Porsche Boxster S 2000 Low Miles on 2040-cars

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Former Porsche execs acquitted of stock manipulation charges

A German court acquitted former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and former CFO Holger Harter of stock manipulation charges, according to Bloomberg. Prosecutors alleged the men hid plans to takeover Volkswagen while publicly denying their intentions to investors. The presiding judge didn't find any merit to those claims, though. "There is nothing to the allegations, absolutely nothing," Judge Frank Maurer said, according to Bloomberg. "There was no secret plan to take over VW." Rather than Porsche taking over VW, the exact opposite eventually happened, and both execs stepped down. Investigators first indicted Wiedeking and Harter for alleged stock manipulation in late 2012. A court in Stuttgart dismissed the case in 2014 because of a lack of evidence, but an appeals court later overruled that decision. The current trial finally began in October 2015. If convicted, Wiedeking faced up to 30 months in prison, and Harter could have received up to 27 months, Bloomberg reported. Prosecutors also wanted one million euro ($1.1 million) fines from them and 807 million euros ($910 million) from Porsche. The acquittal might not be the end of this long-running case, though. In Germany, prosecutors have the right to appeal a ruling, and the lawyer hasn't made a final decision yet. If the court thinks there's a reason, the former execs could be back in front of a judge at some point in the future.

Porsche planning back-to-basics 911 GT

With the latest 911 GT3 and GT3 RS track toys, Porsche clearly put the emphasis on outright performance. After all, if they were all about a puristic driving experience, they'd probably have manual transmissions instead of DCTs, right? Well that's just one point where the Porsche GT division's next project is tipped to depart. According to Autocar, Zuffenhausen's skunkworks are preparing a new addition to the 911 range that will put all the emphasis on the raw driving experience, even at the expense of lap times. The yet-to-be-named model is expected to do away with the second clutch in favor of one you can operate yourself, but that's not all. We're told to expect skinnier tires to make it easier to hold at the limits of adhesion, the narrowed track from the base Carrera, and the absence of large wings and other aerodynamic features. The inspiration apparently comes less from the GT3 than from the new Cayman GT4. Look for the new back-to-basics Elfen to arrive sometime next year, after the rest of the 911 range gets updated with turbo engines. Chances look good, though, that this particular model will stick with the atmospheric boxer six. Related Video:

2014 Porsche Cayman S

Second Fiddle Moves To First Chair
In the interest of full disclosure and a bit of bloodletting, allow me to admit that while I've always coveted the Porsche Boxster and its hard-hatted Cayman cousin, I've never really warmed to them visually. They've always had a certain push-me, pull-you, can't-decide-which-way-they're-going aesthetic that I've never really wrapped my head around. Porsche achieved the same thing with the original 550 Spyder's overturned bathtub bodyshell that would come to inspire the Boxster, but somehow that classic's even more symmetrical nature works for me. Fast-forward to this third generation, and at least for this enthusiast, Porsche's manchild has well and truly come of age as a design.
It's all there - a piercing stare thanks to squircle headlamps inspired by the 918 Spyder hypercar, newfound directional thrust afforded by a longer wheelbase and elongated greenhouse, and muscular rear haunches with a wider stance emphasized by larger side ductwork and snubbed overhangs. The body's teardrop shape terminates with an active spoiler that integrates into a gorgeous arc with the taillamps like a budding ducktail nod to 1973 911 Carrera RS. Despite casting a longer shadow than its predecessor, the 2014 Cayman still looks tidily proportioned, smooth and wieldy, the perfect skipping stone to ricochet down a canyon river road.