1968 Porsche 912 Soft Window Targa- Rare 4 Owners From New on 2040-cars

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Wandering the Chopard Heritage Tent at Rennsport Reunion V

Porsche has a ton to celebrate at its Rennsport Reunion V being held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend. While some other luxury carmakers are hurting, Porsche sales are up. The 919 Hybrid won Le Mans in only its second year of competition, then came to America and won the World Endurance Championship race at Lone Star Le Mans in Austin, Texas the weekend before Rennsport Reunion. It just introduced its 2017 911 Carrera with a turbocharged engine for the first time ever for the line, and our initial impressions from the passenger's seat are that it's pretty good. And humor us while we have this out for the conspiracy theorists, but one can imagine some back-room celebrations since with Porsche Chairman Matthias Muller's promotion on Friday, September 26, Porsche completed its takeover of Volkswagen. Remember when that was a thing, when 16-year Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking tried to work the stock market to get control of VW but failed, so VW swallowed up Porsche instead? More concretely, around 50,000 people have come to the Reunion, and there are 1,400 Porsches parked in all the corrals. This year's event is devoted to Le Mans, with eight of the brand's 17 winners in attendance. We spent most of our time on the penultimate day in the Chopard Heritage Display, though, wandering through four rows of vintage machinery. The vehicles were even more instructive than they were beautiful - the Spyders, the RS editions, the Abarth-bodied racers, the company's first flat-eight race car, the 911 SCRS rally cars that led to the shows-topping 959, all help explain in metal what Porsche is referring to in its press releases and when it puts out special editions. They teach the history of personnel inside and outside of Porsche, too: like that Ferdinand Piech led the team that created the famous-on-sight 1968 917K at the same time as he was leading development of the Porsche 914; and that one of our own colleagues, the late Denise McCluggage, drove to victory in the 1957 Watkins Glen Grand Prix in a 1954 Porsche 550 Spyder 1500RS. There's a huge, captioned gallery above of just some of the wares parked in the Chopard Heritage Display. Have a look and a read, and the next time a Porsche rolls out a commemorative limited edition, one of these could be the car they're looking back at. Related Video:

Kia Telluride takes World Car of the Year honors

The Kia Telluride has been named 2020 World Car of the Year, an award that recognizes the most significant new-vehicle introduction as determined by an international jury of automotive journalist judges. The Telluride adds to its string of honors by beating out the Mazda CX-30 and the Mazda3, the previously announced finalists for the WCOTY award. The organization also announced the winners of additional awards: The Porsche Taycan was recognized as World Performance Car of the Year, beating out its siblings, the 911 and the 718 Boxster Spyder/Cayman GT4. The Taycan further took top honors as World Luxury Car of the Year, besting the 911 and the Mercedes-Benz EQC in that category. In a second win for Kia, the Kia Soul EV was named World Urban Car of the Year. The Soul beat out the Mini Cooper SE and the Volkswagen T-Cross. Finally, the Mazda3 was honored as World Car Design of the Year. The Kia Telluride follows last year's WCOTY, the Jaguar I-Pace. Previous honorees include the Volvo XC60 in 2018, the Jaguar F-Pace in 2017, and the Mazda MX-5 in 2016. The WCOTY team consists of 86 jurors from 24 countries, and the organization is independent and not tied to any publication. This is the 16 th year for the awards. Related Video:    

2017 Porsche Panamera revealed: It's finally pretty

Things are looking up for the Porsche Panamera. Dynamically, it's always been good – fast, comfortable, and much more spacious than something like a 911 – but the general consensus is that the first-gen Panamera's styling was, shall we say, less successful. All that changes for the second-generation car. Despite being longer, wider, and taller than before, it's much more attractive, with a lower roofline that sweeps back toward the rear haunches with a pleasing arc. There's a clear styling link to Porsche's mainstay, the 911. The new Panamera's body is made mostly from aluminum, minus some high-strength steel and the optional large, panoramic roof overhead. LED lighting elements front and rear look suitably up-to-date, especially the interconnected design of the taillights. Wheels range from 19 inches to 21, with 20s standard on the Turbo. Porsche isn't just recalling its current sports car with the new Panamera. The central tachometer is designed to evoke the one in the 1955 356 A, more colloquially known as the Speedster. Beside that one analog throwback, however, the latest Panamera is fully modern and technologically advanced. Two seven-inch screens flank the tach, and the Porsche Advanced Cockpit includes a 12.3-inch tablet-like touchscreen in front of the driver. Apple CarPlay is available, but there's no mention of Android Auto. A new thermal imaging camera makes it easier to see in the dark. A completely new range of engines powers the second-gen Panamera, starting with a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 that puts out 440 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. In the Panamera 4S, that's enough to launch the saloon to 60 in 4.4 seconds (4.2 with the optional Sport Chrono Package) and to hit a top speed of 180 miles per hour. The Panamera Turbo boasts a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 with 550 hp and 567 lb-ft. The 0–60 run takes just 3.6 seconds (3.4 with Sport Chrono) and the top speed is 190 mph. Both the 4S and the Turbo come with standard all-wheel drive and an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission. Much of the chassis tech from the last Panamera is carried over, including Porsche Active Suspension Management, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus, and active roll stabilization. The available active air suspension has been updated with a three-chamber design. The 2017 model adds rear-wheel steering as an option, borrowed from the 911 line.