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Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer First Drive [w/video]

"There's still a couple hundred rpm left," coaxes the voice from the passenger seat. Though I'm wailing down a mercilessly knotted up Southern California canyon road in someone else's half-million dollar coupe, my manic pace apparently isn't sufficient for the Singer Vehicle Design rep in the right seat. On one hand, my Irish co-pilot with more than a passing resemblance to Bruce Willis is playfully ribbing me because I've been driving hard, but haven't yet hit the 4.0-liter engine's 7,200-rpm rev limiter. On the other hand, if you've never heard of an Irish bloke who doesn't drink because he's got control issues – well, now you have, because the dude's stocky paws are white knuckling the car's rain gutter like his life depends on it. Within my microcosm of itinerant auto writing some days are odder than others; this particular Monday is beginning to look like one of the weirder ones. Rolling, In My Four-Point-Oh The car in question, according to a release I've signed prior to the drive, is a "Porsche 911," a "Porsche," or a "911," but certainly not a "Singer Porsche," a "Singer 911," or any number of variants thereafter. Sigh. I suppose "Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer Vehicle Design" will suffice? Oh, legal department. Nomenclature aside, what started life as a 1990 Porsche 911 has been dismantled and rebodied with a carbon fiber skin that makes it more closely resemble a small-bumpered, wide-hipped 1960s-era 911 than it does its melted bumper donor car. According to company founder (and former Catherine Wheel vocalist) Rob Dickinson, the decision to source a 964-series 911 was based on its delicate foothold between the model's combination of heritage and drivability. "I think the 964 is in the sweet spot of having one foot in old school 911 thinking with the [semi-trailing] rear suspension, which honors every earlier 911, while having a front end which is very much of the modern era and allows the car not to feel like an antique," he tells Autoblog. The specimen I'm driving is the latest evolution of Singer's vision of the reinterpreted 911, distinguished by a 4.0-liter powerplant that's been heavily modified by Ed Pink Racing (and, in Singer tradition, the serial number matches the donor car's chassis). The Van Nuys, California-based firm knows a thing or two about high-strung Porsche mills: the tuner has a long history of rebuilding such mechanical exotica such as 917, 935, and 962 race engines.

Coronavirus prompts VW to stop production throughout Europe

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen Group, the world's biggest carmaker, is suspending production at factories across Europe as the coronavirus pandemic hits sales and disrupts supply chains, the company said on Tuesday. The German carmaker, which owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands, also said that uncertainty about the fallout from coronavirus meant it was impossible to give forecasts for its performance this year. "Given the present significant deterioration in the sales situation and the heightened uncertainty regarding parts supplies to our plants, production is to be suspended in the near future at factories operated by group brands," Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Tuesday. Volkswagen's powerful works council concluded it was not possible for workers to maintain a safe distance from each other to prevent contagion and recommended a suspension of production at its factories from Friday. Production will be halted at VW's Spanish plants, in Setubal in Portugal, Bratislava in Slovakia and at the Lamborghini and Ducati plants in Italy before the end of this week, Diess said. Most of its other German and European factories will prepare to suspend production, probably for two to three weeks, while Audi said separately it would halt output at its plants in Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Mexico. Volkswagen's vast factories in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Puebla, Mexico, and plants in Brazil were not affected, but that would depend on how the coronavirus spreads, VW said. Volkswagen has 124 production sites worldwide of which 72 are in Europe, with 28 in Germany alone. "2020 will be a very difficult year. The coronavirus pandemic presents us with unknown operational and financial challenges. At the same time, there are concerns about sustained economic impacts," Diess said.   Production in China resumes Volkswagen Group sold 10.96 million vehicles last year, putting it ahead of Toyota based on the latest figures from the Japanese carmaker. Globally, VW employs 671,000 people and it delivered 4.86 million vehicles to European customers in 2019. Only last month the car and truck maker based in Wolfsburg, Germany, predicted that vehicle deliveries this year would match 2019 sales and forecast an operating return on sales in the range of 6.5% to 7.5%. "The spread of coronavirus is currently impacting the global economy. It is uncertain how severely or for how long this will also affect the Volkswagen Group.

Porsche reveals new Panamera Turbo S ahead of Tokyo debut

For many buyers in the market for a luxury sports sedan, style is as important as performance. But while the Porsche Panamera undoubtedly delivers in the latter category, it falls somewhat short in the former. Porsche went to some lengths (if not quite far enough for some tastes) to improve its four-door model's visual appeal with the facelift revealed earlier this year, but now it's time to up the performance game with the new Panamera Turbo S.
Set to be revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show in just a few weeks from now, the new top-tier Panamera benefits from several key upgrades over the existing Turbo and the pre-facelift Turbo S. For one, its 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8 now produces 570 horsepower (up from 520 in the new Turbo and 550 in the old Turbo S and the latest Cayenne Turbo S) and 553 pound-feet of torque (up from the current Turbo's 516 but the same as the previous model). Despite the power boost, however, Porsche is quoting the same 3.6-second 0-60 time for the new Panamera Turbo S as it did for the previous one - but then that hardly required improvement in the first place. Top speed, however, is up to 192 miles per Autobahn-blurring hour, two mph faster than the previous model.
Other features include carbon-ceramic brakes (hopefully with more durable bolts than sister companies Lamborghini and Bentley have been using) packed inside the wheels from the 911 Turbo and an exclusive shade of greige called Palladium. And for the first time, customers will be able to order this top-spec model in long-wheelbase Executive trim. But don't expect it to come cheap: MSRP (before delivery and options) is quoted at $180,300 for the standard wheelbase and $200,500 for the stretched model. That's two and a half times the price of a base Panamera, and makes the new Panamera Turbo S Executive both the most expensive and most powerful Porsche your can buy this side of a 918 Spyder. Haven't passed out yet? There's more to digest in the press release, so head on down below to take it all in.