Speculative - page 12

Porsche and Lamborghini are both under Volkswagen Group ownership and yet, what the two brands do with their sports cars has little to do with the mother company’s resources. Sure, the more mainstream models may rely heavily on VAG tech, but both sports car manufacturers do their own thing when it comes to their range-topping, high-performance models. Lamborghini recently introduced the Temerario – the company’s second hybrid model after the flagship Revuelto. Porsche also recently introduced hybrid powertrains to the 911, with the 992.2, mid-cycle refresh.

Porsche prides itself on making some of the best-engineered road cars in the world. That said, electrification is becoming more wide-spread in the automotive industry and has even spread to the sports car segment. Many new high-performance models are hybrids and there are plenty of companies out there, already offering fully-electric performance cars. While Porsche is looking to prolong the life of the internal-combustion engine for as long as possible, the Geman brand’s strategy also involves electrifying 80 percent of its lineup by 2030. While this may not necessarily happen anytime soon, Porsche is about to give us its first EV sports car, in 2025.

A Porsche 911 that bears an uncanny resemblance to the rare 993 GT1 has sent shockwaves through the automotive world. Spotted at Los Angeles airport, the car’s identity remains shrouded in mystery. Is it a one-off Porsche project or a custom build by a tuning house? Speculation is rife, with names like Singer, Ruf, MP Gemballa, RML, and Unofficial Machines tossed into the mix. However, the most compelling evidence points towards Tuthill Porsche, a British firm renowned for its work on classic 911s.

Porsche’s iconic flat-six engines have echoed through the automotive industry for decades, but like most high-performance sports cars and supercars, hybridization is taking over the carmaker’s revered 911 lineup. The 2025 992.2 911 Carrera GTS is the first victim of this shift, boasting a brand-new 3.6-liter single-turbo flat-six, a step up from its predecessor’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six. But that’s not all - Porsche has thrown in not one but two electric motors. One is nestled within the eight-speed PDK transmission, and the other is cleverly integrated into the turbocharger itself, helping it to spool up even without enough exhaust gas pressure. The hybrid setup has resulted in a power boost of 59 horsepower and 29 pound-feet of torque, more than the outgoing 992.1 911 Carrera GTS.

Monterey Car Week is almost upon us and Southern California is once again crawling with some automotive heavyweights and exotics. But an Instagram post by Comedian, Spike Feresten, sent me down a rabbit hole of mystery. Spotted on a transport trailer at the Los Angeles International Airport was a shape that undeniably screams: " 911 GT1 Strassenversion,” (street-version in German) that ultra-rare, race-bred unicorn from the 1990s. Born as a homologation special for the famed GT1 class, Porsche famously took on the McLaren F1 and Mercedes CLK GTR.

Porsche is best known for its sports cars, predominantly the 911. The rear-engine model, although far from being the brand’s only performance car, shows continuous commitment to perfecting the classic, rear-engine design, we have all loved since 1964. While the 911 would remain as a gas-powered model for as long as possible, Porsche has diversified its lineup over the last two decades. Following the Boxster, Porsche introduced its first SUV, the Cayenne, and a few years later, in 2009, the Panamera high-performance sedan. One thing no one expects from Porsche is a minivan.

Look, I get it. The Porsche Cayenne is the soccer mom mobile for people who think minivans are for suckers. Having said that, this Porsche family hauler practically reshaped the sports SUV segment, over two decades ago. Despite the defiance of purists, the Cayenne has persisted over three generations and has been a cornerstone in Porsche’s growth. In fact, the Cayenne and Macan are consistently, Porsche’s best-selling models. A Cayenne-based sport pickup truck with four-wheel drive seems like the natural progression, given the model’s popularity. So why did it never happen? Read on to find out.

The U.S. election is around the corner and depending on who takes the chair at the White House in 2025, it could have significant implications for global trade. A potential trade war between the U.S. and Europe could throw a wrench into your German luxury car dreams. By wrench, we mean a giant price hike that could make your wallet whimper. German brands after all dominate the luxury car market in North America, a key market for Porsche, second only to China. Brands like Porsche could be caught in the crosshairs because unlike their rivals with fancy U.S. factories (looking at you, BMW and Mercedes), the Stuttgart-based automaker relies solely on imports. This means tariffs from Uncle Sam could send Porsche prices soaring. Here’s a glimpse into how this trade spat could impact the iconic German brand, along with some strategies that could potentially help in mitigating these risks.

The Porsche 918 Spyder was an absolute beast, a hypercar that debuted the plug-in hybrid system and set the bar high for both performance and efficiency. Now, as the world awaits with bated breath for its successor, an unexpected muse emerges from the world of Bugatti: the Tourbillon. While the Tourbillon’s mind-blowing naturally aspirated V16 will remain its exclusive powertrain, could its more potent hybrid system hold the secrets to Porsche’s next hypercar adventure?

Tesla pioneered the mainstream EV segment and currently offers some of the quickest fully electric vehicles you can buy. However, legacy carmakers like Mercedes and Porsche have caught up, and now EVs are being churned out left and right. Porsche is big on heritage, but that didn’t spare the brand from getting on the EV bandwagon. On the plus side, Porsche’s Taycan is one of the most popular EV performance cars. Since its introduction in 2020, Porsche has sold over 136,000 units of the all-electric Taycan, and counting, making it one of the more popular high-performance EVs. That said, when it comes to the performance-per-dollar ratio, Tesla’s offerings are still unrivaled, but Porsche might be working on a solution.

The newly formed Bugatti-Rimac has already proved that it doesn’t lack the boldness to make some radical changes to the revered and historic French marque. The all-new Bugatti Tourbillon features a newly designed, naturally-aspirated V-16 engine that revs to 9,500 RPM and works with three electric motors to produce 1,800 metric horsepower. In July 2021, the Croatian carmaker, Rimac Automobili, acquired Bugatti. Technically, Volkswagen still partially owns Bugatti through Porsche, which has a 45-percent share in the French hypercar manufacturer. The Porsche connection might prove to be instrumental in making the first-ever, production Bugatti sedan, rumored to already be in the works. For better or worse, a Bugatti sedan is more plausible than you may think. Here’s why.

The 2020 Porsche Taycan isn’t just a pretty face (and it is a very pretty face). This electric marvel delivers mind-blowing acceleration, sharp handling that will leave you grinning, and a head-turning design that commands attention. But the magic truly lies beneath the sleek exterior. The Taycan boasts several engineering firsts for electric vehicles. It’s the only production EV to sport a two-speed transmission, translating into neck-snapping bursts of speed when you push the pedal.