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Next-gen Porsche 911 may include plug-in hybrid version

According to Auto Express, there's a plug-in hybrid Porsche 911 on the way, and it could arrive as soon as the introduction of the next-generation car. At the Detroit Auto Show, the UK outlet spoke to 911 product line director Dr. Erhard Mossle, who said the Stuttgart automaker was "working on different solutions" for the next iteration of its most iconic car, and, "of course, we are discussing plug-in solutions for the 911, but there are a lot of things to solve with packaging in the car and other things to solve. It will maybe be in the next generation, yes." "When we see the 911," he said, "we see the plug-in hybrid as a performance car." Since we just saw the introduction of the turbocharged powerplant in the 911 Carrera last summer, we can expect a wait of at least four years for the next powertrain evolution. Mossle said that any 911 PHEV would remain a sporty proposition and likely retain the flat-six engine, which would give more prestige than the four-cylinder 718 (Cayman and Boxster) yet still be able to satisfy emissions regulations. Mossle is echoing the comments made by Oliver Blume, chairman of the executive board at Porsche, at the Detroit show when Blume said the production version of the Mission E concept would be a sports car that happens to be electric. As far back as 2009, in fact, Porsche has been openly discussing an electric 911, the caveat even then being that it has to perform like a Porsche while providing decent range. In the middle of 2014 it was reported that the carmaker might make a 700-horsepower 911 Turbo S hybrid, by the end of 2014 it was reported that the automaker wouldn't make a 911 hybrid. A year after that first report, a 911 hybrid was back on, using the E-Hybrid system supposedly dismissed six months before, and then last November we got spy shots of a 911 with a supposed PHEV port. But with its Mission E work, and being designated to lead the Volkswagen Group's R&D into performance hybrids, a battery-boosted 911 might finally make sense. Related Video:

Father-son team grows close by building tuned Porsche

We've seen several heartwarming videos of kids bonding over cars with their parents, whether racing together or giving them as gifts. The story of Leh Keen and his father McGrath, though, is somewhat different. Not many dads are looking for a vehicle quite this mental.
As Leh tells it, his dad saw a video online of one of the wild Porsches from Japanese tuner Rauh-Welt Begriff and decided that he needed one of the creations in his own garage. Since Leh knows something about cars himself as a driver for Alex Job Racing in the United SportsCar Championship, McGrath put his son in charge of managing the build from the company.
When the car made it to the US for completion from Rauh's famed builder Nakai, father and son bonded over the red, widebody 993-platform 911. The final product is certainly eye-catching. Scroll down to watch the video that features not only an engrossing father-son tale but also a seriously wicked, tuned Porsche from one of Japan's finest.

'We're not a hedge fund': Porsche plans to curtail speculators and flippers

A sizable number of speculators view cars as an investment. Rare or unusual models are quickly snapped up and either parked for years or flipped for a profit. Cars from automakers like Porsche and Ferrari are more prone than others, and at least some people behind these models are getting a bit tired of it. While it's difficult to police what goes on after you sell a car, Porsche has some plans that might curtail the problem before it starts. Andreas Preuninger, the head of GT road-car development and the man behind the new 911 GT3, spoke to Car and Driver at a recent event. "I personally like to see my cars being used," he said. "That's what we build them for. They are just too good to be left to stand and collect dust." One recent example of this rampant speculation is the 911 R. While the special manual-only model sold for $185,950 when new, used versions were selling for nearly $1.3 million just months after it went on sale. While the car is a masterpiece and an instant classic, a good number will be parked and simply used as art and not the rolling testaments to the man/machine interface they were intended to be. The concern over valuations has become so fierce that some owners are upset that Porsche is offering the new 911 GT3 with a manual transmission, fearing that it may hurt the value of the 911 R. "When I said we're not a hedge fund, I'm talking to those people who are yelling at us for offering the manual transmission similar to the R," Preuninger said. "But if there are people wanting to buy cars like that, then as a company we should try to fulfill that, to meet that demand." It seems Porsche is keeping a close eye on who is flipping cars. Since there is often far more demand than supply with certain models, the German automaker has a name for every car before it's built. Buyers with bad reputations might not even make the wait list. Related Video: