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2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: Touring the factory

Willy Wonka granted just five lucky Golden Ticket holders access to his incredible chocolate factory, yet we consider ourselves just as fortunate, as Porsche invited us to be among the first of just four American journalists to see behind the closed doors of its 918 Spyder assembly plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany. Of course, there were no Oompa Loompas or flowing chocolate rivers, but the vast white hall tasked with producing only 918 examples of the automaker's limited-production flagship revealed details that make Wonka's Golden Egg sorting room seem rather mundane in comparison. Unlike a traditional automobile manufacturing plant, which often encompass all processes of making a vehicle (e.g., stamping steel panels, welding components and painting), the 918 Spyder is built in an assembly plant. This means that hundreds of already manufactured parts, each crafted by Porsche offsite suppliers, are brought under one roof to be assembled into a perfectly finished product that is much sweeter – and far more expensive – than any candy delicacy. Our tour guide was Michael Drolshagen, Porsche's Director of Production, Logistics and Quality - a walking encyclopedia when it comes to the engineering and assembly of the 918 Spyder. Drolshagen generously offered us unrestricted access to walk among the factory's 110 workers – and a couple-dozen vehicles in process – to photograph everything. This is a story best told with pictures, so we've put together a raft of our best images in a high-resolution gallery and captioned each with a detailed description. If you've still got questions, please voice them in Comments section and we'll do our best to answer.

Porsche purists, look away: This 911 is powered by Hyundai

Bisimoto appears to be putting together a Hyundai V6-powered Porsche 911. While the experiment reminds us of a project from earlier this year, in which Ryan Tuerck dropped a Ferrari V8 into Toyota GT86, this one's a bit different. Bisimoto has a history of creating some truly insane automobiles, usually with Veyron-menacing power levels. In fact, the tuning company built multiple 1,000 horsepower machines, including a 1976 Porsche 911 and a 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, not to mention a few other Hyundais with oodles of power. So it seems Bisimoto has decided to combine the company's experience with both marque's into one machine with this 1977 Porsche 911. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The company revealed the intended engine for the car today, next to the disassembled tail end of the 911. No specific details about the engine were given, but a "hyundaiusa" tag, some helpful hints from Instagram commenters and some diligent Google image searching by Autoblog staff members seem to show that this is a Hyundai Lambda series V6. It also appears to be a version from a car with a transverse layout, which would make it easier to fit in the 911's traditional engine location. What we do know is that the build will be completed in time for the SEMA show, and we look forward to seeing the finished Franken-Porsche. The same probably can't be said for Porsche purists though. Related Video: News Source: Bisimoto EngineeringImage Credit: Bisimoto Engineering Auto News SEMA Show Hyundai Porsche tuning engine swap bisimoto

Ken Block's Gymkhana 8 to feature Dubai Police cars?

Yesterday we showed you the shiny Ford Fiesta that Ken Block will slide, spin, and hoon through the next Gymkhana video. In case the image above isn't clear, that video will drop at midnight EST on February 30th on the Ford Performance YouTube channel. We don't know all the entire premise of the video yet, but this Tweet from the man himself reveals that the video will be set in Dubai. Block is standing on the Fiesta we saw yesterday, and arrayed behind him are a handful of those famous Dubai Police cars you're probably familiar with. The force has a fleet of sportscars and supercars, and the purpose is outreach and goodwill among its citizenry, not necessarily the pursuit of criminals. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. From left to right, we can see a Maserati GranTurismo, Porsche 911, what looks to be a Nissan GT-R obscured by Block's Fiesta, a McLaren (likely a 650S), Ford Mustang, and a Ferrari 599 of some ilk. Will they take part? Maybe Block will try and run from what might be the most horsepower-intensive police fleet in the world. We'll have answers (and a few minutes of pure Block hooniganism) in a few days. Related Video: