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Watch a Group B Porsche 911 tear up the 'Ring in the snow

The Nurburgring is a motorsports fantasyland during the best weather, but it looks even more exciting when the snow starts to fall. While the course isn't open to the general public during the winter, this Porsche 911 SC RS rally car managed a lap of the snow-covered Grand Prix Circuit, sliding the whole way around. The 911 SC RS isn't as famous as Porsche racers like the 917, but it has an interesting story. Porsche's development of the 959 was slow in the '80s, and this coupe was the company's stopgap for Group B rallying. The SC RS used the 911 Turbo's wider body, suspension, and brakes, but the car had a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter flat-six to drive the rear wheels. It couldn't compete against all-wheel drive beasts like the Audi Quattro, but one managed third place in the 1985 Tour de Corse in France. The SC RS sounds great in this video, and it looks even better kicking up snow. There's so much accumulation that you can't tell which way the track goes, but driver Patrick Simon knows his way around. After watching this clip, we think the 'Ring should unleash a few more old rally cars on the track for a new racing series next winter.

'We're not a hedge fund': Porsche plans to curtail speculators and flippers

A sizable number of speculators view cars as an investment. Rare or unusual models are quickly snapped up and either parked for years or flipped for a profit. Cars from automakers like Porsche and Ferrari are more prone than others, and at least some people behind these models are getting a bit tired of it. While it's difficult to police what goes on after you sell a car, Porsche has some plans that might curtail the problem before it starts. Andreas Preuninger, the head of GT road-car development and the man behind the new 911 GT3, spoke to Car and Driver at a recent event. "I personally like to see my cars being used," he said. "That's what we build them for. They are just too good to be left to stand and collect dust." One recent example of this rampant speculation is the 911 R. While the special manual-only model sold for $185,950 when new, used versions were selling for nearly $1.3 million just months after it went on sale. While the car is a masterpiece and an instant classic, a good number will be parked and simply used as art and not the rolling testaments to the man/machine interface they were intended to be. The concern over valuations has become so fierce that some owners are upset that Porsche is offering the new 911 GT3 with a manual transmission, fearing that it may hurt the value of the 911 R. "When I said we're not a hedge fund, I'm talking to those people who are yelling at us for offering the manual transmission similar to the R," Preuninger said. "But if there are people wanting to buy cars like that, then as a company we should try to fulfill that, to meet that demand." It seems Porsche is keeping a close eye on who is flipping cars. Since there is often far more demand than supply with certain models, the German automaker has a name for every car before it's built. Buyers with bad reputations might not even make the wait list. Related Video:

Porsche clinches 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship

There's still another round to go in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. But regardless of what happens in Bahrain later this month, Porsche has already laid claim to the manufacturers' title for this year. That's how far ahead it is of the competition. The championship was sealed this weekend when the Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber, and Brendon Hartley crossed the finish line at the 6 Hours of Shanghai in first place. That marked not only the fourth straight win for the trio, but the fourth one-two finish for Porsche and the fifth straight victory this season. That's pretty remarkable when you consider that Porsche only arrived in the series last year, and only serves to further sweeten the win it took at Le Mans this past June. This marks the first time since entering WEC that Porsche has taken the championship, which was claimed last year by Toyota and in the previous two years since the revival of the series by Audi. However Porsche, of course, is no stranger to the winner's circle in endurance racing, having taken 12 previous championships between 1964 and 1986. The victory in Shanghai also puts Bernhard, Webber, and Hartley in prime position to secure the drivers' championship. The trio currently sits in the lead ahead of Audi's Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler, and Benoit Treluyer. This despite the Porsche trio having failed to make the finish line in the opening round at Silverstone. Related Video: FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), LMP1, Round 7, Shanghai (CN), Race Porsche secures World Championship title by another one-two win Stuttgart. By taking the fifth victory in a row Porsche has made itself a World Champion in Shanghai. One race before the season's finale no one can take away the constructors' title in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) from the young team from Weissach. In China the winning drivers were Timo Bernhard (DE), Brendon Hartley (NZ) and Mark Webber (AU) in a six-hour race of which two thirds were held on a wet track. The sister car of Romain Dumas (FR), Neel Jani (CH) and Marc Lieb (DE) finished second and hence the season's fourth one-two victory for the Porsche team. Porsche has won the title with 308 points ahead of Audi (238) and Toyota (137). For Porsche it is the 13th constructors' World Championship title in endurance racing and the first since 1986. Between 1964 and 1986 Porsche took twelve constructors' titles in the then Sports Car World Championship.