2007 Porsche 911s on 2040-cars

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New details mooted about Porsche's '988' Ferrari rival

We could be on the verge of a big expansion at everyone's favorite rear-engined German sports car manufacturer. Porsche is allegedly preparing a four-car assault that will be led by a proper challenger to the Ferrari 458 Italia (sorry 911).
Code-named "988," the new model will reportedly feature a mid-engined layout and, get this: a flat-8. Autocar, which has the story, expects that engine to displace about 4.0 liters, while the car itself will draw styling inspiration from the 918 Spyder. 600 ponies and over 400 super-accessible pound-feet of torque should be on tap with the new mill.
Joining the 988's supposed eight-cylinder is a new family of four- and six-cylinder boxer engines that Autocar claims will have a focus on power density and fuel economy. These new mills will be available in naturally aspirated, turbocharged and hybrid forms.

Porsche ready to pick itself up after Le Mans failure

It's safe to say that things for Porsche didn't go quite as well at Le Mans this year as it might have hoped. After a sixteen-year gap, the winningest manufacturer in endurance racing history returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe this year hoping maybe not for outright victory in its first time back, but definitely a strong finish on which it could build on for next year. All the while it undoubtedly hoped its 911s would hold their own in the GT classes.
Unfortunately for Porsche, neither happened. After racing around the clock, and despite actually leading the festivities for some time, the best its 919 Hybrid could manage was an eleventh-place finish, lagging lamentably behind not only the other LMP1s (like the race-winning Audi) but also a handful of LMP2s. Meanwhile the LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am titles went to the factory-backed teams of its arch-rivals Ferrari and Aston Martin, respectively.
Not a stellar result, in other words, but Porsche is taking it all in stride - accepting that it has a ways to go while congratulating its vanquishing rivals in the video below. It's good sportsmanship if we've ever seen it. Next year's race starts now.

Man arrested for stealing part of Paul Walker Porsche wreck

Humans are odd creatures. Some of us collect things associated with bad events, particularly when it comes to cars. Your author, for example, has the grille of his wrecked 2004 Mini Cooper S hanging on the wall. As a more extreme example, an 18-year-old Californian is in trouble with the LA police, but not for taking an item from his own car accident. Instead, he has been arrested for stealing from the wreck of the Porsche Carrera GT that killed actor Paul Walker and racer Roger Rodas.
And it wasn't a small piece, either. It was the Carrera GT's carbon-fiber roof panel. Making matters worse is word that the theft happened while the tow truck that was hauling the wrecked Porsche was sitting in traffic. According to the LA Sheriff's Department report, "A witness saw a male exit a vehicle that was following the tow truck. The male grabbed a piece of the wrecked Porsche off the tow truck bed." Besides the eyewitnesses, it didn't help that images of the roof panel were later posted on Instagram.
The man, Jameson Witty, was later arrested at his home, where police also found the roof panel. The driver of the car Witty was in when he took the roof panel, meanwhile, is planning on surrendering to the police, according to CNN. It remains unclear if the district attorney's office will charge the two, although if it does, they'll be facing felony grand theft and tampering with evidence.