With the preview of Porsche’s 2011 911 Turbo S, we’ll be taking a look back at the history of Porsche’s ultimate 4 wheel drive performance variant. And let’s be honest, any time a company takes a fast car, removes weight, and adds power, it should be commended.
1993 Porsche 964 Turbo S
The first iteration of the S model came about in 1993. With production limited to only 86 units, Porsche uprated the 3.3 liter engine’s specs to 381 horsepower and brought the weight down to a paltry 2843 lbs. The end result was a performance monster, and a preview of things to come.
Power: 381 hp
Weight: 2843 lbs
1997 993 Turbo S
Last of the aircooled911s, this S model stormed to an 11.9 second quarter mile out of the box. When produced, it was one of the fastest production cars in the world–requiring less than 4 seconds to get to 60mph. Once again, this was a limited production run, capping the output to 200 units.
Power: 424 hp
Weight: 3203 lbs
2004 996 Turbo S
In the last production year of the 996, the X50 perfomance package was nixed and in came the “S” once again. The previously optional Silicon Carbide brakes now became a standard, helping to bring the portly 911 to a halt quick as ever, while engine output was once again bumped up to 450 horsepower.
Power: 450 hp
Weight: 3505 lbs
2011 997 Turbo S
19 inch centerlock wheels, PDK, and 530 horses of motivation help bring the newest S variant to 60 in a stonking 3.3 seconds. Previewed to the public before the geneva auto show, it beats the performance numbers of the already mind-boggling 2010 Turbo, all while boasting the same fuel efficiency.
Rocketsports Racing Inc. (RSR) has reuinted with Jaguar to create, what should be, a strong competitor in the 2010 American Le Mans Series. While younger enthusiasts don’t necessarily connote Jaguars with motorsport integrity, there was a time where the fierce feline was clipping apexes and winning championships.
Back in 1950, Jaguar entered Le Mans with the all-aluminum body XK120 — it’s first attempt, with a total of three cars in the race, never ran lower than seventh place, including Johnson’s, who held onto second place for two hours, until being forced to retire in the 21st hour due to clutch failure. Moving forward, 1951 and 1953 were two winning years for the C-Type. The C-Type utilized a 3.4l twin-cam straight six, eventually pumping out 220hp with the help of triple, twin-choke Webber carbs. From high power figures to the advantage of disc brakes at all four corners, the C-Type was a force to be reckoned with, not to mention, it was responsible for setting the record of a Le Mans race won at an average speed of more than 100mph… 105.85mph to be exact. Jag’s success continued with the E-Type placing in five of the top six spots in the 1957 Le Mans, as well. In most recent history, the last significant “W” for Jaguar was in 1988 with the XJR-9LM, so there’s definitely some ground to make up, for all the lost time. So, if you didn’t know before, now you do; Jaguar is no stranger to championship success.
The new RSR XKR GT2 will be running against heroes like the Corvette ZR1, Aston Martin Vantage, Porsche 911 RSR and Ferrari’s F430. RSR has spent the last two years developing and engineering the XKR to be a top dog in the ALMS while still representing Jaguar’s tradition of excellence in motorsports. The heart of this beast will be a fully built AJ-133 naturally aspirated 5-liter V8, meant to provide brutal performance and reliability to withstand a straight 24 grueling hours at full tilt. The entire body is made of carbon fiber, surrounding a steel roll cage, atop the all aluminum frame.
Three of these bad boys will be available for customer purchase for the 2010 ALMS — keep an eye out, it should be an intense series.
Michael Schumacher is a racing god. So it’s not that strange that we witness him here passing by a kid wearing a Ferrari hat without a care in the world because you know what it’s Michael fucking Schumacher. Keep on truckin’ Schumi.
GM teamed up with NASA and worked side-by-side to create the Robonaut 2 (R2). There’s no real car inf0 here, but the fact that in these economic times, especially with their shaky financial situation, they’re making robots to go into space. Regardless, this is some pretty amazing stuff, not to mention, it looks completely badass. And we don’t care if you think the Halo-esque helmet is over the top — it works.
Supposedly, the benefitting connection between building human-like robots for space and building American cars, is that the technology GM develops with NASA, will help make the factory a safer and more efficient workplace.
Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ. What to think of this whole experience of turning a Porsche Boxster chassis into a Bugatti Veyron knockoff aka the Bucatti Varon…Watching the video almost made us throw up a little in our mouths and going to The Car Lounge post, makes us chuckle because we weren’t the only ones who couldn’t stand it.
You have to see this to believe it. You’ll probably get annoyed and throw your computer. We’re warning you now.
Note to guy in video: Get a narrator. You can send him money here.
Along with its ever growing power is the ever growing name of this fast Mustang. And for 2011, it gets a few exterior tweaks here and there. However, the most important change for the next Shelby is ridding themselves of the old iron block for a much lighter aluminum beast. The power remains, but now there’s less weight to push and toss around. Does that mean better performance numbers? Hopefully, but we know that we sure are into this whole new “less weight” movement.
There’s something just… dare we say, perfect, about the BMW 2002 Ti. It’s just an example of how things were done back then, and how they were done right. Some metal, simple design, 2 doors and a drivetrain — it’s the bare minimum, yet, it’s all you need.
You’ll catch one 2002 that stands out from the rest: a 2002 Touring. We’ve never seen it before, but thanks to the Bulgogi Brothers for bringing it to our attention.
The was a whole lot of hoopla going on in Valencia this month—not only was our EIC driving a high-end British four door there, there were also the very first Formula 1 tests of 2010 being held. And behind that media frenzy, there was a no-less brutal engine wail of the hyper-exclusive Ferrari 599XX—which anyone on staff would do terrible, terrible things to drive. Amongst the privileged Ferrari test drivers was Felipe Massa, driving the car as if it were an everyday commuter. Then again, jumping out of the F10 will make anything seem docile. Either way, it garnered a thumbs up from the spring-to-the-face recovered Massa, who’s undoubtedly happy to be behind the wheel of anything.
The changes are extremely visual made by Italian firm Dallara, making the concept look like a Matchbox car or a Caparo T1, with the biggest changes being aft of the driver. The rear wheels become slightly hidden to reduce the risk of exposed wheels touching; producing some violence.
According to the new rules, the cars will become lighter, more efficient with less drag and more downforce. Basically, less horsepower and greater fuel efficiency.
What do you think of the new designs: Radical, ridiculous or just plain awesome?
There’s probably nothing cooler than the classic liveries that were used on the Macca F1s in the 90s, which is why John Sibal has an eye for the coolest shit on new cars. In his latest iterations, he dons the MP4-12C in some classic liveries made by his talented digital hand. Check ‘em all out and then wander over to his blog for more digital deviance.
There are few things more fun than a beater. Sure, it’s awesome doing long, lurid v8 induced drifts in expensive machinery–but there’s something to be said about being able to crash into a tree and not think twice about it. Or perhaps seeing how far a car really can be launched into the air.
That being said, two California entrepreneurs formed the website “Cars for a Grand”, distilling for sale classifieds to all the cars that are $1000 or less. So, for the price of a new turbo, you could have a ‘97 Camaro. Or a ‘91 525i. Get a few more friends in on it, and you have an impromptu demolition derby. 0-60 Beater Grand Prix, anyone?
