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Le Mans-winning Porsche 935 K3 'seized' by DEA agents

Porsche has won Le Mans more than any other marque, but only one of those overall race winners was actually based on a 911. That was the 1979 Porsche 935 K3, chassis number 009 00015 that was entered by brothers Don and Bill Whittington. It went on to win at the Nürburgring and Watkins Glen, and scored podium finishes at Sebring and Brands Hatch as well. In short, it's a historically significant and hugely valuable piece of motorsport history. And it was just seized by the DEA. Sorta.
After the Whittington brothers ran afoul of a handful of lawsuits and were implicated in smuggling narcotics, the car changed hands a few times before ending up in the noted collection of one Bruce Meyers. He had it at Laguna Seca earlier this month when a black Suburban, Dodge Charger and transporter truck pulled up with government plates, asked to speak with Meyer, presented him with a court order, loaded the car onto the truck and drove off.
Though familiar with the legal disputes surrounding the ownership of the car and the misdeeds of its famous original owners, Meyer was left understandably distraught over the events that had just unfolded in front of him to separate him from his pride and joy. (Or one of them, anyway; Bruce has got an eminently desirable collection of classic cars.) But here's the kicker: those DEA agents weren't actual DEA agents. Fortunately they weren't thieves, either. The actual story could have been the plot right out of Ocean's 14 if they ever made one and it focused on classic cars. (Is anyone in Hollywood listening?)

Hyundai, Porsche top J.D. Power APEAL study

Just as they did in the Initial Quality Study, Porsche and Hyundai have taken the premium and non-premium crown, respectively, for the 2014 J.D. Power APEAL study. This is the tenth consecutive year for that Porsche has been rated the best premium make in the APEAL study, which attempts to figure out how pleased owners are with their purchases. For 2014, it asked 86,000 owners of MY2014 cars to rate their vehicles in 77 different categories 90 days after their initial purchase. The resulting figures were plugged in deliver the APEAL score, which is rated on a 1,000-point scale. The industry average sits at 794 points for 2014, although that's a one-percent decline over last year's rating. In this year's study, premium brands averaged 840 out of 1,000, while non-premium makes average 785. For their part, Porsche netted an impressive 882 points, while Hyundai earned an 804. Interestingly, only four non-premium brands (Hyundai, Ram, Volkswagen and Mini) finished above the industry average for 2014. It's also interesting to see the clear delineation between premium and non-premium brands, with an eight-point gap between the non-premium champ, Hyundai, and the lowest-rated premium brand, Volvo. Porsche and Hyundai weren't the only automakers to take home recognition. Dodge managed to tie Porsche for the most segment awards, with three. The Challenger, Charger and Dart all topped their market. There were a number of two-segment winners, as well, with Audi, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan capturing a pair of segments each. Scroll down for the full press release from JD Power on this year's winners. Automakers Struggle to Impress Owners with Increased Usefulness of In-Vehicle Technologies And Features on All-New and Redesigned Models Dodge and Porsche Each Receive Three Segment-Level Awards; Audi, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan Each Receive Two WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 23 July 2014 - Although manufacturers are putting more and more technologies and functionality in their new and redesigned models, satisfaction with these features is not significantly higher among owners of those models than among owners of carryover models, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM released today. The APEAL Study, now in its 19th year, serves as the industry benchmark for new-vehicle appeal. Owners evaluate their vehicle across 77 attributes, which combine into an overall APEAL score that is measured on a 1,000-point scale.

Porsche trio seals endurance drivers' title

Fifth place. That's all it took for the Porsche team to seal the drivers' title in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. And that's just what they did this weekend in the 6 Hours of Bahrain. The leading lineup of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, and Mark Webber drove the #17 Porsche 919 Hybrid to the drivers' title to cap a dominant season for the Weissach team. Porsche already won the pinnacle race at Le Mans this past summer, and drove home the manufacturers' title at the penultimate round in Shanghai. The championship-winning trio of Bernhard, Hartley, and Webber won four out of the total eight rounds this season – including the races at the Nurburgring, Circuit of the Americas, Fuji, and Shanghai. That gave them 166 points in the final standings, besting the 161 achieved by the Audi team of Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler, and Benoit Treluyer, who won at Silverstone and Spa. In beating Audi to the top honors in the championship and at Le Mans, Porsche has completely locked its corporate cousins (and chief rivals) out of the winner's circle for the first time in years. Last season saw Toyota win both titles in the WEC, but Audi still won at Le Mans. Audi won both titles in the first two seasons of the championship, and the French endurance race all but three times in the past 16 years. The last time Audi was completely shut out was in 2009, when Peugeot won at Le Mans and Aston Martin took both titles in the associated Le Mans Series with its Lola-based LMP1 prototype. This latest achievement only adds to Porsche's unsurpassed sports car racing trophy cabinet. The German outfit won 12 manufacturers' and teams' titles (and another six drivers' titles) in the 1970s and 80s under the previous World Sportscar Championship. It has won at Le Mans a record 17 times, and another 18 each at Sebring and Daytona. Porsche also took the checkered flag at the Targa Florio 11 times, won the Monte Carlo rally four times, the Dakar twice, and with TAG and McLaren, won three drivers' titles, two constructors' titles, and 25 grands prix in Formula One. Related Video: Porsche works drivers win the FIA World Endurance Championship drivers' title The new champions: Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber Stuttgart.