2013 Porsche Boxster S Convertible 2-door 3.4l on 2040-cars

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Porsche 919 Hybrid revives Porsche's factory Le Mans efforts

After months of teasing with camouflaged testers, Porsche has finally unveiled its prototype entry for the 2014 World Endurance Championship, the 919 Hybrid. Porsche, you may recall, hasn't had campaigned a factory team at Le Mans in years, so the 919 is nothing less than their recommitment to endurance racing.
Combining a 2.0-liter V4 (yes, a V4) that revs to 9,000 rpm, the 919 produces around 500 horsepower with a pair of energy recovery systems. The first system recovers the heat energy from exhaust gasses as they pass through an electrical generator, while the second system is a bit more familiar. Using a setup similar to what is found on the production 918 Spyder, a generator on the front axle recovers kinetic energy from the brakes, which is subsequently stored in a battery system. That power can then be sent to the front wheels at the driver's command, effectively turning the 919 into an all-wheel-drive racecar.
Despite these various forms of motivation, Porsche doesn't claim to be seeking outright power supremacy, with Chairman Matthias Müller saying, "In 2014, it will not be the fastest car that wins the World Endurance Championship series and the 24 hours of Le Mans, rather it will be the car that goes the furthest with a defined amount of energy. And it is precisely this challenge that carmakers must overcome. The 919 Hybrid is our fastest mobile research laboratory and the most complex race car that Porsche has ever built."

Porsche opening network of dedicated Classics centers

Porsche is in the process of opening a new network of service centers specifically focused on its classic cars. By 2018, the German automaker aims to have 100 such locations up and running around the world. What you're looking at here is the first. Opening this week in Gelderland – a city on the outskirts of Arnhem in the Netherlands – the first dedicated Porsche Classic Center is designed to support older vehicles from Zuffenhausen's history. That means undertaking service and maintenance, installing original parts, partially or completely overhauling of vintage vehicles – even selling classic Porsches certified by the factory. The company reports that over 70 percent of the vehicles it has ever produced are still running. That rather impressive statistic speaks to the quality of the vehicles in the first place, but also the dedication of their owners to keep them running, and the necessity for proper service and maintenance. The chain of 100 or so Porsche Classic Centers to open around the world will stem from the existing network of Porsche Classic Partners. As it is, the network includes 24 such partners around the world, principally in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Ten of those 24 are located in Germany alone. However the new network will incorporate locations in North America as well. Premiere for Porsche Classic Centre in Gelderland World's first Porsche centre for classic cars to open Gelderland/Stuttgart. The world's first Porsche Classic Centre is just about to open: from 26 November 2015, the Porsche Classic Centre Gelderland, just outside of Arnhem/Netherlands, will be offering services for classic cars of all ages from Zuffenhausen. This is the first time that service, workshop and sales exclusively for the classic sports cars have been brought together under one roof. A small number of additional certified Porsche Classic Centres are set to follow around the world and produce an even more closely knit Porsche Classic network. More than 70 per cent of the vehicles ever produced by Porsche are still running today. To ensure that these classic cars receive optimum support and overhaul facilities, Porsche is establishing an international dealer and service network with some 100 centres to reach completion by 2018. This mainly involves Porsche centres which will provide support for sports cars of earlier eras in addition to the current models and will be certified as Porsche Classic Partners.

Porsche offers detuned Boxster and Cayman 211 in Europe

Looking at a new Porsche Boxster? First of all, we commend you on your choice, because in its latest iteration, the Boxster has sped out from under the shadow of the 911 and into its own. But now to choose: do you get the base model with 265 horsepower, the Boxster S with 315 hp, or the top-of-the-line Boxster GTS with 330 hp? It's a daunting question, considering the $10k+ price gap between each model that you could put into the gas-and-rubber jar. Same goes for the Cayman, albeit with ten more horses across the board. But as if that's not confusing enough, there appears to be another player on the field. (That is, at least, in certain European markets.)
Appearing on the company's Belgian and Norwegian sites are the Boxster 211 and Cayman 211. As you might have guessed, they pack a less substantial 211 horsepower, undercutting what we know as the base models. Instead of using a smaller engine, though, the Boxster and Cayman 211 get the same 2.7-liter boxer six, just with less power.
As a result, they're a bit slower off the line: the Boxster 211 takes between 6.1 and 6.4 seconds to get to 62, depending on exact specifications, compared to the 5.5- to 5.8-second range for the 265-hp Boxster, while the Cayman 211 is quoted at 6.2 seconds versus the 275-hp Cayman's 5.4 to 5.7 seconds. Fuel consumption and emissions, on the other hand (and as you'd expect), are better in the 211. But while Porsche Norway charges around $10k less for the 211 models, Porsche Belgium charges the same for the 211 models as it does for the next most powerful versions (from which they appear to be visually indistinguishable).