Coupe - page 180

Richard Hammond, a.k.a TopGear’s old resident Hamster is back on DriveTribe with a juicy dilemma: Did he choose wisely? In his garage sit two shiny 992-generation Porsche 911s, but a nagging question gnaws at him – did he grab the wrong one? Specifically, should he have snagged the more versatile 911 Dakar instead of his most recent acquisition, the luxurious, but equally ballistic 911 Turbo S Cabriolet?

The 909 ’Bergspyder’ was a race car designed and built by Porsche in 1968, for dominating European hill climbing competitions. It gets its name ’Berg’ from the German word for mountain and ’meister’ for master. It is a relatively unknown model, but the technology and innovations it fostered became the base for the 908/3 racecar. The RUF Burgmeister is a modern interpretation of the Bergspyder, created from RUF’s admiration of the hillclimb legend. Based on the Type-993 chassis and resembling a speedster body, this is a car that we wanted to touch upon despite being first revealed over two years ago at the Quail. This is because the 993-Speedster is a bit of a unicorn, and several resto-modders and Porsche themselves have been taking a dig at this format off-late.

There is an obvious hierarchy when it comes to V.A.G’s subsidiary companies. Both Porsche and Lamborghini are, brands recognized for their capable sports cars. That said, over the last two decades the two performance automakers have branched out into other formats. This is especially true for Porsche, which introduced its first SUV model – the Cayenne – way back in 2002. Lamborghini was late to the SUV bandwagon (unless you’re talking Rambo Lambo, a.k.a, the LM002), albeit not as late as its main rival, Ferrari. The Italian marque from Sant’Agata Bolognese introduced the Urus for the 2018 model year, and in 2024, it became a hybrid-only model.

Slotting in below the more potent Cayman S, launched in 2006, Porsche introduced a detuned entry-level base Cayman in 2007. This sleek, mid-engined coupe shared its platform and many components with the Boxster Roadster but featured a fixed roof and hatchback body style. It was powered by a 2.7-liter boxer-six engine producing 245 horsepower and 201 pound-feet of torque, enabling a 0-60 mph sprint in 5.8 seconds with the manual transmission.

Some digital artists are content with basic flame paint jobs and slammed Civics. Then there’s Kyza, a.k.a Khyzl Saleem who has once again cooked up something that’ll have Porsche fanatics frothing at the mouth: a bonkers fusion of the legendary Porsche 935 Slantnose and the innovative and over-engineered Porsche 959 supercar.

Calling all Porschephiles out there! Forget museum displays – the Porsche Club of America (PCA) recently did a comprehensive virtual tour of a private collection in Arizona. Calling this selection of cars impressive would truly be an understatement. Now I’m someone who’s smitten by almost anything with an RS (Rennsport) badge on it, a badge that represents track-bred performance and cutting-edge engineering, going back five decades. This collection is far from your random assortment of Porsches but represents some of Stuttgart’s finest. We’re talking 33 Porsches across several generations of the 911, with almost all of them bearing that legendary RS moniker.

After a year of spy shots and whispers about what was brewing in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Lamborghini Huracán’s successor has finally arrived: the Temerario. This isn’t just another V8 hybrid, folks. We’re talking a 907-horsepower, plug-in hybrid supercar with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 developed in-house by Lamborghini. It features a flat-plane crankshaft, that revs up to an astonishing 10,000 RPM. Now, it wasn’t long ago that Porsche too announced its juicy T-Hybrid system with the 992.2 911 Carrera GTS that packs an electrified turbocharger and an electric motor in the gearbox, but no plug-in option, making it a mild hybrid.

The Porsche 911 has been the most versatile sports car since its inception in 1964 and the current 992 generation is no different. Between the different versions and drivetrain configurations available, you can choose from around 30 different 911s, depending on your needs. And yes, this includes an off-road variant, reminiscent of the Porsche 953 Dakar. The Turbo S, typically, nearly sits at the top of any 911 lineup and above the Turbo, with only the track-focused GT models being above it. The 992.2 Turbo will arrive for 2025, but we still don’t know a lot about it other than it’s going to be a hybrid like the 992.2 GTS. Many wonder what the differences between the 992 Turbo and Turbo S are. We rarely see a regular Turbo, despite it being more affordable and almost as quick as a Turbo S, in real life. We decided to take a look and see what the differences between the Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S really are, and whether the Turbo S is truly worth the premium.

German tuner, RUF, and global fashion and lifestyle media brand, Highsnobiety, team up to create an epic collaborative release, consisting of a 20-piece collection of graphic wares. The fashion company founded back in 2005, by David Fischer, collaborates with renowned brands and helps create captivating wares and accessories, while invoking the rich heritage of brands like RUF. The automotive company based in Pfaffenhausen, Germany, has been in the car business since 1939, with its more recent focus involving, restoring, modifying, and reimagining the iconic Porsche 911. Many brands, Porsche included have apparel lines available to anyone wanting to experience the brand in more than one way, and the RUF x Highsnobiety collection puts emphasis on the company’s rich heritage.

Like it or not, electrification is coming and Porsche like every other automaker out there, will need to adopt. But despite its expanding electric model lineup, (think electric Macan and the upcoming Cayman/Boxster EV and Panamera EV), the brand recently backtracked on its over-optimistic electric vehicle sales targets, and it appears that Porsche is once again committed to internal combustion engines for the foreseeable future. The Cayenne, for example, is expected to retain an internal combustion option until at least 2030. As for the 911, the T-Hybrid system introduced on the 992.2 Carrera 4 GTS, combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor and seems like a strategic move to extend the life of internal combustion engines for Porsche. But to me, it appears to be an excuse to delay the 911 EV. We all know that it will be the last model in Porsche’s lineup to go fully electric. Having said that, here’s why a compact 911, could serve as the base for both a smaller displacement combustion engine and an all-electric powertrain.

Two of the hottest hybrid sports cars right now are the all-new Lamborghini Temerario and the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, which launched back in late May. Both VW Group brands have been pushing the boundaries of performance thanks to clever electrification strategies, showcasing the best of internal combustion engines and electric powertrains. Hybrid vehicles are becoming increasingly popular over fully electric vehicles and even traditional, internal-combustion-powered vehicles, meaning we will be seeing a lot more of them in the foreseeable future. That said, Porsche and Lamborghini have very different approaches to hybrid sports cars. Lamborghini goes for big power and multiple electric motors while Porsche seems to be keeping things more down to earth with its first production 911 hybrid. That said, we know a 992.2 Turbo S is coming, and it’ll undoubtedly be quicker than the 992.2 GTS. Lamborghini’s new hybrid Temerario and Porsche’s efforts in hybrid propulsion tell us a lot about the upcoming Turbo S, and here’s what we can expect.

Porsche has a long tradition of participating in the annual Monterey Car Week. One of the biggest car events on the automotive calendar. It dates back to 1950 when it was held for the first time, as a supplementary event to the Pebble Beach Road Race. Like other automakers, Porsche’s iconic sports cars were an expected sight at the Monterey Car Week, and this year, we got to see a great number of highly original, reimagined, and downright crazy builds, based on Porsche’s greatest sports cars ever made.