To celebrate having scored 5 million followers on Facebook, Porsche gave those followers the chance to provide input on a special edition 911 Carrera 4S called the 5M Porsche 911. After quite a bit of input, the vehicle has been built and shown off on Facebook in a gallery of images. Now those same users […]
There’s nothing like a good Porsche BlackBerry phone to make you realize that there’s a niche for essentially any sort of smartphone you can think of, just so long as it’s got a brand attached to it. Here we’re seeing the continuation of the Porsche BlackBerry team-up, coming up from the last edition which rolled […]
Giovanni Ribisi had better hope he doesn’t botch a job anytime soon. Flavio Garcia from the University of Birmingham cracked the security system that pairs an owner’s key to their Porsche, Lamborghini or Audi, and Volkswagen’s parent company wants that research to remain unpublished. The UK’s high court sided with VW’s owner and granted an injunction protecting the Megamos Crypto system. Afterward, Garcia was offered to print his findings, but without the all-important decryption codes. He refused, saying that the public has a right to see the holes in the systems it relies on and that this wasn’t an attempt to give criminals a hand in boosting cars. While the court’s logic is sound — once revealed, all manner of “if this ever fell into the wrong hands” situations could arise — it’s unsettling to see government bend to corporate request. At least we know Eleanor can sit in the garage for just a little longer now.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: BoingBoing
Source: The Guardian
The Porsche 918 Spyder is like no other hybrid on the road, promising Bugatti-like performance
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Power Wheels? Yeah right. The real upper-class twerps set their sights a little higher, and pester hedge-fund manager parents for something along this lines of this kids-only Porsche. "It’s oooooonly $900. Pretty please?"
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Porsche is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Porsche 911 with a limited edition model, which it will show off at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. The limited edition model hails back to the Porsche 911 Carrera S, designed as a coupe with a Carrera 4-esque wide body. Only 1,963 of the limited edition models
Porsche isn’t about to let the LaFerrari steal the hybrid spotlight: it just unveiled the finished design of the 918 Spyder, which is expected to ship as a 2015 model. The look won’t shock anyone keeping up with their spy videos, although Porsche’s formal unveiling helps firm up the specifications that customers will get if they’ve dutifully shelled out $845,000. The performance is even more intimidating than it was in 2011, we know that much: there’s 887HP of combined V8 and plug-in electric power, a 0-62MPH time of 2.8 seconds and up to 18 miles of gas-free driving. About the only disappointment (price notwithstanding) is the lack of options beyond a weight reduction package. We doubt many Spyder buyers will complain when they can even outrace a 911 GT3.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Autoblog
Source: Porsche
Porsche’s latest sportscar, the 918 Spyder, has broken cover officially, but unlike most of the company’s hard-driving twin seaters, this one relies in part on battery power for its blistering 0-60mph time. The 918 Spyder is actually a hybrid, pairing a 4.6-liter V8 mid-mounted gas engine good for 608HP with a 154HP hybrid module on the rear axle, and a 127HP electric motor on the front axel. That’s a total of 887HP with all three working together, good for more than 211mph and a 0-62mph dash of 2.8s.
Porsche offers a variety of driving modes, which can be toggled between using a switch on the steering wheel. They range from purely electric, which has a range of approximately 18 miles and a 7s 0-62mph time (plus a top speed of 93mph), through to hybrid mode, and then with the V8 kicking in. The hybrid motor running the rear axel can be used on its own, or just the V8, or both together for all-wheel drive.
Keeping the electric motors running is a 7kWh liquid-cooled li-ion battery made up of 312 cells and charging in under 7hrs from a 110V (10A) socket or trimming that to under 2hrs from a 240V (30A) socket. Install Porsche’s industrial-strength Speed Charging Station, and your 918 Spyder will be rejuiced in 25 minutes.
Porsche is particularly keen to stress how usable every day the 918 Spyder can be, and so in regular Hybrid mode it switches between gas and electric motors to maximize fuel economy. Sport Hybrid sees the eco-halo drop somewhat, with both engine and electrics working continuously, but still with an eye on economic driving. Then there’s Race Hybrid, which relies primarily on the gas engine and kicks the electric motors in for short boosts, with the Porsche topping up the batteries from spare power from the V8 when it’s not being used to full capacity.
Finally, there’s Hot Lap mode, which works only in Race Hybrid mode and gushes all the available battery power out to drive the electric motors to their limits. It’s only good for a couple of laps, however.
Inside, there’s one cluster of controls for the core driving data, which are wrapped around the wheel, while the multitouch-touchscreen infotainment stack is in the middle and used to manage the climate control, comms, Burmester sound system, and lighting. Alcantara clads the seats, and other areas of the interior, and there’s less sound insulation and more exposed carbon-fiber. One option is having more of the exterior left unpainted, exposing the carbon sections.
Perhaps the biggest question remaining is how economical it actually is; unfortunately, final fuel consumption figures aren’t available yet. What we do know is that speed and efficiency don’t come cheap: the standard car will be around $845,000 in the US when deliveries begin in Q1 2014. Then, of course, it’ll have to face off challengers like Honda’s 2015 NSX.
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: A sports-hybrid you have to take seriously is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Porsche is celebrating 40 years of the 911 Turbo with quite a bang. The company has revealed the 2014 911 Turbo and Turbo S today, which come with some new features not seen before in a 911 Turbo, including a new all-wheel drive system, as well as active rear axle steering, which helps the car make corners more easily.
The rear axle steering feature is quite unique and rather odd to think about. Essentially, the steering angle of the rear wheels can be adjusted by up to 2.8 degrees, and this changes depending on how fast you’re going. The rear axle consists of “electro-mechanical actuators” that change the degree of the rear wheels, so when you turn the 911 Turbo going under 30 mph, the rear wheels are ever so slightly turned in the opposite direction, which shortens the wheelbase, giving the car better cornering abilities.
At speeds above 50 mph, the steering system steers the rear wheels parallel to the front wheels, which extends the wheelbase and gives the car better stability at high speeds. It’s an interesting concept, and one that allows the car to go under 7:30 at the Nurburgring, according to Porsche. As for the engine, the 911 Turbo sports 520 horsepower, while the Turbo S has 560 horsepower.
Unfortunately, though, the new car won’t come with a manual transmission option, but Porsche claims that the 911 Turbo S can reach 60 mph from a standing position in just 2.9 seconds, which is mighty quick for a production car. As for price, The 911 Turbo will cost $148,300, while the 911 Turbo S begins at $181,100.
2014 Porsche 911 Turbo boasts AWD and rear axle steering is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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