2011 Porsche Panamera 4 Awd Low Miles Certified Warranty Through 12/15/2016 on 2040-cars

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Meet the new Porsche 718 Boxster and Boxster S

The rumors were mostly true. Porsche had already confirmed that the Boxster and Caymans would receive a "718" appended to their badges, in honor of their famous mid-engined racecar of the 1950s and '60s, but the mechanical details were left up in the air. We were almost certain both would be powered by turbocharged flat-fours of a couple of displacements and outputs, and now we can confirm that this is the case. Porsche has revealed the official specs for the 718 Boxster, which will go on sale in Europe this April. The biggest news concerns the flat-fours. The regular 718 Boxster will get a 2.0-liter, turbocharged flat-four producing 300 hp. The 718 Boxster S will get an extra half-liter of displacement and a variable-geometry turbocharger to produce a total of 350 hp. This represents a 35 hp gain over the current Boxster and Boxster S, respectively. Porsche also claims the turbo fours improve fuel economy by around 13 percent. By the NEDC European test cycle, the 2.0-liter gets roughly 34 mpg and the 2.5 gets 32 mpg, although rest assured that EPA test results will yield different numbers than the optimistic European test. Torque gains with the new boxer fours are significant. The 2.0-liter gains 74 lb-ft of torque for a total of 280 lb-ft from 1,950 to 4,500 RPM. The 2.5 gains less, 43 lb-ft, for a total of 309 lb-ft over the same rev range. The extra torque and wide torque band make the 718 Boxster quicker to 60 mph, at least when equipped with the PDK gearbox and the Sport Chrono Package. The 2.0-liter car does the deed in 4.5 seconds, a 0.7-second improvement, and the 2.5-liter car is claimed to hit 60 mph in 4.0 seconds, a 0.5-second improvement. 2016 Porsche 718 Boxster View 11 Photos Inside, a new dash houses the latest Porsche Communication Management infotainment system with a touchscreen, included on all 718 Boxsters as standard – although nav is an optional extra. The buttonless, capacitive-touch center stack we just spied on the next Panamera does not make it inside the 718 Boxster, which makes do with a very similar button layout to the current car. Both cars will come with a six-speed manual as standard, which is great news, and a PDK will be optional for both. Porsche also claims to have made the electrically-assisted steering more direct, and retuned the suspension. An optional PASM package lowers the car by 0.4 inches while providing the benefits of active dampers. From a styling standpoint, this is an evolution of the current theme.

Porsche 918 Spyder gets tiny recall for rear control arms

As the recent US recall of a single Koenigsegg Agera shows, even low-production supercars aren't immune from safety campaigns. Now, there's another example that even the fastest cars can have their faults. The Porsche 918 Spyder is a pretty fantastic vehicle for its ability to mix hybrid fuel economy and incredible amounts of power, but Porsche has a problem on a few units of its halo model.
According to the recall document from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Porsche needs to inspect and possibly repair five 918s in the US because the rear axle control arms may break, which could cause a loss of control while driving. In the full defect notice, Porsche says that it first noticed the problem on June 26 when the parts failed during "heavy duty durability testing (extreme race conditions)" at the Nardo test track in Italy. It transported the components back to the company's lab for inspection, and on July 18 it issued a stop-sale to inspect the suspension parts on the supercar. The automaker also contacted owners by phone to warn them not to use the car on track, until repaired.
The affected 918s will be inspected, and if the cars have the bad parts, the control arms are will be replaced. Obviously, this will be done at no cost to owners. According to a Porsche spokesperson speaking to Autoblog, in addition to the five US cars potentially affected, there were 45 worldwide. All of the cars have now been checked. Scroll down to read the report from the regulator or download the full defect notice as a PDF, here.

Infiniti cribs new US boss from Porsche

Just weeks before he was supposed to become CEO of Porsche Cars Australia, Infiniti has apparently offered Porsche COO and Executive Vice President Michael Bartsch a deal he couldn't refuse. Thus, Bartsch has join the company as Vice President of Infiniti Americas, the luxury marque's top North American post. Bartsch replaces Ben Poore, who has been with the automaker since 2008, having led both a 22-percent sales surge in 2012 and the brand's current sales slough, Automotive News reports.
Bartsch, Porsche's No. 2 US executive, has held the COO and Executive Vice President positions at Porsche since 2005 and was scheduled to become CEO of Porsche's Oz division on September 1. Infiniti has experienced a number of recent personnel changes in the past week: it named Vincent Gillet, formerly an executive for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, to lead its marketing efforts worldwide and Simon Cox, a former designer for automakers including Ford and Peugeot, to head a new design studio in London.
Poore reportedly will pursue other interests outside of the auto industry. Read more about the personnel change in the press release below.