Coupe - page 48

Bugatti has kicked off an exciting new chapter with a YouTube docuseries. This series takes viewers on a journey into the brand’s future, led by the visionary Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac. The pilot episode, released on June 18th, features Rimac outlining his vision for the successor to the legendary Chiron supercar. The successor has big shoes to fill, but Mate seems up to the challenge. As a CEO who launched a hypercar company from his garage in Croatia, he understands the expectations of automobile enthusiasts everywhere. "Bugatti is a legacy built by extraordinary people," Rimac states in the film.

The swan-neck rear wing, an aerodynamic spoiler design innovation that debuted in motorsport, emerged in response to safety regulations introduced by the Automobile Club de I’Quest (ACO) in 2009. These regulations aimed to address concerns about rear-wing-induced accidents during high-speed races. Engineers constantly tinkered, trying to squeeze out more downforce without sacrificing speed to increase on-track stability.

Remember YouTuber Danny Z’s budget Porsche that we featured recently? Danny and his crew bought a beat-up 996 911 from Copart Auctions for $10,000. They completely transformed the looks of the stock car by throwing on a GT3 body kit. But the driving experience left something to be desired. It was time to make the car handle better, on a budget, of course. While this isn’t a full-blown tune to unlock more performance from the flat-6, the Copart Porsche did receive a few vital upgrades to improve its handling and more crucially, the way it sounds.

In the world of Porsche, the "GT" badge has always signified a level of performance and focus beyond the ordinary. Take the 992.1 911 GT3 RS, a car barely disguising its racing roots. With its massive wing, aggressive aerodynamic bodywork, and a howling 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine churning out 518 horsepower, it’s the pinnacle of what a road-legal Porsche can be.

With the introduction of the 992.2 Carrera GTS for the 2025 model year, Porsche’s iconic 911 sports car enters a new era of hybridization, or at least that’s what people are saying. But it’s technically not the first hybrid 911.

YouTuber Danny Z recently bought the cheapest 996 911 in the United States. After an intense bidding battle on Copart auctions where he lost out on some potential gems, he finally got his 1999 996, which was missing most of the front end, including the bumper, the hood, and the headlights. It ended up costing him just $10,000 to acquire. However, the car required a ton of work before it would be back on the road, but it was work that Danny was willing to do gladly.

The 2024 Le Mans served up quite a spectacle in the brand new LM GT3 class, with Porsche’ #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R taking the win. Piloted by Richard Lietz, Morris Schuring, and Yasser Shahin, the race-spec 911 GT3 R took the checkered flag, etching Porsche’s and the Nürburing-based tuner’s name into the history books as the first manufacturer to win Le Mans with a GT3 car.

The Porsche 718 Boxster, alongside its hardtop sibling, the Cayman, has evolved into a performance powerhouse in the Porsche lineup over the past two decades. Even with the base 2.0-liter 300-horsepower turbo Boxer-four engine (which sounds similar to a Subaru Boxer four, in my opinion), the 718 not only offers performance that’s useable on a day-to-day basis but also has enough potential to carve corners with precision.

The launch of the Porsche Taycan in 2019, was a pivotal moment in the brand’s history. It quickly became a sales success, exceeding 40,000 units delivered globally in both 2023 and 2022. This achievement positioned the Taycan as a significant player in the burgeoning luxury EV market, challenging established brands and inspiring others to step up their electric game. However, the Taycan’s significance goes beyond sales figures. It catalyzed Porsche’s electrification journey, paving the way for future electric models and demonstrating the brand’s commitment to a sustainable future. It isn’t just a luxury electric vehicle (EV) but is one that represents a statement from a legacy automaker that electric performance was here to stay.

Porsche enthusiasts often claim that the 1995 Porsche Carerra RS is one of the finest 911s ever made. With approximately 1,000 examples produced, the lightweight model was the culmination of three decades of innovations in chassis and drivetrain refinement from the brand and was a forbidden fruit in the United States. With a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine, it stayed true to the formula that made Porsche such a beloved brand over the years, before the controversial move to water-cooled engines with the 996 generation.

The history of the Carrera nameplate is a wild ride through the heart of Porsche’s motorsport lineage. It all began in the early 1950s with the legendary Carrera Panamericana, a treacherous open-road race that ran border to border (north to south or vice-versa) for over 2,000 miles through the heart of Mexico. Thanks to its challenging terrain, it was a white-knuckle test of endurance, speed, and raw driving skill.

The Porsche 996 generation, produced between 1998 and 2005, remains a controversial model in the 911 history. While it’s celebrated for being one of the most affordable ways to enter the 911 family, often priced below $30,000, it’s also garnered a reputation for its divisive design and reliability concerns. Many purists criticize the "fried egg" headlights, a radical departure from the classic round lights of previous generations, and early examples were plagued by engine issues related to the intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing.