The Porsche Cayenne

The Porsche Cayenne is a mid-size luxury SUV produced by the German automaker Porsche since 2002, and North American sales began in 2003. It is the first V8 engined vehicle built by Porsche since 1995, when the Porsche 928 was discontinued. Sales of the Cayenne have been strong, with 100,000 sold as of June 2005, becoming Porsche's best-selling vehicle in North America. 40% of Cayenne sales are in North America. Sales slowed by 2006. The Cayenne was skipped for the 2007 model year, but has been redesigned for 2008. The 2008 model with feature a 4.8L V-8 engine with two turbochargers producing 500 hp and 516 lb./ft. of torque reaching an estimated top speed of 171 mph.


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Fifth Gear A-Team Van Vs VW Transporter Sportline

VW transporter vs BMW 740

Bigheads in a bmw 740

The Porsche Boxster, part 3

The second generation of the Boxster (internally known as the 987) made its debut at the 2004 Paris Motor Show alongside the new 911 (997). The car became available for model year 2005.

In appearance the car remains very similar to the previous generation. The most obvious styling change is to the headlights, which now have a profile similar to those of the Carrera GT, Porsche's mid-engined supercar. The intake vents on the sides of the Boxster are now larger, with more pronounced horizontal slats and are coloured metallic silver, irrespective of the paint colour on the rest of the car. The wheel arches have been enlarged to allow wheels up to 19 inches in diameter, a first for the Boxster series. The most significant updates from the 986 series are in the interior, with a more prominent circular theme evident in the instrument cluster and cooling vents. Porsche claims that the 987 Boxster shares only 20% of its components with its predecessor, despite their being almost identical from the outside. The base engine is a 2.7 L 176 kW (240 hp) flat-6, with the Boxster S getting a 3.2 L 206 kW (280 hp) engine. The Cayman series is derived from the 987.

For the 2007 model year the base Boxster received a revised engine featuring VarioCam Plus to provide a 5 hp boost (245 hp; the same as the Cayman). The Boxster S engine was upgraded from 3.2L to 3.4L, resulting in the production of 15 more hp (295 hp; the same as the Cayman S). These upgrades made the Boxster series and the Cayman series equivalent in terms of horsepower.


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The Porsche Boxster, part 2

The styling of the Boxster is owed to former "Style Porsche" department head Harm Lagaay. His Boxster design study and the production Boxster stimulated a commercial turnaround for Porsche after several difficult years of falling sales.

The first generation of the Boxster whose visual appearance was heavily inspired by the Porsche Spyder and Speedster as well as the Porsche 550 Spyder. The Boxster was released ahead of the release of its big brother, the 996 model 911. Through consultation with Toyota, Porsche greatly decreased the cost of manufacture, and introduced large scale sharing of components between its models. The 986 Boxster had the same bonnet (hood), front wings (fenders), and distinctive 'fried-egg' headlight units as the 996. Its original 2.5L M96 engine shared its architecture with the 3.4L M96 engine used in the original 996, and was the first application of a completely water-cooled engine in a series production, non-front-engined Porsche. The combination of the new Boxster / 911 styling and the reduced build costs through component sharing are widely believed to have saved Porsche from being acquired by another car company, although it is argued that the strong front-end resemblance between the 911 and the less expensive Boxster may have deterred potential buyers of the 996.

The M96 is used in all 986/987 Boxsters, and most of the 996/997 range (except the GT3/GT2 and Turbo, which are based on the GT1 racing engine). The M96 is a horizontally opposed ("flat") six-cylinder layout. This layout is one of only four common engine layouts that have a natural engine balance, the others being the straight six (as used in many of BMW's engines); the flat 12; and the V12. This gives the engine a characteristic smoothness throughout the rev range. The flat six is also an inherently low engine. Its placement immediately ahead of the rear axle offers the Boxster excellent balance, a low center of gravity, and renowned neutral handling characteristics. Early production M96 engines had a small but significant number of engine failures due to cracked cylinder liners, but since a minor redesign in 2000 these problems have been resolved.


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The Porsche Boxster

The Porsche Boxster is a mid-engined roadster built by Porsche. The Boxster is Porsche's first vehicle designed from the beginning as a roadster; all previous Porsche convertibles were based on hardtop coupes.

The first-generation Boxster (the 986) was introduced in late 1996 as a 1997 model; it was powered by a 2.5 litre flat six-cylinder engine. In 2000, the new Boxster S variant was introduced with a larger 3.2 litre motor, and the base model received a more powerful 2.7 litre engine. In 2003, styling and engine output was upgraded on both variants.

In 2005, further updates were substantial enough that Porsche internally identified the Boxster as a new 987 model. The 987s were more powerful than the 986s; engine output increased yet further in 2007, when both Boxster models received the motors from the corresponding Porsche Cayman variants.

Production of the 986 began at the former Porsche 928 facility in Stuttgart, Germany in 1996. Valmet also manufactures Boxsters under contract to Porsche at a facility in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The Boxster was Porsche's biggest volume seller from its introduction in model year 1997 until the company introduced the Cayenne utility vehicle in model year 2003.

The Boxster's name is a combination of the word "boxer", referring to the vehicle's horizontally-opposed or "boxer" engine, and the word "roadster", referring to the vehicle's convertible top.

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The Porsche 968, part 2

The 968's styling somewhat resembled the 928 although it looks considerably more like a blend of the Type 993 911, which did not appear until the end of the 968's production and a 944 S2. Like the 944, the 968 was sold as both a coupe and a convertible. Much of the 968's chassis was carried over from the 944S2, which in itself shared many components with the 944 Turbo (internally numbered 951). Borrowed components include the Brembo-sourced 4-piston brake calipers on all four wheels, aluminum semi-trailing arms and aluminum front A-arms, used in a Macpherson strut arrangement. The steel unibody structure was also very similar to the previous models. Porsche, however, maintained that "fully 80% of the car is new".

A street-legal race variant, dubbed Club Sport, appeared later on with a stripped-out interior including racing seats, revised suspension, and larger wheels and tyres, but was offered only in Europe. A UK-only version called 968 Sport, a Club Sport model with some comfort features added back in, was produced in 1994 and 1995. Porsche briefly produced a turbocharged version called Turbo S—15 were produced in total, and again the car was only sold in Europe. The 968 Turbo S was capable (in 1993) of 0–60 mph in 4.7 s and top speeds approaching 180 mph (290 km/h). A race variant called 968 Turbo RS was added as well; only 4 were produced.

There were approximately 2000 cabriolets and 2000 coupes imported to the United States between 1992 and 1995.

The 968 was Porsche's last new front-engined vehicle before the introduction of the Cayenne SUV in 2003. It was sold alongside the 928 GTS through 1995 when both models were dropped. As of 2006, Porsche has not yet built another front-engined sports car.

The Porsche 968 Cabriolet was featured in the 1994 film Beverly Hills Cop III starring Eddie Murphy. In the film Murphy "borrows" the car from an unsuspecting gentleman who assumed Murphy's character, Axel Foley, was a valet at the restaurant.

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The Porsche 968

The Porsche 968 was an automobile sold by Porsche AG of Germany from 1992 to 1995 and marketed as the replacement for the Porsche 944. When production ceased in the 1995 model year, it represented the end of a line started almost 20 years earlier with the introduction of the Porsche 924.

The 968 actually started development as a 944 "S3", set to replace the "S2" variant that Porsche had introduced in 1989. However, so many of the 944's components were modified or replaced entirely during development stages that Porsche chose to introduce the variant as a new model, hence the 968 nameplate. Production was moved from the VW-Audi plant in Neckarsulm (where the 924 and 944 had been manufactured under contract to Porsche), to Porsche's own factory in Zuffenhausen.

The new model was powered by an updated version of the 944's straight-4 engine, now displacing 3.0 L and producing 240 PS (236 hp/177 kW). Changes to the 968's power train also included the VarioCam variable valve timing system, newly-optimized induction and exhaust systems, a dual-mass flywheel, and updated engine management electronics. The 968's engine was the second-largest 4-cylinder ever offered in a production car, and the most powerful naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder engine ever sold in a production automobile up to that time. A new 6-speed manual transmission was offered, as well as a dual-mode Tiptronic automatic.

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The Porsche 959, part 6

There are many famous owners of the 959. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who owns an extensive Porsche collection, purchased one for $700,000. Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen each own 959s, and helped pass the "Show and Display" law in order for them to be driven on American roads.

The golfer Nick Faldo unintentionally had his 959 appear in tabloid front pages in late 1998, when spurned ex-girlfriend Brenna Cepelak trashed his 959 with his golf clubs causing a £10,000 repair bill. Other famous owners include athlete Daley Thompson and former Porsche factory driver Hans Joachim Stuck.

The 959 was used as the base for several Transformers characters, including Nightbeat, Skystalker, Hot Shot, and various GoBots/Spychangers.
The 959 appears in the following computer and video games:
Turbo Out Run (1989), as the opponent. The player races a Ferrari F40 against it.
Test Drive II: The Duel (1989), also as a competitor to a Ferrari F40.
Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed (2000), downloadable from the Electronic Arts website as a bonus car.
Automobili Lamborghini (1997), as an opponent car, though it could be unlocked by completing championships.
Shox (2002), as a Dakar Rally car.
Project Gotham Racing 2 (2004)
In Top Gear Rally(1997) for the N64, a Porsche 959 can be unlocked under the game-name of "Type PS".
In Rad Mobile (1991), the in-game car and the sit-down cabinet resembles a 959.
Forza Motorsport (2005)
Forza Motorsport 2 (2007)
Wisedog/Dobermaxx, also known as Polgas, the main character in the Filipino comic Pugad Baboy, owns a customized Porsche 959, which he calls the Thunderdog.

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The Porsche 959, part 5

By sabrebIade at 2007-08-09
The 959 was not street legal in the United States prior to 1999 when the "Show and Display" law was finally passed, although an unknown number were imported via the "grey market" during the late 1980s as show pieces. During the model's development, Porsche refused to provide the United States Department of Transportation with the four 959's they required for crash testing, and the car was never certified by the NHTSA for street use in the U.S. With the passage of "Show and Display" the crash test requirements were removed and importation of the 959 was allowed, assuming the car could meet with the local emissions standards that would have existed as of 1987. The 959 can be fitted with a catalytic converter and a rechipped computer which will allow it to meet those emissions requirements. However most owners refuse to modify their 959s, and the cars remain as collection pieces. While the initial selling price was $230,000, today one of these cars would be worth upwards of a million dollars. Most 959s are currently in the hands of collectors, but the ones that are available do occasionally come to market.

The lessons learned from the 959 in terms of engine management, aerodynamics, suspension tuning, and four wheel drive were what enabled the production life of the 911, once thought to be nearing obsolescence due to the extreme rearward placement of the engine, to be extended to the present day with no end in sight. In this way, the 959 project more than paid for itself many times over, and owners of new Porsche 911s can, to a large degree, benefit from the great strides forward made by this technological tour de force.

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The Porsche 959, part 4

The 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show was chosen for the unveiling of the Porsche Group B prototype. Even in the waning hours of October 9th, finishing touches were placed on the car to go on display the next morning. When the curtain was drawn the next morning, the Group B car became an instant celebrity. After the first two prototypes, the bodywork was modified to include air vents in the front and rear wheel housings, as well as intake holes behind the doors. The first prototype modified like this was code named "F3", and was destroyed in the first crash test.

The street version of the 959 debuted at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show as a 1986 model, but numerous issues delayed production by more than a year. The car was manufactured in two levels of trim, "Sport" and "Komfort", corresponding to the race version and the street version, respectively. First customer deliveries of the 959 street variant began in 1987, and the car debuted at a cost of $225,000 USD per unit, still less than half what it cost Porsche to build each one, production ended in 1990. In total, fewer than 300 cars were built and the total number (which hovers around 250) includes both 959 street variants and 961 race variants as well as at least 4 prototypes Porsche built during development. 226 of the cars built were street legal (in Europe) and were sold to consumers. At least one 959 and one 961 remain in the Porsche historic hall in Stuttgart, Germany.

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The Porsche 959, part 3

Porsche also developed the 959's aerodynamics which were designed to increase stability, as was the automatic ride height adjustment that became available on the street car (961 race cars had fixed suspensions).
Its "zero lift" dynamics were a big part of keeping it drivable.
The 959 also featured Porsche-Steuer Kupplung (PSK) which, at the time, was the most advanced all wheel drive system ever used in a production car. Capable of dynamically changing the torque distribution between the rear and front wheels in both normal conditions and slip conditions, the PSK system allowed the 959 to have the adaptability it needed both as a race car and as a "super" street car.
Under hard acceleration, PSK could send as much as 80% of available power to the rear wheels, helping make the most of the rear-traction bias that occurs during such instances.
It could also vary the power bias depending on road surface and grip changes, helping maintain sure footedness at all times.
The magnesium alloy wheels were unique, being hollow inside to form a sealed chamber contiguous with the tire and equipped with a built-in tire pressure monitoring system.

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The Porsche 959, part 2

Development of the 959 (originally called the Gruppe B) started in 1981, shortly after the then-new company Managing Director, Peter Schutz, took his office. Porsche's head engineer at the time, Helmut Bott, approached Schutz with some ideas about the 911, or more aptly, a new 911. Bott knew that the company needed a sports car that they could continue to rely on for years to come and that could be developed as time went on. Curious as to how much they could do with the rear engined 911, Bott convinced Schutz that development tests should take place, and even proposed researching a new all wheel drive system. Schutz agreed, and greenlit the project. Bott also knew through experience that a racing program usually helped to accelerate the development of new models. Seeing Group B rally racing as the perfect arena to test the new mule and its all wheel drive system, Bott again went to Schutz, and got the go ahead to develop a car, based on his development mule, for competition in Group B.

Porsche began with an engine they already had, and moved on with development from there. The powerplant, a twin turbocharged boxer six engine, with an air cooled block and water cooled heads displaced 2.85 total litres, about half a litre less than a contemporary 911 engine. The motor had originally been developed for the "Moby Dick" race car, then was redeveloped slightly for the short-lived Porsche Indy Car and several other projects before being "tweaked" a last time for use in the 961, the 959's racing counterpart. The water cooled cylinder heads combined with the air cooled block, 4 valve heads and sequential turbochargers allowed Porsche to extract 444 hp (331 kW) from the compact, efficient and rugged power unit. The use of sequential twin turbochargers rather than the more usual identical turbochargers for each of the two cylinder banks allowed for smooth seamless delivery of power across the engine RPM band, in contrast to the abrupt on-off power characteristic that distinguished Porsche's turbocharged engines of the period. It has been speculated the engine was capable of over 600 horsepower if fully tuned. The engine was used, virtually unchanged, in the 959 road car as well.

In an attempt to create a rugged, lightweight shell, Porsche adopted an aluminium and Aramid (Kevlar or Twaron) composite for body use along with a Nomex floor as opposed to the traditional steel that was normally used on their production cars. The vehicle's light weight (2917 pounds) gave astounding performance:

(mph)
0-60: 3.6 s.
0-100: 8.3 s.
0-125: 12.7 s.
0-140: 19.0 s.
0-1/4 mile: 11.8 s. @ 119 mph (standing)
Top Speed: 198+ mph

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The Porsche 959

The Porsche 959 is a supercar manufactured by Porsche AG from 1986 to 1989, first as a Group B rally car and later as a road going vehicle designed to satisfy FIA homologation regulations requiring that a minimum number of street legal units be built. It is widely regarded as Porsche's first true supercar.

During its production run, it was hailed as being the most technologically advanced road-going sports car ever built and the harbinger of the future of sports cars; it was the world's first high-performance vehicle to use an all-wheel-drive system, it provided the basis for Porsche's first all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 model and convinced Porsche executives of the system's viability so well that they chose to make all-wheel-drive standard on all versions of the 911 Turbo starting with the 993 variant. During its lifetime, the vehicle had only one other street legal peer with comparable performance, the Ferrari F40.

The 959's short production run — 268 road legal versions were built - and astonishing performance have always kept values high. In 2003, Canepa Design corporation, famed for their high-quality SUV conversions, began using new hardware and modification techniques to modify 959s, making them more powerful as well as bringing their emissions levels into acceptable standards so that they could become street legal under recent U.S. legislation, bolstering the vehicle's status as a collectible among American buyers who were wary of spending vast sums of money on a vehicle that previously they would not have been allowed to drive in the U.S.

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The Porsche 944

The Porsche 944 was a high performance sports car produced by German auto manufacturer Porsche. It was introduced in 1982 to replace the Porsche 924 as their entry level model, although the 924 continued until 1988 as an even lower-priced alternative. Production ended in 1991 when it was replaced by the Porsche 968. The 944 was a huge success for Porsche throughout the 1980s, and was available in several forms throughout its evolution: 944, 944S, 944 Turbo, 944S2, and the 944 Turbo S.

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The Porsche 928, part 5

Styling was the same from 1978 through 1979 and the body lacked both front and rear spoilers. From 1980 (1983 in North America) through 1986, front and rear spoilers were present on "S" models, rear spoilers were integrated into the hatch. From 1987 through 1995, the front spoiler is integrated into the nose and the rear spoiler became a separated wing rather than an integrated piece, and side skirts were added. The rear tail-light configuration was also different from previous versions. GTS model had wider rear fenders added to give more room for 9" wide wheels.

Another easily noticeable visual difference between versions is the style of the rims. Early 928s had 15" or 16" "phone dial"-style rims, while most 1980s 928s had 16" slotted "flat disc"s, CSs, SEs and 1989 GTs had 16" "Club Sport", later GTs had 16" "Design 90" style which were also option on same period S4s, the GTS used two variations of the 17" "CUP" rims.

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