About a decade ago, Roock Racing was one of the most dominant GT racing teams at Le Mans and a short time later in the ALMS with their Porsche GT2 race cars. Since then they have focused their attention on tuning street Porsches, the latest of which is the RST 600 LM that commemorates their victory in the GT2 class at the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans. The package includes upgraded turbochargers, a titanium exhaust system, and an upgraded ECU good for just over 600 horsepower and 611 lb-ft torque. Performance numbers are a claimed 3.1 second sprint to 60 mph and a top end of 211 mph. Roock also adds a carbon fiber clutch, fully tuned suspension, and massive 380mm drilled and vented brakes. Inside, the RST 600 LM gets carbon fiber trim, oil and temperature gauges, and custom seats with four point harnesses. Finally, subtle exterior modifications are added including a new front splitter, rear diffuser, rear spoiler, and lightweight aluminum racing wheels.
Sour grapes or legitimate complaint? That's the question we're left pondering after reading that Porsche believes Nissan must have cheated to record its 7:29:03 lap time of the famed Nürburgring race circuit. Porsche claims that it had been suspicious of the Nissan's lap times, so it acquired a U.S.-spec GT-R for testing back-to-back with its own 911 Turbo and GT2. The result? The mighty Godzilla was toppled by the Teutonic German duo, with the GT-R posting times a good 25-seconds slower than Nissan's claim. How can Porsche explain the discrepancy? "This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car. For us, it's not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tires," says August Achleitner, the man in charge of the 911 program. There is footage of the GT-R lapping the 'Ring at high speed, but it's taken from inside the car where the tires cannot be seen. Considering the fact that Nissan saw fit to issue a press release commemorating the car's fast-lap, we doubt this is something that will be taken lightly. There's a big can 'o worms here, and Porsche's in the corner holding the opener.
Porsche's commitment to the KISS philosophy of exterior design won't extend to the engine of the facelifted 911 Turbo, GT2 and GT3 when they're released early next year. All three models will dispatch with the legendary M97 powerplant in favor of the new, direct-injected A91 flat-six that's equipped on the recently updated 911 Carrera.
The two turbocharged 911s will be packing 3.6-liters of displacement, with a 97 mm bore and an 81.5 mm stroke (the outgoing engine was sized 100 mm x 76.4 mm), along with revised turbochargers and intercoolers. Autocar's sources suggest that output on both models will rise by around 20 hp, with the Turbo producing 500 hp and the GT2 pushing out approximately 550 hp. Torque figures should also increase by around four percent.
The GT3 will remain naturally aspirated, with a 3.8-liter version of the A91 with a 102 mm bore and a 77.5 mm stroke. The same internal changes from the Carrera S will carry over to the GT3, including lightweight pistons, valves and springs. Output should increase from around 415 to 430 hp. And all of these changes will also increase fuel efficiency and decrease C02 output. 'Cause that's what really matters... right?
With Porsche releasing its revisions to the 997 911 Carrera, Carrera S and its all-wheel-drive stablemates, the automaker is turning its attention to its turbocharged 911 and is intent to regain its crown from the Nissan GT-R.
The new 911 Turbo is expected to get a boost in output by 20 hp to net over 490 hp total, along with a similar bump in torque through the use of the new direct injection system that's been implemented on the revised 997s. Not only will power increase, but fuel efficiency should grow by almost 13 percent, with a 14.5 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. The twin-turbo'd flat-six is also expected to get a slight increase in displacement, along with a new crankshaft and upgraded oil and water pump to ensure that things stay cool while thrashing the 'Ring. Expect a modified version of the new, seven-speed Doppel Kupplung (dual-clutch) gearbox to make an appearance on the new 911 Turbo, with tweaks to handle the prodigious torque of the blown mill.
The new Turbo is expected to be revealed later this year, with exterior tweaks seen on the standard 911s, including rear LEDs, daytime running lights, upgraded wheels and a new underbody diffuser similar to that on the GT3. But will it be enough to unseat the GT-R's 7:29 Nurburgring lap time? Porsche hopes so.
Car & Driver is a common choice as bathroom reader around Autoblog HQ, though thumbing through the latest issue had us contemplating using the glossy pages for TP. C&D got its hands on Nissan's new GT-R and its development benchmark, the Porsche 911 Turbo. That's great so far, as everyone wants to know how the Nissan stacks up against its bogey. The trouble comes when a BMW M3 gets tossed into the mix. What? The M3 is a hell of a car and it clearly earns its perennial 10-Best status, but it's outgunned and mismatched in this company. Somehow it managed to win a three-way comparo with two supercars anyway.
The explanation given was that the M3 attended as the "voice of reason" and gosh, just happened to be everyone's favorite. It's no great leap to imagine that the smallest, lightest car with sedan lineage would feel lighter on its feet and be a better everyday conveyance than two purpose built supercars. Thanks for the detective work, guys, but we think the M3 is a bit wide of the bullseye at which the GT-R and 911 were aimed. It's long been grumbled that C&D is in cahoots with this automaker or that one (an accusation that's been levied against every one of the big four major auto publications at one point or another), and the outcome of this comparo will surely fan those flames. We call foul on a few levels. The larger issue is the poppycock categories of "Fun to Drive" and the even more preposterous "Gotta Have It Factor" that arguably allow comparison results to be twisted one way or another, but also the reasoning for bringing the M3 knife to a big, turbocharged coupe gunfight is flawed. GT-R and 911 Turbo buyers don't strike us as the type of folks who might cross shop the M3. They want a range-topper, not a segment-pole-sitter.
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Growing up as a child in the '80s had its ups and its downs. Sure, every generation looks back at its past-self and wonders-out-loud, "What were you thinking," from time to time. Still, our generation sure did have plenty of cool cars, and many of those were featured on television. A rare day went by when we didn't lust for Magnum P.I.'s Ferrari 308; sitting in the movie theater being mesmerized by Doc's De Lorean (not that it's that great of a car, but it's iconic nonetheless) from Back to the Future; or salivating over the Ferrari Daytona and Testarossa from Miami Vice?
British television viewers have also had their fair share of hit shows with vehicular co-stars. According to a survey by HPI Limited, Porsche's peerless 911 has earned the top spot as the ultimate '80s car, followed only one percentage point in the rears by the original Audi Quattro -- a car featured on current U.K. television in the show Ashes to Ashes. British TV fans also have fond memories of the Ford Capri SLE 71R driven by Terry McCann in Minder, a long-running comedy-drama in the U.K.
With many of our readers residing in our own age bracket, we'd love to get your input on the ultimate '80s car in the comments, and feel free to mention more of your favorite cars made famous on TV.
The beating heart of the Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (and Turbo) is the company's own proprietary wet-clutch all-wheel-drive system. Its traction dynamics are what Porsche owners and enthusiasts have come to know and trust for generations. Reports are now circulating, however, that Stuttgart is preparing to dump its own tried-and-tested in-house four-wheel-drive system for an outsourced Haldex transmission, reportedly equipped with the latest electronic limited slip differential. The rumors come at an interesting time for Porsche, considering that a wide range of vehicles from the Volkswagen Group into which Porsche just acquired majority interest – including VWs, SEATs, Skodas, Audis and even the Bugatti Veyron – use the Haldex. If the reports are accurate, the system could be out on the next iteration of the Porsche 911 Carrera 4 as well as the 911 Turbo spied while undergoing cold weather testing in Scandinavia just last month.
- Everybody's talkin' at me
- I can't hear a word they're sayin'
- Just driving around in Jon Voight's car
The genius of Seinfeld's humor is that it draws on everyday life experiences, but we're left wondering if Jerry wasn't experiencing some premonition when he wrote the skit about George getting suckered into buying a wood-sided Chrysler LeBaron convertible because it was once owned by Jon Voight.
The famous comedian's 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S is up for sale in California at a startling premium, and some buyer out there will soon be playing the part of George Costanza. The vehicle was reportedly the first Turbo S built out of a total run of 345 units, and the only one painted this particular shade of blue. Coupled with its celebrity owner's docket and with only 8,040 miles on the odometer, TruSpeed MotorCars in Costa Messa, California is reportedly selling the car for $225,000. That's a pretty hefty premium considering the Blue Book value on an ordinary '97 Turbo S would be about $82k. We just hope the buyer doesn't find out it was actually owned by a dentist who just happens to be named Jerry Seinfeld, too.
Porsche can't be too happy about its 911 Turbo getting trounced so thoroughly by something as plebian as the new Nissan GT-R, so its engineers have focused their frustration into... new taillights.
Auto Express has several spy shots of an all but completely undisguised test mule undergoing cold-weather trials in the frozen north. The photos of the updated twin-turbo prototype don't reveal much beyond some mild cosmetic changes, but there are also rumored to be some mild mechanical changes in the works, as well. Sources suggest the revised 911 Turbo will bow in Paris this coming October.
