Porsche - page 396

The Porsche 911 is now in its eighth generation and with the introduction of the GTS, GT3, and more recent Carrera T, we can say that the rollout of the Dot 2 models is well underway. With every subsequent generation, you’ll find the Porsche has continued to evolve the 911 lineup to include a vast number of trims ensuring there’s every flavor of 911 available for a wide demographic. In the 991 generation, for example, you had 35 different variations of the 911, and don’t even get me started on the body styles. Anyway, some of the most stand-out or well-known trims include the likes of the Carrera, Turbo, and GT models. The Turbo nameplate celebrates 50 years in 2024, while the GT3 celebrates 25. So quite a momentous year for Porsche then.

Porsche sports cars are some of the first to come to mind when talking about engaging, driver-focused performance cars that offer that classic driving feel. Much of that comes from being able to row through the gears yourself through a third pedal and a stick. While most automakers are gradually phasing out the manual transmission, especially in high-performance models, Porsche will still sell you a brand-new car with an H-pattern shifter and a clutch pedal.

German automakers are still at the top of their game when it comes to luxury performance sedans. Take the Panamera for example. Porsche dropped the third generation in November 2023, and eventually hit us with the craziest Panamera yet – the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid for the 2025 model year. This thing packs a frankly ridiculous 771 horsepower and a price tag that’ll make your eyes water – over $225,000! Yeah, it’s gonna cost you big money, but it’s hands-down the fastest Panamera ever.

The Porsche 944 comes from the German automaker’s transaxle era (1970-1990) when the brand experimented with different drivetrain layouts. It was part of the company’s efforts to make a sports car that was more affordable and balanced than the rear-engined Porsche 911. The front-engined 944 was an evolution of the 924 developed with Volkswagen. Today, the 944 is becoming a popular classic car, but unlike 911s from the time (930), you can still find them for a relatively cheap price. Good examples can be found for around $5,000.

It’s a big year for the Porsche 911! Specifically, I’m talking about the 992.2 generation, the latest and greatest version of this iconic sports car. It all kicked off with the 911 GTS, featuring a cutting-edge hybrid powertrain and a classic gas-powered base Carrera. Then we got the naturally aspirated 911 GT3 and now, Porsche has dropped the new Carrera T.

While the 911 is the Porsche brand’s definitive sports car, it is far from the only performance model that the German automaker has given us. During the 1970s and ’80s, Porsche was experimenting with the more conventional, front-engine rear-wheel drive layout. This spawned a variety of Porsche transaxle sports cars that were produced alongside the rear-engine 911. One of the four transaxle models is the Porsche 944. Like with the 911 (and other Porsche models), there was a Turbo variant that sat atop the 944 range.

Porsche has been churning out facelifted 911s this year faster than you can say “mid-life crisis.” This year, we’ve already seen the base 992.2 Carrera, the mental GTS, the stripped-down T, and even the track-focused GT3. But the real storm’s brewing on the horizon and the one that I’m most excited about is the Turbo lineup. Now, thanks to a leak on Porsche’s own configurator from its German site (talk about a spy’s paradise!), we’ve got a glimpse of the upcoming Turbo for the first time. It’s not much, just a rear-end shot from a video showcasing the cruise control system, but it is enough to get the rumor mill churning once again.

The Porsche 911 GT3 will change drastically with its next generation and we have the ever-stringent, Euro 7 emissions to thank for that. Porsche GT boss, Andreas Preuninger, was recently interviewed by Autocar where he shared with a tone of sadness that the beloved, naturally-aspirated, 4.0-liter boxer engine lives on borrowed time. The man in charge of the program that gives us the most track-focused 911 variants shares that they are not sure if they can meet the latest European emissions requirements without making some radical changes to the high-rev engine.

Like several other automakers, Porsche devised a strategy for electrification. Originally, the plan was for Porsche to electrify 80 percent of its model lineup by 2030. That said, the automotive industry is a dynamic place and things often change at a rapid pace. Demand for EVs has slowed down, forcing many automakers, Porsche included, to rethink their long-term strategies. The Porsche Taycan marked great success in its early years, but global sales of the EV model have dropped by 50 percent, during the first three quarters of 2024.

Christmas is two months away, and if you are still looking for the perfect gift for the Porsche aficionado in your life, this might be exactly what you’re looking for. The Amalgam Collection, based in Bristol, U.K., crafts spectacular 1:8 scale model replicas of the 1971 Le Mans triumphing Porsche 917K racecar with its Martini Livery. It is an extremely detailed replica of the car driven by Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko in 1971.

Porsche has made it clear: we won’t see a fully electric 911 before the end of the decade. Honestly, I’m not surprised, given an overall slower market adoption of EVs and Porsche itself backtracking on its previous goals, which were previously set to achieve 80 percent electrification by the end of the decade. In the meantime, they’re pivoting towards hybrids across its model lineup, including on its 911, with the hybrid Carrera GTS already hitting the market. The T-Hybrid system on the 911 Carrera GTS of course is a system that focuses on performance, rather than Porsche’s plug-in E-Hybrid system that is all about efficiency. Next year, we can expect the 992.2 Turbo models to join the hybrid fray.

Although Porsche has given us a staggering number of all-time great sports cars going back several decades, the German automaker has diversified its lineup over the past 20 years, by adding SUVs and sedans to its model lineup. This leaves the 911 and 718 as the only two Porsche sports car offerings, presenting Porsche with the opportunity to bring back iconic nameplates from its glorious past.