Automotive News, Car Reviews, and Podcast
Range Rover or Cayenne for 2026? The Range Rover is bigger; the Cayenne is sharper. First-hand Range Rover seat time and verified Cayenne data.
Read moreZenvo Aurora Agil, Lamborghini Temerario, Porsche 911 GT3 Manthey, Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge, and more exotics at the 2026 New York Auto Show.
Read moreA decade after its initial launch, Porsche‘s Macan is taking a bold leap into the future with its 2024 all-electric model. This new chapter in the Macan’s story is marked by a blend of progressive design, Porsche‘s signature performance, and everyday practicality. The Macan 4 and Macan Turbo are set to meet and exceed the expectations of SUV enthusiasts, according to Jörg Kerner, Vice President of the Macan Product Line. The 2024 Macan models are powered by the latest generation of permanently excited synchronous motors (PSM) on both axles, a move that ensures high efficiency and consistent power delivery. The Macan 4, with its 300 kW (402 hp) output, and the Macan Turbo, boasting 470 kW (630 hp), set new
Read morePorsche’s unveiling of the new, third-generation Panamera says hello to a new appearance and engineering and goodbye to the Sport Turismo wagon models. The new sedan’s online debut saw the release of a redesigned Panamera and Panamera 4, as well as the current flagship Turbo E-Hybrid. No Sport Turismo models were present as poor sales and a only marginal increase in practicality over its sedan counterpart forced the automaker to cease production. Upon first glance, the Panamera’s most significant change is its appearance. A new front end utilizes enlarged intakes and a sharpened profile but otherwise maintains the original slick styling of the previous generation. Center-lock wheels, a first for four-door Porsches, and a full-length lightbar punctuate the rear end.
Read moreGunther Buerman and his wife Maggie Buerman opened the Newport Car Museum in 2017 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. They’ve constantly updated the combined automobile and history museum including its latest presentation — an homage to Porsche. Gunther Buerman, whose interest in automobiles began as a young boy when practiced wax paper transfer etchings of car advertisements from National Geographic Magazine, is our guest on this week’s episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. A repeat guest who was willed a 1966 Ford Mustang nearly 40 years ago, Buerman owns dozens of vehicles, none any more important than his collection of the German sports cars of his early youth. He moved to New York as a young boy with his family where
Read moreThe Porsche 911 is among only a handful of vehicles on the product line for 60 years. Porsche commemorated the legendary sports car recently by unveiling the limited-edition 911 S/T. The S/T is best described as two cars in one. It combines fan-favorite elements from the 911 GT3 RS and 911 GT3 Touring models. For the first time, it marries a 992-generation 911 with a manual transmission to a GT3 RS engine as well. Only 1,963 of the S/T will be manufactured, paying respect to the first production year of the original 911 just as Porsche did with the 911 50th Anniversary edition. Designers and engineers at Porsche are able to make purists’ dreams realities by combining the practical usability
Read moreLuftgekühlt, which translates from German to “air-cooled,” is a pilgrimage for dedicated Porsche fans. It showcases the best of what many consider to be Porsche’s Golden Years — the air-cooled period. Luft 9 highlights the fastest, most prestigious air-cooled products from Porsche’s 1931 founding leading up to the discontinuation of the air-cooled 911 in 1998. For the first time Luftgekühlt, often shortened to Luft 9, offered back-to-back days to commemorate all Porsches without regard to door count, means of cooling, motorsport success, and more. Air | Water exhibits vehicles from the Pre-A era to 992 — Mezger 997’s, Carrera GT’s, GT3 Tourings — alongside their classic counterparts. It did so with the mentality the venue makes the event. Mare Island’s
Read moreSomewhere Ferry Porsche is smiling. Seventy-five years after Ferry’s dream car — the iconic Porsche 356 No. 1 — was unveiled, the German sports car brand revealed a modern version of the classic dubbed the Vision 357. Porsche revealed the concept car in Berlin at Volkswagen Group’s “DRIVE” Forum. The Style Porsche Team worked to formulate what the automaker’s founder’s “perfect” sports car might look like today. The Vision 357 commemorates the automaker’s first production vehicle, the 356 and uses the 718 Cayman GT4 RS’ platform while echoing a number of the original 356 No. 1 Roadster’s timeless design cues. Porsche didn’t quite keep the inverted-bathtub shape of the original 356, but the uninterrupted, swooping lines from the headlights to
Read moreApparently it’s no longer enough for Porsche 911s to dominate on the asphalt. The iconic German automaker recently modified its flagship to scale a volcano and has now unveiled the 911 Dakar. It’s a multi-purpose sports car said to be “equally at home on loose surfaces as it does on country roads.” No automaker is prouder of its heritage than Porsche; the 911 Dakar is a nod to the company’s off-road racing. The 911 Dakar car pays homage to Porsche’s successful line of Paris-Dakar race cars in the 1980s, but wasn’t developed to race off road. Rather, the 2,500 911 Dakars produced are designed for a less intense off-road experience, albeit powerful and expensive. Porsche has based the $223,000 911
Read morePorsche 911s are usually more at home on the race track than on the side of volcanos — until now. At the direction of Porsche‘s Vice President of Vehicle Architecture Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, 992 911 lead engineer Michael Rösler was assigned to work with Romain Dumas Motorsport to devise two 911s to climb the highest volcano in the world. Scaling Chile’s 22,615 foot (6.9 kilometers) Ojo del Salado would require a very different 911, and the teams at Porsche Wiessach and Romain Dumas Motorsport delivered. The result was two wild Porsche 911s Carrera 4S and a 19,708 feet (six kilometers) climb through thick snow, intense slopes, loose rock and temperatures as low as -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 degrees Celsius). Ultimately, unavoidable thick sheets
Read moreWeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca — one of California’s fastest race tracks — is going to get faster in 2023. A planned resurfacing and resulting smoother surface should allow the diverse array of competitors on next year’s schedule to blaze through the 11-turn track at greater speeds. WeatherTech’s 2023 Major Events Season boasts an eclectic mix of IndyCar, IMSA, MotoAmerica superbikes, muscle cars, historic cars and motorcycles competing in traditional and untraditional race formats. All events will be held on the track’s first repaving since 2007. Spectators also receive an upgrade in the form of a rebuilt Start/Finish bridge which will improve pedestrian flow from the parking lot to the race paddock area. The upgrades follow a solid 2022 season that
Read moreMonterey Auto Week has a problem, and it’s about as good as it gets. After a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19, the return edition ended Sunday, August 15 with the 70th anniversary of the Concours d’Elegance. It was the grand finale to a now 10-day occasion of about 30 events. And therein the issue for automotive enthusiasts gathering on the Monterey Peninsula: Where do we go and what do we all do first? How do we prioritize? Isn’t it great to have choices? Bruce Aldrich and I have represented The Weekly Driver website and podcast at Monterey Auto Week for several years. I’ve attended various auto shows, racing, auctions and related events on the peninsula since 1987 while contributing content
Read moreWhat’s a $53 million error among friends, collectors and vintage Porsche fanciers? It likely what was the biggest blunder in car auction history, an auctioneer with a hard-to-decipher Dutch accent at RM Sotheby’s on Aug. 17 during Monterey Auto Week began bidding on a 1939 Porsche Type 64 at was heard at $30 million. The starting bid for the one-of-kind vehicle was actually $13 million. It’s what was expected for the spacecraft lookalike. Only three of the cars were built and the prototypeup for auction is the only survivor. But monitors in the room showed the bid at $30 million. It quickly escalated to $40 million, $50 million, $60 million and then $70 million. While a stunned and quickly confused
Read moreThe Monterey Peninsula is among the country’s most popular travel destinations, particularly for automotive enthusiasts. It’s a hub for car shows, competitions and special events — the Concours d’Elegance to the return of IndyCar racing in 2019. Enthusiasts and collectors from around the world flood the area, notably during Classic Car Week in August and at the end of September at the Rennsport vintage Porsche weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. But new and vintage cars and motorcycle races are held throughout the year. Public and private automotive museums and a rental company specializing in exotics get plenty of business. There’s a gallery specializing in automotive art in Carmel, a race driving school in Salinas and a healthy corps of
Read moreThere’s no shortage of books written about automotive topics. Cars, drivers, craftsmanship, manufacturers and racetracks have all been exhaustingly detailed. But two new offerings cover unrelated compelling niche topics. Porsche Werks/Team, a coffee table-sized, image-dominated volume, intimately details a photojournalist’s three-year project for Porsche at three famous endurance races. Muscle Car Barn Finds is an equally enticing book from a far different segment of the automotive world. It’s the author’s quest to find abandoned and hoarded vintage vehicles as he travels throughout several states. Porsche is highlighted in a new endurance racing book. Porsche is highlight in a new enduracne racing book.With Porsche Works/Team (Delius Klasing & Co., $65), renowned photographer Frank Kayser and author Heike Hientzsch recall the performances
Read morePaul Walker, the late actor, car enthusiast and humanitarian, will be honored in an upcoming documentary from Paramount Network, Network Entertainment and Derik Murray, who produced “I Am Heath Ledger.” The documentary, titled “I Am Paul Walker,” will explore the late Fast and Furious star’s acting and film career. It will also detail the actor’s passion for marine life, the ocean and his charitable efforts in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. Many of Walker’s friends and co-stars are expected to be featured in the film. In addition to his Fast and Furious roles, Walker starred in numerous non-automotive based movies. He was killed in November 2013 when the Porsche Carrera GT in which he was a passenger, crashed into a concrete
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