2025 - page 84

The wait is finally over! We’ve been poring over those blurry spy shots for months now, speculating on the finer points of the new 992.2 Porsche 911 GT3. But the guessing game is officially done. Mark your calendars for October 18th, because that’s when Porsche throws the digital confetti and unveils the next chapter of the brand’s naturally-aspirated story in all its glory.

Let’s face it, the standard Porsche 992 GT3 RS is already a track monster. It’s a car that thrives on pushing limits, begging to be unleashed on the world’s most demanding circuits and race tracks. But for some drivers, "enough" is never enough. Enter the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 RS MR, an extreme machine set to be unleashed by the combined might of Porsche and their long-time racing partner, Manthey Racing. I’ve been following the development of this car closely for a while now, and am absolutely blown away by the sheer amount of engineering that’s gone into it. Not too long ago, an un-camouflaged white prototype was spotted at the Nordschleife, giving us an up-close look at the possible performance upgrades that Manthey is cooking up. Based on what I’ve seen in the spy shots from CarSpyMedia, I wanted to highlight some of the features of this performance racing kit.

Every Porsche 911 has its fair share of special editions. These have become more frequent, especially with the newer generations of the German sports car and the 992 is no exception. In 2024, Porsche marked 50 years of the original, 1974 Porsche 911 (930) Turbo, and naturally, a special variant of the current model was in order. These models are highly sought-after by collectors due to their historical significance and their limited production numbers. In the case of the 2024 Porsche 992 Turbo S 50 Years edition, just 1974 will be made. Naturally, Porsche will ask a pretty penny for the 50th anniversary edition.

My Instagram feed rarely disappoints, and today, it seriously delivered. Jonny Lieberman from MotorTrend.com dropped a bombshell on Instagram from what appears to be a private event: The twin mad scientists and automotive designers, Iliya & Nikita Bridan behind California-based Oil Stain Lab are going to build 25 limited-edition examples of an ultra-lightweight mid-engined hypercar and they’re calling it the HF-11.

With the all-electric Porsche Macan now officially on sale and starting to hit U.S. dealerships, I wanted to take the opportunity to spec out the most expensive Macan EV possible. So I fired up the configurator and selected the top variant of the four available models (Base, S, 4S, Turbo), which is the Macan Electric Turbo, and went to town. Now before you judge me for the bold PTS color choice, (Speed Yellow - 0UB in case you were wondering), I want to clarify that this was just an exercise. I’m personally far more conservative and would choose something more understated and go with something like silver or navy blue at best. But with this one, I’ve tried my best to select the priciest options available in my quest to get a ballpark figure of the most expensive Macan electric on sale today, and here’s what I found.

The Porsche Panamera, on sale since 2009 is now in its third generation, and is one of two four-door sedans, that Porsche currently sells (the other being the Taycan EV). Now, Despite a slowdown in the sale of sedans, Porsche it seems will not back off from this format, anytime soon. The fact, that the German automaker announced the third generation Panamera as recently as 2023 with some much-needed updates and a lot more power throughout the range, shows that it is committed to this body style. 771 horsepower from the V8 hybrid Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid sounds wild, isn’t it?

The Porsche Cayenne recently got a few nice updates for 2025. While most will be looking towards the range-topping Cayenne Turbo E Hybrid, it is the new GTS trim that is the most pleasant surprise. The GTS is, typically, considered to be the perfect middle ground among all Porsche models as it combines the ideal blend of performance, comfort, and usable power levels. Despite the Cayenne GTS being one of the most athletic SUVs out there, a Sports Utility Vehicle can never offer the same thrills as a proper sports car like, let’s say the 911 Carrera GTS.

The Panamera is the Porsche brand’s first production four-door sedan. It came out back in April 2009 and frankly, its design was more controversial at the time, than the fact it was a four-door Porsche sedan. The looks were purely function over form since the back-then CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking’s priority above all else, was for the car to seat four tall adults comfortably. Fast-forward to 2024 and the Panamera is now in its third generation and thankfully, I can say that it’s a lot better looking than before. However, with the introduction of the all-electric four-door Porsche Taycan – the brand’s first EV, along with subsequent decline in the sale of sedans in favor of SUVs – the Panamera seemingly doesn’t make sense. But, despite those plummeting sales numbers, Porsche has decided to, not just keep the Panamera around, but also give it cutting-edge tech like the new, high-end, Active Ride suspension and other innovative technologies. Now my argument is that Porsche doesn’t do things for no reason, so here’s what this could mean for the Panamera’s future.

About 20 years ago, Porsche raised a few eyebrows by introducing its first SUV – the Cayenne. This exercise paid off big time since this high-riding Porsche is widely viewed as the model responsible for saving the German automaker from bankruptcy. Fast-forward to 2024 and the two best-selling Porsche models are still SUVs, i.e. the Cayenne and its smaller sibling, the Macan. The Cayenne was recently updated, but its range-topping Turbo E Hybrid model seems a bit puzzling to me.

Ah!! Porsche and online racing, while I may not be much of a gamer these days, this is an experience that goes back decades for me. My PC gaming journey began with the legendary NFS: Porsche Unleashed back in 2000. That game got me hooked, even leading me to compete professionally! So, when Ubisoft unveiled the Porsche 919 Street tearing up the tarmac in The Crew Motorfest’s latest trailer, I was undoubtedly curious to learn more. (Mark your calendars: Crew Motorfest Year 2 update kicks off November 6th, 2024!)

As a gearhead who loves a good special edition, I was excited to see what Porsche came up with to celebrate 50 years of the iconic 911 Turbo. Their 911 Turbo 50 Years based on the 992.1 with 1,974 units and historical nods looks like a tempting option. But for those seeking something even more exclusive and outrageous, there’s the Techart GTstreet R Monochrome. This limited edition (only 20 units!) takes the already impressive GTstreet R, based on the 911 Turbo S, and cranks everything up to eleven. Where the 911 Turbo 50 Years from Porsche is more of a cosmetic makeover, Techart has made some significant upgrades with this ultra-low-run model.

Porsche’s Taycan is one of the most hyped-up and popular performance EVs on sale today. By Q4 of 2023, Porsche had sold 136,000 Taycans cumulatively. The EV sedan bumped Porsche sports car sales by 3.3 percent, despite the German brand’s overall sales having dropped by 12 percent compared to 2022. While the electric vehicle market is currently experiencing a slowdown, it hasn’t stopped other manufacturers from entering the performance EV segment with their own offerings. Take for instance Lotus, a brand typically known for its lightweight sports cars. Still, now the British carmaker is giving us the Emeya – a large, EV performance sedan that wants to steal potential buyers, from the likes of the Taycan and Tesla Model S.