2003 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera Coupe In Meridian Metallic on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mysterious Porsche 911 Cabriolet spied, could be GTS

While Porsche's designers can jokingly be accused of being some of the laziest in the industry due to the incremental changes to the 911's iconic design, no such charge can be leveled against the engineers and product planning folks. That's because it seems like each week arrives with news of a new variation of the marque's iconic rear-engined sports car. So, for this week, we've brought you images of what we think is the new 911 GTS Cabriolet, undergoing testing in a thawing winter wonderland.
Now, what is it that gives this 911 away, compared to standard convertible? Well, the big thing is the new offset, center-mounted exhausts. Borrowing a page from the last Volkswagen R32, these exhaust tips are unlike anything we've seen from Porsche. Only the GT3 wears center pipes, and unlike these spy photos, the twin pipes on the track-minded 911 are stacked neatly alongside each other. The other change spotted by our spies is the set of active-aerodynamic flaps in the front bumper, which can automatically channel air toward the brakes for increased cooling, or close off to reduce drag, as needed.
Those exhausts are a pretty big design detail, and so far as we can tell is the only differentiator between the other 911s in this car's posse. Our spies speculate that this could be a 911 Speedster, but point out that both the canvas roof and windshield remain unchanged - the rumored Speedster model would almost certainly feature a different roof assembly along with a steeply raked windshield.

Watch the Chevy Corvette dismiss its Euro rivals at the hands of a Brit magazine

European auto writers, especially the British, have a bit of a reputation for favoring their own domestic cars over foreign rivals in comparison tests. Just think about how many times you've heard Jeremy Clarkson deify the latest product of UK loins while denigrating an American rival as a hopeless "Yank Tank." However, we have to tip our hats to the folks at Autocar because in its latest video comparing the 2014 Corvette Stingray to the Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type V8 S and Audi R8, it's actually given the Vette a fair shake.
Autocar has put the Stingray through a battery of tests against what it considers to be the three best sports cars on sale in Europe today. And while the tests that it has chosen are somewhat random and subjective, it has concluded that the C7 can stand up against its rivals, even irrespective of its price. It's one thing to hear about how great the Stingray is from American writers, but it's great to know that not all Brits think we've gone crazy for calling the new Chevrolet "exquisite."
Scroll down to see how it all plays out on video.

Porsche planning customer driving center at Le Mans

Porsche seems to be on a campaign to build driving centers for its customers to allow them to experience the capabilities of their cars on track. It has one under way in Los Angeles, another in development at its North American headquarters in Atlanta, and a British center set up at the Silverstone circuit. Now the latest reports indicate that Porsche is planning yet another driving center at Le Mans.
The new facility is earmarked to be built at the Circuit de la Sarthe right by the start/finish line, incorporating the Porsche Curves that bridge the Arnage corner and the Ford Chicanes on the West side of the famous track.
Porsche is reportedly still seeking approval from the Automobile Club de l'Ouest that manages the circuit, and once given the green light, would still take some time to complete. But the idea of driving a 911 flat out on the legendary track is likely to make more than a few mouths water, particularly as the German automaker prepares its full-on assault of the famous endurance race next year.