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Why won't automakers slap on a turbo badge anymore?

Where have all the turbos gone? Not the actual pieces that go in the engine, mind you, those are everywhere these days as automakers downsize cylinder counts and boost efficiency and CO2 claims. But the turbo badges and fanfare are missing. Back when turbos were something to get excited about there was "turbo-driven," "turbonium," and "The Turbo Zone," among other silly lines. But now that basically every car is getting some sort of boost even on the lowliest trims, automakers are almost sliding in the turbos under the radar. Or if you look at some of the nomenclature, pretending they don't exist at all. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border. The latest automaker to hide that it has boosted the turbo presence is Porsche with the 2017 911 lineup. Even the standard Carrera models now get turbocharged flat-six engines, meaning the 911 Turbo models aren't quite as special as they once were. Porsche is in a sticky situation with this. The 911 Turbo, after all, signifies where the 911 family takes off from being a sports car and becomes the Ferrari fighter. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border, but now Porsche has crossed it and is trying to downplay the fact. There are a lot of exaggerations with displacement badges today, with claims the 2.0-liter turbo four in a Mercedes C Class equates to a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter six to make a C300. Volvo is pretty far up there, too, saying an XC90 T8 means V8 power, even though it's a 2.0-liter turbocharged and supercharged four with electric assist. I don't know why BMW can't just call the car a 330i Turbo, rather than inflating the numbers up to 340i. Saab tried all of this back in the '90s when it decided to turbocharge its entire lineup, from light pressure units all the way up to models actually called "Saab 9-3 HOT" (for high-output turbo). But then the brand deleted any external reference to the turbo under the hood and people wondered why they were buying a $42,000 four-cylinder convertible. And that didn't turn out well. Even though these turbo replacements often make more power than their naturally aspirated predecessors, they're very different engines. People knew something changed when they exchanged their leased 328i with a 3.0-liter six for a 328i with a 2.0-liter turbo four.

Watch a Porsche 918 Spyder being built by hand

No music track, no dialogue, no voiceover, just a group of women and men in a very clean room in Zuffenhausen assembling the Porsche 918 Spyder. It's the antidote to the adrenaline that the open-topped hybrid coupe encourages in most enthusiast bloodstreams, but this nearly-11-minute video is the most captivating B-roll we've seen in a while. From hand-sewn leather to hand-wrapped trim, monococques being wheeled about, the copious use of shims and the rear brace being fitted over the engine, plus the Christmas-like joy of opening a box of body panels, it's all in there. You can't buy a new one anymore, but you can see how they're built for those who did buy them in the video above. Related Gallery 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: First Drive View 51 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Factory Tour View 28 Photos News Source: Cars via YouTube, Road & TrackImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Michael Harley / AOL Green Plants/Manufacturing Porsche Convertible Hybrid Luxury Performance Supercars Videos porsche 918 spyder zuffenhausen

VW won't let emissions scandal keep it from racing

The Volkswagen Group may have its hands full dealing with the diesel emissions scandal. But that doesn't mean it will be curbing its considerable racing programs. At least not in any significant way. This according to Matthias Muller, who recently moved up from his previous position as Porsche CEO to preside over the entire group. Speaking with Autosport at the World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain this past weekend, Muller emphasized the importance of racing to the company. "The motorsports programs are not in danger of being dropped or significantly reduced because motorsports is very important for the group and the brands," said Muller. "Basically we do not question our motorsport efforts." Of all the brands under the group's umbrella, several have prominent, top-level factory works racing programs, and others support customer racing teams. The Volkswagen brand has emerged as the dominant force in the World Rally Championship, securing both titles over the past three years. Both Porsche and Audi compete in the top tier at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship, trading places in the winner's circle. Audi also competes in DTM, and alongside Lamborghini, Bentley, and Porsche, and also offers GT3 and GTE racing cars to private customers. Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, and Seat (once the leader in touring cars) all run their own spec racing series as well. Skoda continues to compete in lower-level rallying, leaving only Bugatti to draw on its prominent pre-war grand prix racing history. To hear Muller tell it, those racing programs – or at least the top-levels ones among them – aren't going away anytime soon. But there may still be some tweaks here and there, and we shouldn't expect any new programs to be launched in the near future. Porsche, for example, is anticipated to wind down its factory involvement in GT racing, after winning both the drivers' and manufacturers' titles in the WEC GTE Pro class this year in addition to its LMP1 victories. Instead it will focus on preparing new racing versions of the 911 for client racing teams. The auto giant was also reportedly close to branching out into Formula One in partnership with Red Bull. But after negotiations were interrupted by emergence of the diesel emissions scandal, that deal fell apart. It remains unknown which brand might have been represented in the F1 engine-supply program.