August 29th, 2010 at 07:15am
Under Coupe+ Menufacturer+ Porsche+ Styles
Feast your eyes on Porsche’s fiendish self-embrace, a devilish pat on its own back. That’s right, the GT2 RS’s primary reason for being is for the heroic German automaker to reassert itself atop the N?rburgring lap-time pack. And, at 7 minutes 18 seconds—a whopping 14 seconds quicker than the ’08–’09 GT2—it leaves the Corvette ZR1, the Nissan GT-R, the Ferrari 458, the Dodge Viper ACR, and pretty much every other production car in the dust. If you’re still questioning the $167,200 premium over a base 911’s price, also note that the GT2 RS is the first Porsche to one-up the Ring time of another P car, the exotic ?Carrera GT.
Although the RS suffix (for rennsport, German for “racing sport”) is usually reserved for the street-legal homologation versions of racing models, Porsche defensibly decided that this latest GT2 is hard-core enough to deserve the prestigious label anyway. After all, it’s the most powerful Porsche street car ever and the ultimate, 500-unit send-off for the current 997-generation 911, about a quarter of which will be headed to the United States.
Naturally, horsepower is a component. Dating back to the GT1 Le Mans racer of the late ’90s, the GT2 RS’s twin-turbo, 3.6-liter flat-six was originally a motorsports design and, with constant updating, has been the go-to powerplant for Turbo, GT3, and GT2 models over the past decade. Though it can never match the breathtaking 8400-rpm wail of the naturally aspirated GT3’s engine, this latest boosted variant continues to retain much of the edgy, raspy character that’s often lost in the turbocharging process. It’s a welcome sound overlaid by a 23.2-psi peak hurricane of boost, an increase of 2.9 psi. Along with a more effective intercooler, the GT2 RS achieves 620 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque without increasing the 3.6-liter displacement—that’s 90 horses more than the GT2, 120 over and above the current Turbo, 205 more than the 996 Turbo (’01–’05), and a pretty phenomenal 172 horses per liter. Still, the new car is slightly more efficient than the GT2 and is expected to continue to shirk gas-guzzler penance in the U.S.
But even more wowing is the meticulous—almost surgical—150-pound paring of mass throughout the car, adding up to a 3050-pound curb weight that undercuts everything from the 996 GT2 of a decade ago to the carbon-fiber-tubbed Carrera GT. And the GT2 starting point—which had ditched the back seat and featured carbon-ceramic brakes, a titanium exhaust, and various carbon-fiber bits—was already impressive.
Here’s a sampling of the reductions: a single-mass flywheel, 18 pounds (it also seriously hastens the engine’s off-idle response); a carbon-fiber hood (versus aluminum), 5.5 pounds; strategically replacing steel with aluminum for various suspension bits and using two-piece rear springs as well as front springs with fewer coils, 10 pounds; single-lug wheels, 6.6 pounds; swapping the steel hubs of the brake rotors for aluminum, 11 pounds; optional carbon-fiber front fenders (formerly steel), 11 pounds; optional lithium-ion battery, 22 pounds. Porsche even eliminated nine pounds from the carpeting. Working in the opposite direction, U.S.-bound cars have airbag-equipped seats that are 11 pounds heavier (apiece) and rear glass instead of plexiglass, which adds back 8.8 pounds.
The six-speed manual carries over as the lone transmission, with high-effort though extremely positive and precise shifting action intact. Porsche’s dual-clutch PDK doesn’t bolt up to this engine; plus, it would unacceptably undo half of the weight savings.
Front grip is increased by half-inch-wider 19-inch wheels with 10-millimeter-broader (245/35) Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires. The rears remain 325/30-19s, but the compound has been reworked to match the newfound front bite. A fixed rear spoiler with a 0.4-inch taller lip and extended front air dam help increase downforce by 60 percent. Long a Porsche hallmark is excellent steering, as well as the concerto of mechanical interconnectedness that makes the GT2 a delight to drive. The brake feel is second to none, and the electronically controlled dampers (PASM) take the edge off the firm ride. We found the grip to go away in a predictable fashion, even in the wet—beware of the absurd quantities of power oversteer available, though—but we’ll reserve judgment on the car’s balance until we can explore the GT2 RS’s mountainous limits on drier and more open roads than during our brief drive in Germany.
“It’s not about top speed,” insists project manager Andreas Preuninger, although the GT2 RS will do a gearing-limited 206 mph, 192 of ?which it deploys during what must be a wonderfully terrifying max-attack Ring lap. Acceleration to 60 mph is also secondary—Porsche would rather quote the claimed 4.1-second improvement from 0 to 300 km/h (186 mph) instead—but should improve by a couple of tenths, to the mid-threes, and continues to be aided by a launch-control system.
And all it took was a little N?rburgring competition, which doesn’t appear to be letting up. How much more can Porsche possibly extract from its rear-engine stalwart?
From : http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q3/2011_porsche_911_gt2_rs-first_drive_review
By admin
June 9th, 2010 at 07:45pm
Under Coupe+ Menufacturer+ Porsche+ Styles
When the Porsche 911 Turbo was introduced in Europe 35 years ago, the company thought the market for the car would be satiated after 500 units were sold. Now, after selling 80,000 examples spanning six generations of Turbos, Porsche is making yet another round of improvements, halfway through the life of the current 997 model.
Powered Up
As always with 911 Turbos, the engine is the star of the car and gets the lion’s share of the upgrades for this revised model. For the first time since the advent of the water-cooled models, this 2010 Turbo uses the same construction as that of the standard 911 engines, which were themselves updated last year.
This means that rather than using cylinder blocks separate from the crankcase halves, the Turbo
now uses an integrated casting on each side, reducing the parts count and cutting weight. The elaborate dry-sump-lubrication system, with its external tank, has also been changed to the standard 911 design with an integrated oil reservoir at the bottom of the engine, although separated from the crankcase. However, in the Turbo’s case, six—rather than four—oil-scavenge pumps are used to return oil to this reservoir because the two turbochargers each require a dedicated oil return.
Rather than the Nikasil hard-surface coating used on the cylinder walls of previous Turbos, this one relies on the hard surface produced by etching the Alusil block casting. Although Porsche engineers cringe when we say it, this is the metallurgy that debuted on the Chevrolet Vega about 40 years ago and has since been perfected on many German engines. The new turbo engine goes up in displacement from 3600cc to 3800cc due to increases in the bore and stroke dimensions, which are identical to those of the current Carrera S engine and fractionally less oversquare than the dimensions in the 3797cc 911 GT3 engine.
The new engine gets direct fuel injection, as did the Carrera and Carrera S powerplants last year. This is particularly beneficial to a turbocharged engine, as the cooling effect of the fuel vaporizing in the combustion chamber allows an increased compression ratio—which has risen from 9.0:1 to 9.8:1. Slightly larger intake valves help with filling the cylinders, as does an intake manifold adapted from the GT2, which employs expansion chambers in the intake runners to further cool the incoming charge. Slightly larger compressor wheels for the variable geometry turbochargers, more-efficient intercoolers, and refined exhaust system improve airflow through the engine.
As a result, the 2010 engine is about 22 pounds lighter than the previous one—quite an achievement since the direct fuel injection system adds about 18 pounds due to heavier components mandated by its much higher operating pressure. Peak horsepower has increased from 480 to 500; torque is up from 457 lb-ft to 479 lb-ft, despite a drop in maximum boost pressure from 14.5 psi to 11.6 psi. And with the optional Sport Chrono Package Turbo, an overboost function raises peak torque to 516 lb-ft for up to 10 seconds. EPA fuel-economy figures are unavailable, but Porsche claims the engine changes have reduced fuel consumption on the European tests by 10 percent.
That’s with the standard six-speed manual gearbox. However, the new model gets a beefed-up version of Porsche’s seven-speed PDK twin-clutch automated manual as an option. This transmission is much like the one introduced last year on the regular 911, except that it gets larger-diameter clutch plates as well as an extra pair in each pack to cope with the Turbo engine’s greater torque. It has taller ratios in third through sixth gears to better match the elevated output. With this transmission, Porsche says European fuel-economy figures have improved by 16 percent compared with those of the five-speed Tiptronic transmission that will no longer be offered. Finally, in response to complaints about the somewhat cumbersome steering-wheel-mounted shift buttons introduced with the PDK transmission on the Carrera models, Porsche is offering an optional PDK sport steering wheel with large separate shift paddles that are fixed to the steering-wheel hub. The right paddle upshifts the gearbox, and the left one handles downshifts.
Improved Grunt Management
To make the most of the increased power, this latest 911 Turbo gets a thoroughly revised suspension along with a new feature to enhance handling and address some of the dynamic issues that had elicited complaints on the previous car—from Car and Driver, among others. The software that controls the BorgWarner-sourced all-wheel-drive system and determines the amount of torque sent to the front wheels has been revised and now feeds power to the front more gradually than before. Put simply, the system allows more tire slip in the rear before it sends torque forward, slowing the transition from oversteer to understeer.
The overall suspension calibration has been revised, with stiffer front anti-roll bars, a softer rear bar, variable-rate rear springs that are now stiffer, and a revised calibration of the adjustable shock absorbers controlled by the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system. Basically, these changes have reduced rear suspension movement during hard driving, with the goal of improving handling stability at the limit without compromising ride quality.
A new feature is an optional program called Porsche Torque Vectoring. Priced at $1320, PTV uses the PASM’s ability to apply the brakes individually to help the Turbo turn into corners. Based on steering angle, vehicle speed, throttle position, and yaw rate, PTV gently applies the brake on the inside rear wheel to minimize understeer while entering corners. The system starts to phase out above 75 mph and is completely inactive by 100 mph.
The Changes Add Up
All these features are, of course, hidden beneath the skin of the Turbo, which is largely unchanged from the previous version’s. The front running lamps and the taillights now use LED illumination, the headlights can swivel to track the car’s path on a winding road, the design of the mirrors has been revised, and the tailpipes are much larger than before.
These differences are subtle, but when behind the wheel, the dynamic changes are not. The new engine, with its higher compression ratio and reduced boost pressure, produces a more even and linear flow of power than ever before. Other than a few subtle airflow whooshing sounds, the engine feels almost like a big naturally aspirated unit. Thrust is immediate and effortless and more than sufficient for any road condition.
The PDK gearbox ($4550) seems to have achieved a new threshold of refinement, shifting almost as smoothly as a conventional torque-converter automatic and responding instantly to manual downshifts and upshifts. The new steering wheel ($490), with its large conventional paddles, is the way to go, providing easy shifting and an appropriate three-spoke design.
Lighting the Fuse
With all the go-fast options selected—the PDK transmission, the Sport Chrono Package Turbo ($3470 with PDK), which includes the dynamic engine mounts and launch control—this new powertrain is claimed to get the Turbo to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. But judging by our history of beating previous Porsche performance claims, we expect the car to hit 60 in three seconds flat and cover the quarter-mile in the low-eleven-second range.
Although we had no opportunity to test the Turbo objectively, we did try the launch-control system. To engage it, first press the “Sport Plus” button in the center console, which turns on a “Sport Plus” light in the left spoke of the PDK sport steering wheel. Then depress the brake pedal with your left foot and floor the throttle with your right, activating the “Launch Control” lamp in the right spoke. When the brakes are released, the system provides the ideal amount of clutch slip to make the best use of the prodigious four-wheeled traction. The car blasts off with sufficient acceleration to induce mild vertigo. It is impressive!
We had only the briefest opportunity to drive the new Turbo on a racetrack, but the car displayed enormous grip and nice control at the limit. However, with no opportunity to learn the course sufficiently, final judgments will have to wait for a future track day.
An Everyday Rocket
On the road, however, the Turbo is an absolute delight. Steering feel, as on all 911s, is excellent, with perfect weighting and great precision. The Turbo’s ride is supple on European roads, although we will have to see how smooth and quiet the ride is on the much more pock-marked and noise-inducing concrete interstates of America’s Midwest. Overall engine noise is reasonably subdued at cruise and stirring at high revs, which now extend all the way to 7000 rpm—up from 6750. Our only small complaint was a pronounced booming sound that developed when we applied medium throttle to the engine while cruising at about 85 mph. It sounded almost like the classic four-cylinder boom of yesteryear and seems out of place in this car.
The 2010 911 Turbo hits U.S. showrooms in January, with a base price of $133,595 for the coupe and 11 grand more for the cabriolet, or about $4000 more than the previous models. As usual, however, it’s easy to option these Porsches to substantially higher price levels. Even so, the 911 Turbo delivers performance that competes with cars costing substantially more while providing everyday usability that most exotics simply can’t match. As far as mid-cycle upgrades go, this one is mechanically substantial and well worth consideration by Turbo fans.
From : http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q4/2010_porsche_911_turbo_-first_drive_review
By admin
May 16th, 2010 at 04:52pm
Under Menufacturer+ Porsche+ Sedan+ Styles
With Porsche’s new four door Panamera, the German sports car maker is trying to appeal, at least in part, to your sensible side. It’s inherent practicality, with four doors, four seats and a hatchback style trunk with a reasonable amount of cargo room, making the Panamera much easier to convince yourself into over one of Porsche’s many two-seater sports cars.
FAST FACTS
1. With a twin-turbo 4.8-liter direct-injection V8 engine, AWD and a 7-speed PDK gearbox, the Panamera Turbo can hit 60 mph in just 4.0 seconds.
2. A Sports Chrono package drops that time to 3.8 seconds – just 0.3 seconds off that of a 911 Turbo.
3. The Panamera Turbo is priced from $132,600 ($155,000 CAD).
4. Porsche also sells the Panamera S and all-wheel drive 4S models with 400-hp V8 engines, while an entry-level V6 option is expected.
While Porsches have always been about what you want, the Panamera adds a bit more of what you need.
And then they went and built the Turbo model.
A V8 ENGINE, TWIN TURBOS AND 500 HORSEPOWER
Having just completed out test already impressively powerful 400 horsepower Panamera S, we just had to grab a Turbo model for a short stint.
With the same 4.8-liter V8 motor mounted up front and two turbochargers, this model makes an exotic 500-hp … and feels even faster. There are few cars on the planet that really push you back into the seat. We’re not talking about a slight tap or a nudge, we’re talking about a burly lumberjack putting his two hands on your shoulders and making sure you leave an indent in that pricey leather coated sport seat.
There’s more than enough power across the rpm range and it really doesn’t take long before full torque is available. Unlike a lot of turbocharged cars that need a good bit of time (and rpm) to spool up, the Panamera Turbo has access to a 516 ft-lbs of the good stuff at just 2250 rpm. That engine speed seems to be just perfect. Any lower and the power would almost be too smooth. This way, when you accelerate, you feel the power come on, and then at 2250 rpm it really comes on. It’s a good thing there’s Porsches fabulous AWD system, or you’d be left with aluminum wheels sparking on the asphalt after turning your tires into a smoky cloud.
Keep on the power as the gears fly by and you’ll soon be wondering if the afterburners ever peter out. The Turbo model is rated at an incredibly quick 4.0 seconds to 60 mph. Opt for the Sorts Chrono package with quicker shifts and that time is reduced to just 3.8-seconds.
Helping in the acceleration department is a lightning quick dual-clutch gearbox, which Porsche refers to as PDK. With a fully automatic setting, as well as a manual mode, you can choose to let the car do all the work or finger the steering wheel buttons yourself.
The technology behind this gearbox is incredible, with this new dual-clutch setup the latest and greatest – so much so that even Ferrari has opted to use a similar setup on its new road cars in favor of what, up until now, was the best paddle shifter system on the market.
It’s also the only available gearbox as Porsche has decided (for practical business reasons) that it’s just not worth the expense of bringing over the manual transmission model from Europe for the four people who would buy one.
ACCELERATES SO FAST YOUR ADRENALINE WILL HAVE TO CATCH UP
Things get scary fast in a hurry and it’s not until you run out of room, or realize just how much you’ve exceeded the posted speed limit, that you lift off the throttle and grab hard on the brakes. Only then do you realize you haven’t taken a breath and in the calmness of this moment you feel your adrenaline start to catch up. And that primal feeling urges you to do it all gain.
Like I said, this car isn’t about what you need, as much as Porsche would like you to believe it is. Absolutely no one needs this much thrust. This is a want car, and after just one drive you’re going to want it.
And yet, there is so much that makes the Panamera practical, but you’d never guess it from the driver’s seat. If you could pilot this car on a racetrack with blinders on, it would take a seasoned racer to know there were two extra doors out back.
Porsche attributes this to the fact that the Panamera is a purpose built car, designed exactly for this application. Cars like the BMW M5 or Mercedes E63 are built as standard luxury cars first, and then transformed into high-powered machines afterward.
ACTUAL SPACE FOR PASSENGERS AND USABLE CARGO ROOM
As for those practicality aspects, the Panamera has ample seating for four and even boasts cargo room of 15.2 cubic feet (432 liters). That space can be expanded to 44.1 cubic feet (1,250 liters) with the rear seatbacks folded flat.
It’s important to note that while there are four doors, there are also just four seats – not five. The rear area is almost identical to the front, with two well-bolstered, yet comfortable, sports seats divided by a rather wide tunnel, which runs the length of the cabin, straight from the dash back.
Rear room is spacious thanks to seats that actually recline. In fact, there’s enough room for a 6”-plus passenger to sit behind a driver of the same size.
LUXURIOUS AND SPORTY DRIVER-ORIENTED INTERIOR
Up front it’s a driver’s paradise – mostly. Rather than a complex iDrive-style system that requires you to drill down through menus for even just the simplest command, Porsche has opted for individual buttons – lots of them. Somehow, however, the designers managed to not make the dash and center console look crowded.
About the only thing we don’t like about the driving experience are the shift buttons on the steering wheel. After a while we managed figure out a comfortable way of using them, with fingers on the back for up shifting and the base of the thumb on the front of the wheel for down shifting.
After a while it wasn’t all that bad, but we’ll still be thankful when Porsche does introduce more conventional paddle shifters – which they have already debuted on the 2010 911 Turbo.
Had we only driven this particular model we might not have a very glowing review of the car’s interior design, especially with the blue (yes, blue) leather interior (not shown here…thankfully). The Panamera S model we drove just before gave a much better idea of what the Porsche designers are capable of. So depending on exactly how an owner equips his or her model, it will depend, but there are certainly the right options to make a first rate luxury interior.
On item we just have to point out (as we did in the Panamera S review) is the additional navigation screen that sits inside the traditional five-gauge cluster on the dash. While slightly more basic and limited than the large LCD screen in the center stack, its location means the driver doesn’t have to look far from the road when in need of a little route guidance.
STILL NOT THE PRETTIEST OF CARS
From the outside, the Panamera is less impressive, although it’s starting to grow on us. We’d rate our current feelings on the car’s design as having improved from disgust to indifference. Possibly a bigger issue is that, like all Porsches, its hard to tell one model apart from the rest. From the front and at a distance it could be confused with any vehicle in the Porsche lineup. More importantly, however, from up close, it’s hard to see where it differs from the less powerful and significantly less expensive Panamera S model; or worse, from the upcoming V6 versions.
At least the larger 19-inch wheels help to spice it up a little and the lower profile tires help to diminish some of the car’s overall rotundness.
THE VERDICT
Would we recommend that you buy a Panamera Turbo? Absolutely not! No, instead we’d be reasonable and recommend the S or 4S model. The Turbo is just downright excessive.
It’s even priced well beyond the standard models and at $132,600 ($155,000 CAD) it’s roughly $40,000 more than the other two.
But as we keep saying, this isn’t about needing, it’s about wanting. And if you want a Turbo, it doesn’t matter what we say because no silly little 400hp V8 will suffice.
Besides, when you consider the car’s price relative to the rest of the Porsche range, it’s amazing that, for almost the identical cost of a 911 Turbo, you can get all the functionality and livability of the Panamera and (if you opt for the Sports Chrono package) only sacrifice three tenths of a second to 60 mph.
By admin
