2014 Porsche Panamera 4dr Hb Turbo on 2040-cars

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Wandering the Chopard Heritage Tent at Rennsport Reunion V

Porsche has a ton to celebrate at its Rennsport Reunion V being held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend. While some other luxury carmakers are hurting, Porsche sales are up. The 919 Hybrid won Le Mans in only its second year of competition, then came to America and won the World Endurance Championship race at Lone Star Le Mans in Austin, Texas the weekend before Rennsport Reunion. It just introduced its 2017 911 Carrera with a turbocharged engine for the first time ever for the line, and our initial impressions from the passenger's seat are that it's pretty good. And humor us while we have this out for the conspiracy theorists, but one can imagine some back-room celebrations since with Porsche Chairman Matthias Muller's promotion on Friday, September 26, Porsche completed its takeover of Volkswagen. Remember when that was a thing, when 16-year Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking tried to work the stock market to get control of VW but failed, so VW swallowed up Porsche instead? More concretely, around 50,000 people have come to the Reunion, and there are 1,400 Porsches parked in all the corrals. This year's event is devoted to Le Mans, with eight of the brand's 17 winners in attendance. We spent most of our time on the penultimate day in the Chopard Heritage Display, though, wandering through four rows of vintage machinery. The vehicles were even more instructive than they were beautiful - the Spyders, the RS editions, the Abarth-bodied racers, the company's first flat-eight race car, the 911 SCRS rally cars that led to the shows-topping 959, all help explain in metal what Porsche is referring to in its press releases and when it puts out special editions. They teach the history of personnel inside and outside of Porsche, too: like that Ferdinand Piech led the team that created the famous-on-sight 1968 917K at the same time as he was leading development of the Porsche 914; and that one of our own colleagues, the late Denise McCluggage, drove to victory in the 1957 Watkins Glen Grand Prix in a 1954 Porsche 550 Spyder 1500RS. There's a huge, captioned gallery above of just some of the wares parked in the Chopard Heritage Display. Have a look and a read, and the next time a Porsche rolls out a commemorative limited edition, one of these could be the car they're looking back at. Related Video:

Porsche prioritizes 200,000-unit sales target over exclusivity [w/poll]

Would a Porsche still be a Porsche if it weren't as exclusive? That's the question which industry pundits are asking - and customers may soon as well - as the German automaker emerges from the fringe in pursuit of larger volumes.
A dozen years ago Porsche was barely selling over 50,000 units per annum. In a sales surge that has gathered pace as fast as a 911 Turbo, however, it was already hovering around the 100,000-unit mark a few years later. Last year it sold over 160,000, and has targeted 200,000 units by 2018. But it may not even take that long.
Automotive News reports that Porsche has advanced its targets to reach for 200,000 units by the end of this year or the next. The bump in sales would be driven particularly by the introduction of the new Macan, of which it aims to sell 50,000 units annually, starting next year. The Cayenne currently stands far and away as its most successful model. The 911 and Panamera have swapped second place a few times over the past five years, followed by the Boxster and Cayman.

Dan Neil pokes fun at the celeb cars of 2014

Look, we try really hard not to pay any attention to the Kardashians and their vapid reality TV empire. But, as troubling as that brood may be, occasionally we're impressed and/or horrified by their four-wheeled conveyances. In fact, that curiosity extends beyond talentless reality stars with rotund glutes to celebs in general. That's why we're enjoying Dan Neil's sometimes biting take on the celebrity cars of 2014. Besides paying tribute to Kim K, husband Kanye West and the adorable Lamborghini that their spawn rides about in, Neil also takes a look at LeBron James' turn as a Kia spokesman and boxer Floyd Mayweather's trio of Bugatti Veyrons. Matthew McConaughey is a focus of Neil's as well, thanks to his oft-panned advertisements for Lincoln (and the raucous parodies they inspired), before finishing on the high, with Jerry Seinfeld and his new Porsche 918 Spyder. Take a look at Neil's recap of the celebrity cars of 2014. News Source: The Wall Street Journal Celebrities Humor Bugatti Kia Lamborghini Lincoln Porsche Videos porsche 918 spyder celebrity dan neil