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Porsche reveals new 911 GT3 R at the Nurburgring

On any given weekend, you're bound to find gaggles of Porsche 911s zipping around most any race track. Now Porsche has revealed its latest competition model at no less fitting a location than the Nurburgring. The new 911 GT3 R replaces the existing version, slotting in below the 911 RSR. It's based closely on the road-going 911 GT3 RS, and retains the same 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six with direct injection and variable valve timing, but tuned to deliver over 500 horsepower, transmitted to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox and mechanical limited slip differential. The wheelbase has been stretched over three inches for better weight balance compared to the outgoing GT3 R, further optimized by more lightweight components and a central radiator to lower the center of gravity. The lightweight bodywork is made of aluminum, steel, and carbon fiber, and for the first time all of the glass (including the windscreen) has been replaced by plexi. Stopping power is provided by six-piston aluminum monoblock calipers gripping 380-millimeter steel discs up front, with four-piston calipers and 372-mm discs at the back. The safety fuel cell can now hold 120 liters of fuel with a cut-off safety valve, the doors and windows can be removed, and the escape hatch is bigger, too. All of this adds up to the promise of a more competitive GT3 R ready to take on the competition, available to privateer racing teams from December for 429,000 euros before tax – working out to about $487k at current exchange rates. World premiere at the Nurburgring Lighter, more economical, faster: the new 911 GT3 R Stuttgart. Based on the 911 GT3 RS production sports car, Porsche has designed a customer sport race car for GT3 series around the world: The 911 GT3 R. In developing the more than 368 kW (500 hp) racing nine-eleven, special attention was paid to lightweight design, better aerodynamic efficiency, reducing consumption, improved handling, further optimised safety as well as lowering service and spare parts costs. Adopted from its production sibling, the 911 GT3 R features the distinctive double-bubble roof, and the wheelbase which had been lengthened by 8.3 centimetres compared to the previous generation. This ensures a more balanced weight distribution and more predictable handling particularly in fast corners corners in comparison to the previous GT3 R.

J.D. Power: Vehicle dependability at all-time high, Lexus and Porsche lead

Each year, J.D. Power and Associates surveys original owners of three-year-old vehicles to find out what kinds of problems they have had experienced over the last 12 months, and then it uses this data to create its annual Vehicle Dependability Study. This means that the models in the 2013 study are 2010 model year vehicles, and J.D. Power rates each make as well as the top individual models based on how many problems were experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100).
Debunking the idea that carryover models are more dependable than new or updated models, the 2013 study found that the average carryover model experienced 133 PP100, while all-new or redesigned vehicles for the 2010 model year had 116 PP100; vehicles that received minor changes fared the best with just 111 PP100. The overall average for all makes was 126 PP100, which is the lowest figure since the findings were first issued in 1989.

Mysterious Porsche 911 Cabriolet spied, could be GTS

While Porsche's designers can jokingly be accused of being some of the laziest in the industry due to the incremental changes to the 911's iconic design, no such charge can be leveled against the engineers and product planning folks. That's because it seems like each week arrives with news of a new variation of the marque's iconic rear-engined sports car. So, for this week, we've brought you images of what we think is the new 911 GTS Cabriolet, undergoing testing in a thawing winter wonderland.
Now, what is it that gives this 911 away, compared to standard convertible? Well, the big thing is the new offset, center-mounted exhausts. Borrowing a page from the last Volkswagen R32, these exhaust tips are unlike anything we've seen from Porsche. Only the GT3 wears center pipes, and unlike these spy photos, the twin pipes on the track-minded 911 are stacked neatly alongside each other. The other change spotted by our spies is the set of active-aerodynamic flaps in the front bumper, which can automatically channel air toward the brakes for increased cooling, or close off to reduce drag, as needed.
Those exhausts are a pretty big design detail, and so far as we can tell is the only differentiator between the other 911s in this car's posse. Our spies speculate that this could be a 911 Speedster, but point out that both the canvas roof and windshield remain unchanged - the rumored Speedster model would almost certainly feature a different roof assembly along with a steeply raked windshield.