2021 Porsche 911 Targa 4s on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Road & Track names its 2013 Performance Car of the Year

Road & Track recently staged its first annual Performance Car of the Year test, pitting 13 new and updated performance cars against each other on track, then graduating the top six to a road test before picking a winner. Additionally, the magazine staff picked the best automobiles of the year in eight categories.
But first, let's cover the PCotY segment. Here's the list of cars brought to the comparison test: Audi R8 V10 Plus; BMW 435i; BMW M6 Competition Package; Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51; Ferrari F12 Berlinetta; Ford Fiesta ST; Jaguar F-Type V8 S; Jaguar XFR-S; Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model Wagon; Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series; Mini John Cooper Works GP; Nissan GT-R Track Edition; and Porsche Cayman S.
To find out the results of the comparison, head over to Road & Track's website or check the press release below, where you'll also find the magazine's top-rated vehicles in eight categories. Want more? Head over to the 2013 PCotY hub. But before you do that, take a stab at guessing the winner of PCotY (we'll give you one hint: it isn't a Porsche).

Topiary Joe sculpts the ultimate in green cars

Efficient cars are all the rage these days, but Joe Kyte has made a business of crafting some of the coolest green cars around – literally. Kyte is better known by his nickname Topiary Joe, and in addition to being a talented artist, he is also a real gearhead. Kyte has been creating topiaries for the last 20 years. It began when he was marketing greenhouse products to Walt Disney World and saw their plant sculptures. He realized that he could do that and since then, has done around 3,400 pieces. His most intriguing creations are the rolling sculptures that move and turn. Prices for those start at about $18,000 and can be as high as $30,000. While, the wheels are machine-bent, Kyte said all the other parts are done with a table vice and a Lincoln Electric arc welder. Topiary Joe is taking the Porsche (pictured above) to Palm Beach later this year to sell or says he may donate it to Porsche North America. If you really want it, the sculpture is currently on Craigslist for sale for $24,000. Topiary Joe has also had a life-long love of cars. "I was driving my first MG Midget before I was 14," he told Autoblog. He grew up in Oak Ridge, TN, where the Manhattan Project was partially developed. He says the town was full of recent college grads driving Mercedes, and he caught the bug. His automotive mentor was a nuclear physicist who taught him to repair and restore the Mercs. Kyte has completed commissions for Sandals Resort, Dreamworks, Absolut, and many more. Among his favorite creations is the Ferrari that he created at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that is now exhibited at the airport each year before the race. Check out his website for a wider look at his work.

Porsche 911 Targa 4S special makes us want to go Dutch

There's a long list of things that make us love the Netherlands, and not all of them involve activities that would be illegal in most of the United States. Like this latest special edition Porsche 911, for example. Unveiled at AutoRAI 2015 – Holland's premier car show that opened last week – the Porsche 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of Zuffenhausen's iconic partial convertible. It's decked out in Gulf blue, but instead of contrasting with bright orange, nearly everything else on this special Elfen is blacked out: The 20-inch Fuchs-style alloys, the throwback quarter-panel racing stripes, the LED headlight frames... everything but the signature Targa roof bar, which keeps its brushed metal finish. The interior is rather more subdued than you'd find on most special editions, with throwback houndstooth fabric seats and silver stitching. Power comes from the 3.8-liter boxer-six driving 400 horses to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The Sport Chrono Package Plus, a sports exhaust, adaptive suspension and Bose audio system are all fitted as standard. Options include carbon-ceramic brakes, a seven-speed manual transmission and a 30-horse Powerkit. As the name suggests, though, this is a rather exclusive edition indeed. All fifteen examples will be made available exclusively in the Netherlands, priced from ˆ223,230 with the PDK or ˆ229,500 with the manual. That's more than you'd pay for a 911 Turbo Cabrio in the same country, and works out to more than $240k at today's conversion rates. Related Video: Speciaal voor Nederland: Porsche 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Edition - Zeer exclusief uitgevoerde 911 Targa 4S in Gulfblauw - 15 exemplaren om 50 jaar 911 Targa te vieren - Debuut op de AutoRAI Leusden, 16 april 2015 – Porsche Nederland presenteert op de AutoRAI 2015 de 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Edition. Dit model wordt in een oplage van 15 exemplaren door Porsche Exclusive geproduceerd om '50 jaar Targa' te vieren. Alle modellen zijn uitgevoerd in het herkenbare Gulfblauw met accenten in hoogglans zwart en lichtmetalen wielen in het klassieke 'Fuchs-design'. Elke 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Edition wordt geleverd met een fotoboek van de auto en het productieproces. Aansluitend aan de AutoRAI start de levering. De 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Edition is er vanaf ˆ 223.230. De 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Edition is speciaal voor de Nederlandse markt ontwikkeld ter ere van 50 jaar Targa.