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Porsche Panamera wagon won't come to America until 2018

Porsche has teased us with a wagon version of the Panamera for years now. First as the Panamera Sport Turismo concept at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, and more recently we've seen prototype spy photos of extended rooflines Panameras as well. Now Automotive News confirms that the wagon is not only in the works, but that it will be sold in North America. "We have to have some patience for [the wagon] to arrive in the U.S.," Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer told AN. "But we are confident that this car will be well received here, despite the fact that this country doesn't really like hatchbacks or wagons." Wagons are particularly popular in Germany, encouraging local automakers to continue developing and producing them even as they expand their crossover offerings. Only some of those make their way across the Atlantic, however. Though Audi, for example, offers Avant wagon versions of its A4 and A6 models, it brings only the latter over in ruggedized Allroad trim. Mercedes similarly offers wagon versions of the C-Class, CLA, and CLS back home, but only sells the E-Class wagon in America. And BMW keeps the Touring version of its 5 Series back home while brining over only the 3 Series wagon. Porsche is slated to reveal the new Panamera in four-door form at the Paris show in September, with the wagon version to hit the European market sometime next year. Don't expect to see the five-door model in US showrooms, then, until 2018 at the earliest.

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."

Salvage team boards burnt ship Felicity Ace off Azores, towing begins

LISBON — More than a week after a ship packed with around 4,000 vehicles, including Porsches, Audis, Lamborghinis and Bentleys, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a salvage team managed to board the vessel on Friday and started to tow it to a safe location off the Portuguese Azores archipelago. In a statement, ship manager Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL) said the Felicity Ace remained stable, and the smoke that for days billowed from the vessel, adrift around 170 km southwest of the Azores, had stopped. The 22 crew members of the Panama-flagged Felicity Ace, which was carrying around 4,000 vehicles including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys from Germany to the United States, were evacuated last Wednesday, the day the fire broke out. Some of the vehicles are electric and their lithium-ion batteries have made the fire very difficult to extinguish, port officials have said. Previous attempts to board the ship to assess its condition and start preparing it for towing had failed due to the fire and rough seas. On Friday, the team was able to board by helicopter and the salvage boat Bear started towing the vessel to a "safe area off Azores," the ship manager said. It was not clear where exactly the vessel was being towed to. It was being escorted by two tug boats and another salvage craft equipped with firefighting gear, MOL said. Related video: Image Credit: Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa) via Reuters Green Weird Car News Audi Bentley Lamborghini Porsche Electric fire car fire shipping cargo ship