2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S on 2040-cars

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Man steals Porsche, brags on video, then crashes into wall

Here's your daily reminder that thieves are morons. This also serves as reminder that not everything you do needs to be committed to video. A man in Gloucester, a city in southwest England, was stupid enough to steal a Porsche Boxster and then take a video in it. Oh, and of course, he crashed it. Now, we'll give this dimwit, 25-year-old Jamie Lee Sharp, some credit – he didn't actually admit that he stole the car on video, at least based on the 45-second clip released by Gloucester police and hosted by The Guardian. According to the story, there was more footage, which included Sharp driving the car and phoning friends, before he crashed it into a wall. It's not clear if the crash was caught on video, though. Following the crash, Sharp's accomplice, 26-year-old James Honeywell, abandoned him at the scene of the wreck. Both thieves were arrested following the January incident, though, and were just recently sentenced by British authorities following guilty pleas. The crown awarded Sharp's actions with a four-year stay in one of Her Majesty's prisons for burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, driving while disqualified, drunk driving, and driving without insurance. Honeywell got 35 months burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, and failure to appear at court. His license was also suspended for nearly two and half years, too, The Guardian reports. Related Video: News Source: The GuardianImage Credit: Gloucester Constabulary Government/Legal Porsche Convertible Videos viral video crime

Porsche reportedly working on new turbocharged flat-four boxer engine?

These days, we've seen just about every automaker dropping cylinders in an effort to appease tightening fuel economy and emission standards - and Porsche is no exception. Nearly three years after introducing an all-new V6 powerplant under the front hood of its Panamera sedan (launched with a range of V8 engines) comes word that Porsche is working on an all-new turbocharged flat-four boxer to replace the flat-six engines mid-mounted in its Cayman and Boxster models.
Specifics have yet to be learned, but reports say the engine is a derivative of the current 3.8-liter six (shown above) found under the rear decklid of the Carrera S, yet with two fewer cylinders. Fitted with a turbocharger, direct-injection and the automaker's VarioCam Plus, the new all-aluminum 2.5-liter flat-four will likely develop upwards of 350 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque. Redline should be about 7,500 rpm. Initial indications say that Porsche will only offer the new engine with its seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic, tuned to take advantage of the low-end torque, but a traditional six-speed manual gearbox has not been ruled out. Despite the loss of two cylinders, enthusiasts will likely embrace the new engine as it promises to be lighter, more fuel efficient and more powerful than the 2.7-liter and 3.4-liter sixes in the Cayman/Boxster today.
Even though Porsche has been using Volkswagen Group engines for years (e.g., Cayenne V6, Cayenne Diesel and upcoming Macan), all indications are that the new flat-four will not be shared. Instead, it will be kept in-house for the automaker's sports cars and possible future fitment in an entry-level 911.

$1.4B hedge fund suit against Porsche dismissed

Investors have canvassed courts in Europe and the US to repeatedly sue Porsche over its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen in 2008 (see here, and here and here), and they have repeatedly failed to win any cases. You can add another big loss to the tally, with Bloomberg reporting that the Stuttgart Regional Court has dismissed a 1.4-billion euro ($1.95B US) lawsuit, the decision explained by the court's assertion that the investors would have lost on their short bets even if Porsche hadn't misled them.
Examining the hedge funds' motives for stock purchases and the bets that VW share prices would fall, judge Carola Wittig said that the funds didn't base their decisions on the key bits of "misinformation," and instead were participating simply in "highly speculative and naked short selling," only to get caught out.
With other cases still pending, the continued streak of victories bodes well for Porsche's courtroom fortunes, since judges will expect new information to consider overturning precedent. If there is any new info, it could come from the potential criminal cases still outstanding against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and CFO Holger Härter, who were both indicted on charges of market manipulation.