New cars - page 48

The Porsche-Piëch connection is a deep-rooted family relationship that goes back decades and has shaped the history and success of the Porsche and Volkswagen automotive groups. Now, for those of you who haven’t heard of the Piëch name before, the late Dr.Ferdinand Piëch was one of the most influential automotive personalities of the 20th century. He was involved with the motorsports division of Porsche and Audi in the 1970s and ’80s and was instrumental in proliferating technologies such as Quattro and TDI. As CEO of Volkswagen in the 1990s, Piëch was also responsible for acquiring iconic brands such as Bugatti, and Lamborghini into the wider VW Group portfolio. Despite these phenomenal achievements, no car ever bore the Piëch name, until recently.

TECHART is one of those tuning houses that have cemented a reputation for high-quality performance parts. Since 1987, the company has done wonders for mostly (but not only) Porsche sports cars. Eventually, TECHART expanded its work to models like the Cayenne and Panamera, but what the outfit does with the 911 is something else. Back in 2021, the German tuner introduced the GT Street R - a 992 Turbo S with more power and crazy aero. At the same time, TECHART introduced Flyweight - its new performance brand for personalization. Think Porshe’s Sonderwunsch, but from TECHART.

If you’ve been keeping tabs and following the story on the upcoming all-electric Boxster, by this point, you’ve already seen extensive coverage of camouflaged prototypes on tests. They’ve been spotted across a number of locations from the Nürburging in Germany, and winter weather runs up in the Arctic circle to more recently, the streets of San Fransisco. But have you ever wondered what lies under the heavy cladding of the 718 EV? Well, a rendering based on the spy shots we’ve seen so far, could be a great way to decipher these details and that’s exactly what we have here.

When it comes to reimagining and modifying Porsche cars, there is no shortage of great names that specialize in the art of making the German company’s performance models even more capable than they already are. Such treatment is not limited only to the Porsche 911 and 718 models though. The German company, Friedrich Performance Manufaktur (FPM) offers performance-enhancing treatment for all Porsche models, and one of its latest kits is dedicated to making the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT faster than the latest, most powerful 911 we have. Of course, the 992.2 update is about to bring even more radical variants of the iconic, rear-engine sports car, but the Friedrich Performance package for the Cayenne GT gives it a 36-percent bump in power with a bit of extra torque. As you may expect, the numbers are impressive, but even more surprising is how little it takes to unleash that extra power from the Porsche SUV.

Look, I’m a sucker for a nice shade of silver, always have been. I’ve owned three cars in varying shades of grays and silver over the past 20 years. There’s a reason why classic fighter jets and sleek yachts all rock some shade of metallic grey. It’s timeless, sophisticated, and lets the car’s lines do the talking. Now to celebrate the Turbo’s five-decade legacy, Porsche is ditching the gold crest for their Turbo lineup with a new "Turbonite" accent color? Sign me up. We saw it first on the Panamera Turbo last year, a subtle hint on the trim. But at Monterey, with the introduction of 50th Anniversary 911 Turbo S? Now that’s a match. The shade is clean, a departure from the usual chromey silver. They even got New York-based Pantone Color Institute involved to come up with this shade, which is some serious exclusivity cred.

Porsche has been serving up peak performance and luxury for decades, and their Turbo models have always represented the pinnacle of performance that you can actually use on the road. The first turbocharged 911 dropped in ’74 and blew everyone’s doors off. It became a legend, a symbol of pushing boundaries. Now, Porsche’s taking that same spirit and applying it to the entire Turbo lineup with this sleek, metallic grey they’re calling Turbonite, a color that we first saw on the 2023 Panamera Turbo and subsequently, the Macan EV Turbo.

There is an obvious pattern when it comes to Porsche introducing its new 911 variants. There is a version of the rear-engine sports car for everyone, but when a new 911 comes out, we don’t get all variants at once. Things are not much different for the 992.2 update, although there is one big difference. For 2025, we got the first Porsche 911, powered by a hybrid powertrain, and this changes a few things in the Porsche 992.2 lineup. Models that are typically offered from the start will now take longer to arrive, and this includes the best-selling 911 variant – the Carrera S. This has everything to do with Porsche’s hybrid 911 variants, which sometime in the next two years, will be joined by the first hybrid Porsche 911 Turbo. Despite working on keeping the internal combustion engine alive for as long as possible, Porsche is really pushing the hybrid 911 agenda, and here’s what this means for the next-generation 992.2 Carrera S.

Look, Porsche knows people still love the sweet, sweet sound of a roaring engine, especially with its second most popular model in the United States, the Macan. So, they’re doing the whole "we woke, also we want your money" thing by offering both electric and gas-powered Macans at the same time. While, Porsche does plan to eventually ditch gas for good in the Macan by 2026, what if you’re on a budget and want that luxury-ish, sporty-ish SUV vibe without the Porsche tax? Well, Audi’s latest Q5 and SQ5 are clinging to dino juice for the 2025 model year and could serve up as a compelling alternative to the gas-powered Macan.

The 911 Turbo S may not be one of the world’s most beautiful cars, but it does have a timeless appeal, and if you are lucky enough to have one in your garage, you probably spend a lot of time just admiring it. However, if you ever feel like Porsche’s vibrant PTS colors do not offer the individuality you are looking for, this is where TopCar design’s Stinger GTR comes into the picture. TopCar Design has always been about pushing the boundaries when it comes to crafting custom Porsche body kits and the Stinger GTR is a spectacular manifestation of their unique creative process.

Since its inception back in 1964, the Porsche 911 has been going against the status quo. For over six decades, Porsche engineers have perfected the formula of putting the engine in the rear – a highly uncommon design decision among modern-day automakers. But back when the 911 was still a young name, the company wasn’t sure the rear-engine formula would work long-term. At one point, Porsche even considered replacing the 911 with the V8-powered 928, but that never happened. Porsche’s decision to keep the rear-engine 911 around, paid off as continues to deliver truly unique driving characteristics, for which the car is still praised today.

If you’ve been following what’s happening in the world of Porsche sports cars, you probably already know that from 2025, the mid-engine 718 is going fully electric. While Porsche is doing a lot to ensure the internal combustion engine remains in service for as long as possible, the brand also has goals to electrify 60 percent of its lineup, by 2030. While this may not turn out as the company initially anticipated, the next-generation Porsche Cayman/ Boxster will feature a fully electric powertrain. The thought of a fully electric Porsche sports car is detested by many Porsche purists.

When we talk about open-top thrills in a sports car, the Boxster is, often, the first to come to mind. The mid-engine Porsche sports car first appeared in 1996 and was instrumental in pulling the German automaker out of financial trouble. Three generations later, the 718 Boxster remains a solid pick among open-top sports cars. The roadster’s balanced chassis and lightweight nature allow it to punch above its weight while offering one of the most unique driving experiences of any convertible. That said, the Porsche 718 Boxster is not the only great roadster out there. BMW’s latest iteration of the Z4 has been around since 2018, but it somehow isn’t talked about as much. One reason could be the rebirth of the Toyota Supra, which in its fifth generation is, essentially, a re-bodied Z4. After having the chance to experience both cars, we decided to see if the BMW Z4 is truly underrated and how it stacks up to the Porsche 718 Boxster.