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Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS prowls into Geneva with biggest NA engine in the 911 range [w/video]

We've been waiting for the debut of this road-going and race-ready Porsche 911 GT3 RS for quite some time now. As is typical for high-profile sports machines, the new 911 has been foreshadowed with spy shots and information leaks aplenty, all pointing to this grand day at Geneva. Here she is. Just a glance at the duct-sliced bodywork and massive rear wing will tell you that this Porsche means business, but let's look at its bona fides. The heart of the matter, under that short rear deck, is the largest-displacement and most powerful naturally aspirated engine in the 911 family, with 500 horsepower and 338 pound-feet of torque developed by the 4.0-liter flat-six. That hoss of an engine is mated to a newly developed version of Porsche's PDK dual-clutch gearbox – with functions such as "paddle neutral" that effectively works like depressing the clutch on a standard manual, and a Pit Speed button for on the track. Working in concert, engine and trans allow the GT3 RS to sprint to 60 miles per hour in 3.1 seconds, hit a quarter mile in 11.2, and lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in just seven minutes, 20 seconds. (That 'Ring time makes it the fastest current 911 around the benchmark course, and five seconds faster than the current 911 GT3 – so quick.) Weight has been saved via exotic materials; the car sports a magnesium roof and carbon fiber for the trunk and engine lids. Overall the RS is 22 pounds lighter than the GT3, but also boasts a lower center of gravity. As we said at the top, there's a wide, low and aggressive body kit on the GT3 RS, all engineered with racing performance in mind. That huge rear wing is balanced in the front by a deep chin spoiler, and the front wheel arches have been punctuated with vents that help to increase downforce on the front axle. The roll cage is the most obvious interior modification to let one know that this is a racing tool, but Porsche has also slathered the space in Alcantara and installed carbon-fiber bucket seats (based on those found in the 918 Spyder) to drive the point home. The cost of such racing glory will be steep at $175,900 plus a $995 destination charge, but not out of the scope of the current ask for the 911 range, when you consider that a Turbo S runs over $180k. Look for 911 GT3 RS deliveries to start in July of this year in the US, and for track days to be more competitive for the addition. Porsche 911 GT3 RS: the Ultimate 911 for High-Performance Drivers Atlanta.

Porsche 918 Spyder debuts with new N"urburgring lap record [w/video]

It's been a long time in the making, but Porsche has finally revealed the final production version of its long-awaited 918 Spyder here at the Frankfurt Motor Show. And yet that's not even the big news surrounding the hybrid hypercar.
No, the big news is that, while Porsche was preparing taking the wraps off the car here in Frankfurt, elsewhere in Germany a team was setting a blistering lap time at the Nürburgring. And not just any blistering lap time, but a new world record.
Porsche claims that, on the morning of September 4, a team of three drivers (including former rally champ Walter Röhrl and Porsche test drivers Timo Kluck and Marc Lieb) broke the Nordschleife lap record, Lieb finally setting the best time at 6:57 at an average of 111 miles per hour.