1991 - Porsche 911 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Magnus Walker and Alex Ross stop by Leno's garage with their 997 GT2

The market is littered with Porsche 911 tuners, with names like 9ff, Gemballa and TechArt leading the field. Seldom do any two ever collaborate on a joint project, but that's just the kind of match that was made at Jay Leno's Garage. That's where Alex Ross of SharkWerks and restomodder Magnus Walker first met, sparking a collaboration that yielded the car you see here. And fittingly, they've brought it back to the garage to show off what resulted. Though Walker usually deals with older Elfens, this time he applied his eye for style on a more contemporary 2008 997 GT2, decking it out with grey stripes, orange bumpers, gold wheels and decals and a tartan-upholstered interior. He left the mechanical bits to Ross and company, who dropped the suspension and increased output to 650 horsepower at the wheels (775 at the crank), surpassing the stock GT2 and even the later GT2 RS. The result is pretty hard-core and old-school, but you'll want to watch the video above to see for yourself.

Infiniti cribs new US boss from Porsche

Just weeks before he was supposed to become CEO of Porsche Cars Australia, Infiniti has apparently offered Porsche COO and Executive Vice President Michael Bartsch a deal he couldn't refuse. Thus, Bartsch has join the company as Vice President of Infiniti Americas, the luxury marque's top North American post. Bartsch replaces Ben Poore, who has been with the automaker since 2008, having led both a 22-percent sales surge in 2012 and the brand's current sales slough, Automotive News reports.
Bartsch, Porsche's No. 2 US executive, has held the COO and Executive Vice President positions at Porsche since 2005 and was scheduled to become CEO of Porsche's Oz division on September 1. Infiniti has experienced a number of recent personnel changes in the past week: it named Vincent Gillet, formerly an executive for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, to lead its marketing efforts worldwide and Simon Cox, a former designer for automakers including Ford and Peugeot, to head a new design studio in London.
Poore reportedly will pursue other interests outside of the auto industry. Read more about the personnel change in the press release below.

The mid-engine Porsche backstory

As an automaker's identity evolves over years, its signature becomes defined by any number of factors - heritage (Mercedes-Benz), image (Lamborghini), or market share (Toyota). In the case of Porsche, it was an engineering quirk that forged the German company's most enduring character trait.
Porsche would not have survived - let alone, thrived - in today's saturated landscape had it not been for the 911, and that slope-tailed sports car wouldn't have sprung to life without its predecessor, the 356. While phenomenal success of those rear-engine icons built the company, forays into the mid-engine configuration have played a significant part in establishing the brand's identity.
The Mid-Engine Prototype Of Ferry Porsche's Dreams