2009 Porsche 997 C4s Cabriolet 6spd Blk/blk 5k Miles Florida Car!! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Porsche 911 Targa

I've watched the electro-hydraulic roof panel open and close about 73 times in the past hour, but its fascinatingly complicated operation still has me mesmerized. I've concluded that only a German automaker - Porsche, to be more specific - would go through the trouble of engineering a roof system that essentially lifts the entire greenhouse off a vehicle, rearranges its components like a sliding-tile puzzle, and then reassembles all of them seamlessly (sans roof panel) to accurately recreate one of its most famed bodystyles.
The 2014 Porsche 911 Targa is a near-perfect modern interpretation of the automaker's 1965 911 Targa, a semi-convertible bodystyle that represents nearly 13 percent of all 911 models sold since production started 50 years ago. While the early car's roof was purely manual in operation - that's the period-correct way of saying that the driver did all of the muscle work - today's Targa is a completely automated transformation that requires only that the driver hold down a cabin-mounted switch for a mere 19 seconds to let the captivating show run its course.
After studying the Targa's elaborate roof operation at its launch at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, I was sufficiently intrigued. To that end, I traveled one-third of the way around the planet to southern Italy, hoping that the Mediterranean climate would reveal a bit more about the reintroduction of the automaker's iconic sports car.

Porsche Mission E set for launch by 2020

Porsche will bring the Mission E electric sedan to production by 2020. The company's board just gave the thumbs up for further development of the vehicle on Dec. 4. "Even in a greatly changing motoring world, Porsche will maintain its front-row position with this fascinating sports car," Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of the supervisory board of Porsche AG, said in the model's announcement. The Mission E debuted at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show as a long-slung sedan in a mix of aluminum, steel, and carbon-fiber reinforced polymer. The concept featured two permanent magnet synchronous motors with over 590 horsepower, all-wheel drive with torque vectoring, and four-wheel steering. Porsche claimed that the model could reach 62 miles per hour in less than 3.5 seconds and offer a 500-kilometer (310.7-mile) range on the European testing cycle. Plus, the brand alleged the vehicle could lap the Nordschleife in less than eight minutes. The concept version also boasted an 800-volt charger to provide 80 percent of the range just 15 minutes after the driver plugged it in. We won't know for some time how much of this cutting-edge tech will actually arrive on the production version, but building the Mission E will coincide with 700-million euros ($765 million) in updates to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. In the coming years, the company will upgrade its engine factory to assemble electric motors. The automaker will also add a new paint shop, assembly plant, and enlarged body shop there. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green light for Mission E The first 100% electrically powered Porsche is on its way. It will be launched at the end of the decade. The supervisory board of the Porsche AG today gave the green light for the Mission E project. Mission E, Concept Car, Press Conference IAA , Frankfurt, 2015, Porsche AG With the Mission E project, Porsche is continuing to back sustainable growth. In Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen alone more than 1,000 new jobs are being created. The company will be investing around 700 million euros in its main site there. Over the next few years, a new paint shop and a new assembly plant will be built. The existing engine factory is also being expanded for the production of electric motors. In addition, the existing body shop is being enlarged.

Porsche 918 Spyder to birth stretched 2+2 version?

Porsche is known for its ability to spin off a litter of variants from a single model, and according to a report in Automobile the 918 Spyder (pictured here) might not be spared the house trick. Having taken too many brains and too much money for too much time, company chiefs are said to be examining ways to get more for their development euro out of the supercar, and Plan A is apparently otherwise known as Plan 984. That would be a four-seater, rear-wheel drive supercar that uses a stretched mold of the 918's carbon fiber tub, keeping the V8 in the same mid-mounted place and costing around 350,000 euro.
That would be less than half the MSRP of its inspiration, but the details don't sketch out a car that's just half as good. Automobile speculates it would get something like 700 horsepower in order to best the coming 911 GT2, and about 440 pound-feet of torque. The 984 is quite a ways short of being confirmed; even though a full-size study is said to exist, it's like the 918 would need to become a bigger sales hit for the 984 to happen.
The 984's fortunes don't change those of the 960, the supercoupe Porsche is building to challenge Ferrari. Its potential specs haven't changed since the last report in January, power coming from a 5.0-liter, twin-turbo, eight-cylinder boxer engine with something like 650 hp pushing a curb weight of roughly 3,100 pounds. The means a suspected 0-to-60 mile-per-hour time of 2.5 seconds.