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Porsche 911 GT1 Evo up for grabs in Monaco valued at $3M

On paper, Porsche didn't do a flagship supercar in between the 959 and the Carrera GT. In reality, it did. Sort of. It was the strassenversion of the 911 GT1, a homologation special based on a spectacularly successful racing car. And RM Sotheby's has a standout example consigned for its upcoming sale in Monaco. What you're looking at is a 911 GT1 Evolution that served as the mid-point in the GT1's development, following the original and followed in turn by the GT1-98 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. One of just fourteen 911 GT1s held in public hands, chassis number GT1 993-117 won the Canadian GT Championship three years running, and is the only GT1 Evo that was ever registered for use on public roads. RM Sotheby's anticipates that it will fetch between $2.9 and $3.25 million when it crosses the auction block in May, marking the first time that this particular example has come up for auction. That would make it considerably more valuable than the GT1 Evo Gooding & Company sold at Amelia Island in 2012 for $1.26 million, according to Sports Car Market. Of course, the Porsche isn't the only notable item the auction house has lined up for the sale during the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique weekend. There's a pair of 1930s German convertibles – one Mercedes 540 K and one Horch 670 – valued at about the same level as the 911 GT1, a Tucker 48 (~$1.6m), and Niki Lauda's debut March 711 grand prix racer (~$550k). Those are some tempting sets of wheels, and we'll be watching to see how they fare two months from now.

VW Group plan puts Porsche in charge of a 'super-premium' division

An Automobile report looks into what's happening on the organizational and technical sides of the Volkswagen Group, and what those changes could mean for the premium brands. The wide-angle view is that Porsche appears to have been anointed to "coordinate the future activities" at Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. Audi would cede Lamborghini guardianship to Stuttgart, and Ducati — via a new concern called Ducati Enterprises — would become the shepherd for VW's other Italian investments. Executives target Jan. 1, 2019, to complete the reshuffle. VW wants to save a boodle by tying up four of its five top-tier brands, and putting the one with the highest ROI in charge. Porsche, within its own house, wants to reduce expenditures by $2.3 billion per year over for four years, the savings already earmarked for improving internal processes like R&D and production. Having Porsche share those gains as well as lead development of platforms, components and future-tech strategies for the sister sports car brands could benefit everyone. In the near-term, the brands have their own plans: Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann is said to want a Chiron Superleggera, a roofless and "completely reskinned" Chiron Aperta, and a track-only Chiron SS. The Superleggera could take the Chiron Sport's and Divo's Jenny Craig routines even further. The Aperta seems a natural successor to the Veyron Grand Sport, a natural evolution of the recently introduced Sky View roof, and a reskin might include numerous Divo cues. It's also said Bugatti's considering "an all-electric high-end model" in conjunction with Porsche, Rimac, and Dallara, but name one supercar or hypercar manufacturer that isn't considering a lightning-fast EV. Lamborghini, deep into work on follow-ups for the Huracan and Aventador, might get a bit of a bump with the new plan. The carbon "monofuselage" for the next V12 flagship is said to be too far developed and too complex to scrap. It puts two electric motors on the front axle, batteries in the middle, and a naturally aspirated V12 with around 770 horsepower plus another e-motor with 402 horsepower in back. The Huracan is said to get a version of the same carbon architecture at the moment, but the corporate reorganization might press pause on it. Automobile says options include continuing the Huracan/ Audi R8 twinning, but that depends on Audi saying "Ja" to a third-gen R8 with Lamborghini bones.

Porsche testing four-cylinder Boxster at the N?rburgring

Porsche recently introduced a four-cylinder version of the new Macan for markets outside of North America, carrying Zuffenhausen's first four-pot since the 968 ended its production run the better part of two decades ago. But you can bet the compact crossover won't be the only Porsche to get the four banger before all's said and done. These spy shots, we're told, are evidence of just that.
Spotted undergoing testing at the Nürburgring (where else), this modified Boxster, our spy photographers tell us, sounds more like a four-cylinder engine than the flat six that's powered (in displacements ranging from 2.5 liters to 3.4) every version of the little roadster since its introduction in 1996, the year after the last four-cylinder Porsche ended production.
The test mule is also wearing modified wheel arches and aerodynamic aids under the bumpers, front and rear. Just what they're doing there we're not sure, but we'll probably find out sooner or later.