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Porsche 911 GT2 RS vs. Mercedes SLS AMG Black in battle of who can shred more rubber

We might be looking at the end of an era in European performance models. Mercedes-Benz is doing away with the SLS in favor of a rumored smaller and cheaper SLC, and Porsche has said that a new 911 GT2 isn't necessarily a sure thing, which means another 911 GT2 RS is even farther away. In its latest video, Evo's Jethro Bovingdon pits the ultimate versions of these German sports coupes against each other and finds two of the fastest cars the magazine has ever lapped around its track.
In one corner, there is the Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series that sits as the pinnacle of the company's halo model. It relies on the classic setup of a V8 mounted in front powering the rear wheels. On the other side, there is the 911 GT2 RS with a turbocharged flat-six mounted at the back, spinning the rear wheels. It was conceived to be Porsche's ultimate expression of a turbocharged 911, and while it's a few years old, Bovingdon shows that it's up to the task of racing a more modern rival.
Both of these rear-wheel-drive monsters are more than capable of some fantastically smoky power-slides, but they also show how great the last generation of sports cars was. Scroll down to check out the video.

Exclusive: The first Porsche 911 Targa restored by Singer

We love Singer. Frankly, if you're a Porsche guy, or just a car guy, and have seen any of the Porsche 911s that have been restored and "reimagined" by the Californian company, you probably do too. So you can imagine our excitement in getting an exclusive first full look at the latest Porsche 911 restored by Singer. The car you seen in the photographs above is a special thing beyond the obsessive Singer restoration treatment. It's the first Targa the company has ever restored. Plus, this car is one of the first with a modified 4.0-liter flat-six, making around 390 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque. With a body clad mostly in carbon fiber, the ultra-lightweight Targa is as modern under the skin as it is retro to the casual observer. The liquid-pewter beauty makes its debutant turn tomorrow at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We sat down with Singer founder, Rob Dickinson, to pick his brain about the new Targa, where his love of Porsches started, and about the punk-rock car company he's building in SoCal. Autoblog: Tell us a little bit about the car. It's a 911 Targa, obviously, but tell us about what's special beyond that. Rob Dickinson: This is the first time one of our clients has requested that we restore his Targa rather than his coupe and so we did. We always had hopes that we could get our fingers on a Targa and it's the first of a few that are coming down the line now, such that you'll see the second one at Pebble Beach in August. It's basically a faithful rendition of the work that we do on the coupes. The Targa presents us with new challenges, but also an opportunity to add our jewelry to the car. Obviously, that iconic Targa hoop – that was rendered in stainless steel on the original 911s in '65 – we now render that in nickel, which is I guess part of our calling card, our signature. All the brightwork we do on the coupes is in nickel and we're following that principle with the Targas as well. Just for the sake of injecting a little bit of uniqueness into the Targa hoop, we render it with two cool, air-filtering louvers, rather than three, which the early 911 had. Which we thought was a cute little touch that is somewhat different from the early 911s and very different from the later 964, which didn't have any louvers in it at all. AB: That's Porsche nerdiness in the extreme. In a good way. RD: Thank you, yeah. It's one of those things that won't be noticed by many but will be noticed by a few, and that's an insider's thing.

Porsche 911 Targa leaks out ahead of Detroit debut

With the doors of Cobo Center opening for the 2014 Detroit Auto Show this morning, Porsche is set to reveal its new 911 Targa in a matter of hours. But before it gets the chance, the first batch of images have already leaked out, courtesy of Chinese car site autohome.com.cn.
As expected, the new Targa appears to ditch the complex sliding glass roof panels that adorned recent versions of the semi-convertible 911 in favor of a more back-to-basics approach. An entirely removable roof panel opens up the sky, backed by a metallic B-pillar hoop in front of a large curved-glass rear window.
We'll have to wait just a little longer for the full scope of images and all the official details, but we're expecting the new Targa to carry most of the same technical specifications as the 991 on which it's based. Watch this space for more.