2011 Porsche Cayenne S

2011 Porsche Cayenne S

2011 Porsche Cayenne S

2011 Porsche Cayenne S

2011 Porsche Cayenne S

2011 Porsche Cayenne S

There’s just no other way to describe family trucksters that can bomb to 60 mph faster than any readily available sports car could just a few decades ago—and darn near as fast as even the swiftest sports cars on the market today (we’ll presume a similar price bracket for that analogy).

This feat alone wouldn’t be very astonishing—SEMA is ground zero if you want to see Ford F-150s and Escalades ‘roided out with V-8 muscle. Making these respective crossovers corner as if they sat two feet closer to the ground—say, like a 911 or a G37—is why the Porsche and Infiniti are simply astonishing.

I raced around Porsche’s test track in the Cayenne; and blasted back roads in the Infiniti. Insane. That was the word a friend in the passenger seat used to describe the sensation of the FX carving up blacktop with endless grip, aural V-8 roar, and awe-inspiring confidence. I would use the same word (and several more I won’t type) to describe how splendid—and completely mindbogglingly adept—the new Cayenne feels.

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

The Boxster Spyder is a serious piece, and if you want a cushy Boxster, the S is your ride. The Boxster Spyder disquiets those who don't understand. Yes, it's the top of the Boxster model range, but there is no radio, or air conditioner, and door pulls are reduced to cloth straps. Those of you expecting a range-topper with a $61,200 base price to be the traditional full-boat option-mobile will need to re-center. Simply put, the Boxster Spyder is for motorsports.

Boxster Spyder's spiritual predecessors, the 356 Speedster and 550 Spyder, lumpy, idle-averse camshafts and finicky dual carburetors were the price you paid for performance. Instead of all that ruckus, the 320-horsepower 3.4-liter flat six in the Boxster Spyder is wonderfully flexible, happy to loll along in sixth gear or go roaring off for redline. Maximum horsepower happens at 7,200 rpm, and the full 273 pound-feet of torque punches in at 4,750 rpm. Though the powertrain doesn't feel peaky or high strung, there is a distinct determination that kicks in above 4,000 rpm, the result of the Variocam Plus variable valve-timing and lift system doing its thing. The engine also has the classic Porsche-six snarl that adds to the thrill of running through the gears. Fuel economy turned out to be an entirely reasonable 23 mpg despite a week of redline shifts.

Numbers freaks will note that the PDK gearbox is the one to have for extracting absolute speed from the Spyder. Equipped with the traditional manual, the run from zero to 60 mph clocks in at 4.9 seconds, while the PDK drops a tenth off that figure. Springing for the Sport Chrono Package Plus shaves the PDK's run to 60 even more, down to 4.6 seconds and costs you $1,320 extra. Fine, it's quicker with PDK, but the joy with which Porsche's traditional six-speed manual transmission operates, finding perfect synergy between road, man and machine, is worth a few tenths. Simply put, a manual-transmission Boxster Spyder on a windy road is revelatory.

1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GT Coupe

1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GT Coupe

1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GT Coupe

1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GT Coupe

INTRODUCTION:Pre-A prototypes and a run of quad-cams with the 1500cc engine, the 1600 Carrera GT was a performance 356 that used a larger version of the Porsche 550 Spyder's potent engine. As early as 1958, some Carreras were fitted with a larger engine known as the Type 692. The new unit featured a larger displacement which was better suited for the 1600cc class. Furthermore, it was improved considerably adopting plain bearings and new ignition system.

HIGHLIGHTS:Sold alongside the Carrera de Luxe, the GT was lightened and prepared for racing. This meant it featured little sound deadening or upholstery, aluminum bucket seats, increased compression and slightly more power.

SPECIFICATIONS:Technical director of Porsche Klaus von Rücker was responsible for the new Type 692 engine. It kept the earlier verion's complicated bevel-and-shaft 4-cam valvetrain, but reverted to plain bearings. The increased oil heat was dealt with by a larger oil tank for the dry-sump lubrication system and a pair of oil coolers under each headlight.

DESIGN:The first Carrera GTs to be fitted with the 1600cc engines used Type 692/0 prototype versions that had roller-bearing crankshafts and produced 110 bhp @ 6400 rpm. Less than 40 of these engines were made until Hirth crankshaft supply had dried up then 14 plain-bearing engines were tested until final specification was reached for the Paris Show in October.

1957 Porsche 356 Speedster

1957 Porsche 356 Speedster

1957 Porsche 356 Speedster

1957 Porsche 356 Speedster

Motor : Netgain Warp 9 Series Wound DC Added cooling shroud and blower fan with air filter for additional cooling.

Drivetrain:Netgain Warp9 with Prostreet transaxle. Kept racing clutch.Lightened flywheel to 9 lbs.

Controller : Kelly KDH12120B 1200 amp, 120volt. Hall effect accelerator.

Batteries :72 Thunder Sky TS-LFP90AHA, 3.30 Volt, Lithium-Polymer Two parallel strings of 36 cells. Total storage of about 23 kWh. 180Ah. 80% DOD provides 144 Ah. Vehicle uses 1.8 Ah per mile or about 225 wH.

Instrumentation : MetricMind E-Vision. Working tachometer and speedometer.

Top Speed : 95 MPH (152 KPH)Does 95 mph on highway easily. No float or wandering.

Acceleration : 0-80 km/hr 6.0 sec

Range : 85 Miles (136 Kilometers)Conservatively. Have driven it 107 miles with charge left and no damage.

Watt Hours/Mile : 225 Wh/Mile 1.8 Ah/mile

EV Miles Start : 1,100 Miles (1,769 Kilometers)
Current: 5,000 Miles (8,045 Kilometers)
Total : 3,900 Miles (6,275 Kilometers)

Porsche 356A/1500GS Carrera GT

Porsche 356A/1500GS Carrera GT

Porsche 356A/1500GS Carrera GT

INTRODUCTION:Porsche offered two distinct versions of the Carrera, one called the de Luxe for the street and this model, the Gran Turismo, for the track. The main difference between the two models was weight.

HIGHLIGHTS:The Carrera GT was a purpose-built car with little on board amenities. For instance, no heater was fitted giving the car its 'icebox' nickname. Furthermore, the interior was stripped of sound deadening, side windows were replaced by pull-up Perspex units and only simple door panels were fitted.

FEATURES:

• Mechanically, the GT model was only slightly more powerful than the de Luxe, having sports muffler which provided little deadening and no heater. At the front, a 21 gallon tank was fitted instead of the 13.8 gallon unit.
• Front braking was provided by 550RS units that were 10mm thicker and had cooling scoops. The torsion bars were also changed at the rear to provide one degree of negative camber.
• Offered as both Coupe and Speedster the GT version was considerably lighter than any previous 356. The weight was 1903 lbs for coupe and 1848 for the speedster. Naturally performance values were slightly different between the two versions.

DESIGN:Aluminum was also used in the bucket seat frames, two piece wheels with allow insert and aluminum trim strips for the front/rear bumpers. Less than 10 of these models were offered with quad-cam engines.

Prosche Carrera Sunroof Coupe

Prosche Carrera Sunroof Coupe

INTRODUCTION:
The very first Porsche sport car was hand built in Gmünd/Kärnten, Austria. The entire aluminum body was hand beaten over a wooden buck. Without the benefits of a machine shop, all of the engine and drive-train components were made completely. Over 50 Gmünd cars were built and sold primarily in Austria and Germany. To be closer to parts suppliers, the Porsche Firm, located to Zuffenhausen, Austria, near the Reutter coachworks following the war. The only Porsche to ever have the engine mounted in front of the rear axle, the 356/1 was open top 2-seater. Designed with a tubular chassis, the vehicle was air-cooled and came with a 110 cc engine that remarkably light and quick for the times. Following this first ever radical design, every Porsche 356 to follow was constructed with the engine in the rear, behind the axle.
SPECIFICATIONS:

• With a top speed of over 85 mph (135kph), a total of only 4 models of the 356 were produced in 1948. The 356/1 came with a 1.1 liter engine that was capable of making 40 horsepower. Less than 60 units were produced during 1949 and the earlier part of 1950. These very rare and unique models are known today as the Gmünd Coupes. The tiny sport cars continued to be built during 1950, but now at a factory in Stuttgart where Porsche moved production. A total of 298 units were built and delivered to their owners by the end of 1950.
• Porsche 356 A 1500 GS Carrera GT is boosted to 110 bhp/81 kW. The Speedster is replaced by the Convertible D with a larger windscreen and winding windows at the side. The 1300-cc engines are dropped from the range.
• Carrera receives extra power and is now called the 1600 GS-GT, with the sports version offering more output (1588 cc, 115 bhp/85 kW) than the de Luxe model (105 bhp/77 kW). The 356 B series is introduced in autumn, the Convertible D being renamed the Roadster.

CONCLUSION:
The sporting and Spartan Porsche 1500 GS Carrera is joined by the more comfortable 1500GS de Luxe model.

Porsche 597 Jagdwagen

Porsche designed the Type 597 Jagdwagen; Hunting Car with the combined elements of both the Schwimmwagen and the Keubelwagen. The vehicle was designed and built in the unlikeliest of places, in the race shop alongside 356GT's and 550 Spyders. Pronounced ‘Yahgt-vahgen', no two 597's were exactly alike. Visually similar to the original Keubelwagen, the 597's body was made of stamped steel with heavy embossings for additional rigidity. The first four cars to ever be produced were actually fully amphibious, equipped with a folding propeller and came complete with canoe paddles as original accessories from the factory. The rest of the models produced were not amphibious, but could still ford deep water with the aid of special equipment. The radios, lights and other military equipment were powered by two 12-volt batteries and a dynamo.

The Jagdwagen featured a detuned 356A engine that produced 55hp. Like the VW's and the Porsches of the period, the induced air-cooled flat-four taken from the Porsche 356 situated in the rear of the vehicles. Originally it featured an amended version of the 1.5 liter with a later increase to 1.6 in the 1-model. It came with low-compression pistons similar to the Porsche industrial wagon and a single Zenith carburetor. Through an unconventional four-wheel drive system, the power was put to the ground which offered shift-on-the-fly convenience. The Porsche 597 Jagdwagen could climb an impressive 65-degree angle. The suspension was extremely firm riding, and not an especially comfortable ride at that as very few creature comforts were added. The 597 weighed 990 kilograms and featured a top speed of approximately 100 kilometers per hour.
As unique as this vehicle was, unfortunately another company, the German carmaker DKW (later absorbed by Audi) was chosen instead to equip the German army with their entry, the DKW Munga. The Jagdwagen was considered too expensive and ‘terribly over-engineered'. In actuality the 597, typical of all Porsches, was just too technologically advanced for its time. The Munga was a very ‘throw-away vehicle' with a basic three cylinder, two stroke engine. Porsche was convinced that their entry had not been picked due to politics. Porsche couldn't easily supply the sheer numbers of units needed in proposed timescale.

Porsche tried to recover from its considerable investment into the vehicle by offering the Jagdwagen to the public, but not many were introduced. No other car like this was sold anywhere in Europe, so the customer base was stagnant. As a last effort, the Jagdwagen was marketed to consumers a personal hunting vehicle for sportsmen, which is why the name roughly translates into ‘hunting car'. In 1958 production of the Jagdwagen ceased with only a total of 71 units ever being produced.

The production of the 597 Jagdwagen was definitely an interesting development by Porsche unlike anything they had ever produced. Extremely expensive, the development costs for the vehicle amounted to approximately 1.8 million Deutsche marks. Some talks were made in August 1959 that an updated vehicle would be developed based on the 597 platform. It would feature a strengthened chassis, extended wheel base of 2,400mm that would be available in five different body-styles. Unfortunately this project never made it into production.