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Porsche to reveal Cayman GT4 Clubsport racer in LA

Aspiring professionals and amateur gentleman racers alike will want to swing by the Porsche booth at the LA Auto Show this year. That's where the German automaker will be revealing its new entry-level racer. The Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport is nearly stock, but features some choice upgrades to cater its disposition toward the racetrack. Power comes from the same 3.8-liter flat-six as the road-going Cayman GT4 (shown above), producing the same 385 horsepower. It ditches the manual, however, for the faster-shifting DCT (which we expect will soon be offered on the showroom version as well), aided by a mechanical locking differential. It features the front suspension setup from the 911 GT3 Cup car and beefed-up steel brakes. It's also got a roll cage inside and a racing bucket with a six-point harness. All told, the whole package weighs 2,866 pounds – making it a good hundred pounds lighter than the street-legal model on which it's so closely based. Once homologation is complete, customers will be able to field it in series like the Pirelli World Challenge, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, and Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy. Porsche has yet to release images, but we'll be sure to update this post as soon as they're available – so watch this space. New race car for motorsport newcomers Porsche develops Cayman GT4 Clubsport Stuttgart. Using the lightweight Cayman GT4 as the basis, Porsche Motorsport has developed a near-standard racing version. The Cayman GT4 Clubsport celebrates its world premiere at the Los Angeles Motor Show on 18 November. Sales of the 283 kW (385 hp) mid-engine racer for motorsport newcomers also start on this date. Just like its race-worthy production sibling, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport is powered by a 3.8-litre flat-six engine. The racing version features a Porsche double clutch transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel and a mechanical rear-axle locking differential. The lightweight suspension strut front axle is taken from its big 911 GT3 Cup brother, which is campaigned in Porsche's 20 one-make championships around the world. The impressive racing brake system is fitted with steel brake discs all round measuring 380-millimetre in diameter. Tipping the scales at just 1,300 kilograms, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, delivered ex-works with a welded-in safety cage, a racing bucket seat as well as a six-point harness, is truly lightweight.

Driving the C8 Corvette, and previewing GM's electric future | Autoblog Podcast #617

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. First they dive right in to the experience of driving the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, followed by their review of the Mercedes-Benz GLE 350. Then they talk about the week's news, beginning with the whole slew of electric vehicles General Motors surprised us with at its EV Day. Next, they discuss the possibility of Porsche building a hybrid 911, as well as news about Ford's electric Transit van making its way to the U.S.. Last, but not least, they take to the mailbag to help a listener pick his next car in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #617 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Driving the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Driving the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 GM EV Day: Cadillac Celestiq and Lyriq, GMC Hummers and more A hybrid Porsche 911? Ford Transit electric commercial vans coming to U.S. Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Ferrari IPO may turn out to be good news for enthusiasts

Sergio Marchionne's strategy to spin off Ferrari from FCA and make the Italian automaker a publicly traded company has been met with ire from a vocal contingent of enthusiasts ever since rumors about the plan began to surface a few years ago. Some of these particularly pessimistic automotive pundits have voiced fears that with stockholders in the mix, it would not only spell the demise of the exclusive Italian supercar maker as we know it, but would in fact "ruin" the company. Call me dense, but I fail to see what the issue is. That isn't to say that I don't understand what's causing the fear. When profitability becomes a higher priority for a brand that's historically relied on exclusivity to keep its products in the highest echelons of desirability, there's a high potential for internal philosophical conflict. And then there are concerns about the sorts of products that Ferrari might develop that aren't the high-performance sports cars that the brand is known for. But individuals with those apprehensions seem to forget that Ferrari has already lent its name to a multitude of things that are not LaFerraris, 488 GTBs, or F12 Berlinettas, including clothing, headphones, and even laptops. But let's assume for a moment that the core anxiety is about future vehicles – including the unspeakable notion that Ferrari might develop an SUV. Why wouldn't Ferrari build an SUV, especially after seeing how incredibly successful that endeavor has been for Porsche? I think it's likely that Ferrari will put engineers to task creating some sort of crossover or high-rolling cruiser with room for the whole family at some point in the near future. And why wouldn't it, after seeing how incredibly successful that endeavor has been for Porsche? After all, the Cayenne accounted for more US sales in 2013 than the Boxster, Cayman, 911, and 918 combined, and it only gave up about a thousand units of sales last year to make room for the Macan crossover, the latter of which Porsche sold nearly as many of as it did Boxsters and Caymans. People want these vehicles, and they're willing to pay quite a bit of money for them. If we use Porsche's recent trajectory as a foreshadowing metric for what's in store for Ferrari, the future actually looks pretty good. After all, those SUV sales keep plenty of cash in Porsche's coffers for the low-volume projects that we enthusiasts love, like the 918 Spyder and the 911 GT3 RS.