either that very car or one just like it is here. Watching three 917 racers blaze over the rise at the front straight and down into turn one can make a viewer think, "So this is how Steve McQueen felt..." It was a modern Porsche that delivered one of the highlights of the first day, though: we rode shotgun for three hot laps of the track in the new turbocharged 991.2-series 911 Carrera S, with Thomas Krickelberg, director of powertrain for the 911 model line, our pilot. We cornered him and August Achleitner, vice president of the 911 product line, for a few questions about the changes. What do you call the standard 911 now that it has turbocharged engines? Carrera. If you're wondering what to call the standard 911 now that they have turbocharged engines, the answer is: Carrera. Krickelberg said, "In-house we call them 'little turbo' and 'big turbo,'" but the Carrera is a model line within the 911 model line, the big boy 911 Turbo is a second model line within the 911 family. One will continue to be called Carrera, the other simply Turbo. The move to turbocharging came to serve the twin kings of performance and fuel economy, but engineers played around with numerous configurations. A non-turbo engine displacing about 4.0 liters – that's as big as the 9A1 engine block can go – was considered, but that setup couldn't deliver the desired fuel efficiency. Krickelberg said engineers considered a small-displacement block of around 2.0 liters, but that was abandoned because "takeoff behavior was worse" because the turbo was called upon to do too much of the heavy performance living. Krickelberg added, "Not only that, but there was a too big a gap between real-world fuel economy and homologation fuel economy." Base Carrera and the Carrera S models haven't used the same engine displacement since the 996 series departed at the end of 2004. Achleitner said, "We found 3.0 liters is the best solution to get the best mix of fuel and air in combustion chamber - it offered the best geometry, bore and stroke, and the size of the walls.

Porsche Panamera wagon won't come to America until 2018

Porsche has teased us with a wagon version of the Panamera for years now. First as the Panamera Sport Turismo concept at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, and more recently we've seen prototype spy photos of extended rooflines Panameras as well. Now Automotive News confirms that the wagon is not only in the works, but that it will be sold in North America. "We have to have some patience for [the wagon] to arrive in the U.S.," Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer told AN. "But we are confident that this car will be well received here, despite the fact that this country doesn't really like hatchbacks or wagons." Wagons are particularly popular in Germany, encouraging local automakers to continue developing and producing them even as they expand their crossover offerings. Only some of those make their way across the Atlantic, however. Though Audi, for example, offers Avant wagon versions of its A4 and A6 models, it brings only the latter over in ruggedized Allroad trim. Mercedes similarly offers wagon versions of the C-Class, CLA, and CLS back home, but only sells the E-Class wagon in America. And BMW keeps the Touring version of its 5 Series back home while brining over only the 3 Series wagon. Porsche is slated to reveal the new Panamera in four-door form at the Paris show in September, with the wagon version to hit the European market sometime next year. Don't expect to see the five-door model in US showrooms, then, until 2018 at the earliest.