The First Porsche 911 Cabriolet can now be yours!

        

                Over the 53 years that Porsche has been producing the 911, there have been many special edition 911 models. But there is one that is more important than the rest, while technically a Porsche 901, in 1964, Porsche produced a Cabriolet prototype convertible 18 years before the first production 911 Cabriolet.                             

                There were 13 pre-production Porsche 901 Cabriolets that were produced in 1964, and there are only two remaining. And the very first of those produced, is now up for auction. This classic Porsche Cabriolet will roll across the auction block at RM Sotheby’s in Paris on February 8^th, 2017. The auction house estimates that the Porsche will bring in between $900,000 and $1,060,000. And giving the way that other Porsche’s have been selling at auction, this could be a very conservative estimate.

                The chassis which is numbered #13360, is believed to be the second oldest 901/911, and was used for the template for Porsche’s 911 Targa that debuted in 1967. When Porsche first produced this Cabriolet prototype they planned on putting it into production as it did with the 356, but following the tightening of U.S. safety legislation, they decided to go with the Targa and its iconic aluminum roll hoop. In 1982, Porsche pulled the trigger on what they started nearly 20 years prior, the 911 Cabriolet.

                The pictures from the auction listing, the 901 Cabriolet is in great shape with some minor wear and tear on the interior. This particular 901 is stunning with its red finish, Fuchs alloy wheels, a wooden steering wheel and houndstooth fabric seats. And being that it’s from 1964, it is equipped with a 2.0 liter flat-six producing around 130 horsepower.

                So if you are a Porsche collector and what this car, make your way to Paris in February and break out the checkbook! 

Porsche – Selling New for Used

Following Volkswagen’s 2015 Dieselgate scandal, Audi and Porsche were both effected also. Porsche had 10,000 Diesel Cayennes that were customer owned with an additional 1,100-1,500 still on dealership lots. Now that there has been a settlement, Porsche has decided what they are going to do with the 1,500 Cayennes sitting on the lots.

Porsche still plans to sell those Cayennes sitting on those dealership lots – at a discounted rate. Porsche will be selling the diesel Cayenne, with a 3.0 liter TDi V6 motor, as a used vehicle after  they have figured out how they are going to fix the emissions problem. Volkswagen reached an agreement with US regulators on how to handle the fix in order to make it emissions compliant, but the details are still being ironed out in the courts. Once the fix is approved, Porsche plans on making the necessary adjustments to all the diesel models both in customer possession and dealer inventory.

This is where the customers win. You get a brand new Porsche Cayenne with very low miles and has great gas mileage, getting 29 mpg on the highway. The Cayenne is priced currently in the ballpark of $62,000, but the settlement discount should severely lower that price. At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer said this on the issue.

“Then they’re going to be sold as used cars... They will be low-mileage, very attractive used cars, based on the age of the car. There’s always a market for any car. You just have to get the price right.”

As of now, there is no word on how the supposed fix will impact the performance of the diesel models, but a discounted Cayenne TDI is good news for Porsche fan. Until then check out our current inventory of Porsches and contact us now to test drive your new Porsche.

  

Jay Leno and the Classic Porsche

 

Jay Leno has always been known for his comedy and being the long time host of The Tonight Show, but Leno has always been a huge car guy. Since 2015, Leno has had a show on CNBC called Jay Leno’s Garage. On his show, Jay shows off a variety of amazing cars, but one was more historically significant than the rest. Recently, there was a very special car on the show, the first Porsche racecar, a 1951 Porsche 356 SL Gmund Coupe. 

                This ’51 Porsche 356 SL, made its debut at La Mans and ended up winning the 1100-cc class in its first year.  The car is owned by a man in California and was restored by Rob Emory of Emory Motorsports. The story goes, after the race, Porsche got rid of the car, and the Porsche was then picked up by famed automobile importer Max Hoffman and brought the car state side. The car was bought and sold multiple times, once having the top chopped and the wheel skirts removed to save weight.

To restore the Porsche, Emory started by taking 3D scans of other 356 SLs to make sure they got the top shaped properly and they machined new screws to match originals for mounting the wheel skirting back on. This 356 SLs is accurate down to a hose being stuffed behind a fog light to make sure it was aimed properly in the right direction. This is one of the few times on Jay Leno’s Garage that Jay is not behind the wheel of the car, as this is such a valuable car both monetary and historically.

 Jay Leno’s Garage airs Wednesday at 10pm on CNBC. You can check out our new inventory or contact us today for a test drive. 

Check out the episode here.

 

Porsche is Going Back to it's Roots.

Porsche recently introduced two new 718 models, the Boxster and the Cayman. But these aren’t your normal Porsches, these new models have something missing for the previous incarnations, they have two less cylinders under the hood. Porsche is going back to its roots and giving these models a flat-4 engine.

In 1948 when Ferdinand Porsche created the two-seater roadster the No. 1 Type 356, he fitted it with a flat-4. The engine was mounted in Type 356’s aluminum body and produced just 40 horsepower from its 1.1 liter engine. This was the basis for Porsche’s engine for years, until 20 years ago when they decided to launch a flat-6 into the Boxster, Cayman and the entire 911 line.

However, with tightening emissions, fuel economy, and displacement regulations, the market has forced automakers to change. Gone are the days of the gas guzzling 3.0 liter 6 cylinders with 2 superchargers, and taking their place are the slimmed down 2.0 liter flat-4 with a single supercharger.

“To bring a naturally aspirated flat-six engine to the performance levels of the turbocharged flat-fours would have meant having to increase the displacement significantly, which would have had a detrimental effect on the efficiency of the car.”

-Markus Baumann, Porsche’s Manager for Boxer Engine Development

The all-aluminum engine is offered in the new 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman models in two different displacements. Standard models are fitted with a 2.0-liter flat-4 that shares its 91-millimeter bore and 76.4-millimeter stroke with the 911′s 3.0-liter flat-six, while S models are fitted with a 2.5-liter flat-4 that has a slightly larger 102-millimeter bore.

Contact us to test drive your next new Porsche today and check out our inventory to see the 718 Porsche Boxster and Cayman.

Porsche’s Future is Electric!

The premium sports activity coupe market is a competitive one. With Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW all producing quality vehicles, Porsche decided to join the fight. The Cayenne is Porsche’s answer to the competitors’ options. And Porsche is taking it one step further, they’re going to make the Cayenne all electric.

Recently, Porsche greenlighted the Mission E, its first all-electric car, and now it appears that Porsche is looking to use the work they have done on the Mission E for other vehicles in the lineup, more specifically the SUV. The Mission E is being designed off of the Panamara body and interior while they are going with the popular Cayenne for the SUV. They are currently designing a coupe version of the SUV and why not make it electric.

The UK’s Car Magazine recently spotted and posted pictures of the SUV prototype on the testing track in Zuffenhausen, Germany. 

 

“We know that Porsche is considering a coupe-ified, lower crossover to match the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, BMW X6 and other slammed SUVs. But it’s also electric-powered, according to our sources. Which points to Porsche challenging the increasing number of crossover EVs being developed by the world’s premium car makers to remove the stigma from super-sizing your car.”

-Car Magazine

According to sources around the project, the Cayenne Electric SUV has not been approved for production and that they are still in the testing phase. But that is wont be long until Porsche makes an official announcement. Industry insiders are hoping that the SUV will be in full production by 2020.

 

Until then, Porsche still plans to provide you with its already amazing line of vehicles. Check out our inventory and contact us now to test drive your future Porsche now!

Porsche creating Jobs

Since 2010, Porsche has doubled its global workforce to over 26,000 employees to keep up with the growing demand. And now with Porsche starting to develop its first all-electric sports car to compete with Tesla, they plan on adding 1,400 more.

Porsche, a luxury division of Volkswagen AG, is also seeking about 900 positions will be created in production, 300 in development and 200 in administration for the project. They are also adding 300 information-technology specialists, 50 digital experts and more apprentices, part of an industry-wide hiring push as carmakers try to compete with the likes of Google and Apple Inc in connected-car technology.

The division has also been weighing a bid from Panasonic Corp to provide the long-range battery for the car, people familiar with the matter said in March. Final assembly of the battery systems will be done in-house at one of the new production facilities in Zuffenhausen and parts manufacturing for the new car will be flexible to offset swings in demand between electric vehicles and traditional combustion motors.

Porsche needs about 10,000 annual vehicle sales for a model to be profitable and as soon as 20,000 deliveries per year are reached, it starts to be fun in terms of returns reaped. When Porsche started the Cayenne and Panamera, they also signed off on the projects with estimated production volumes of 20,000 car annually. The Cayenne turned out to beat estimates significantly. Porsche’s best-selling model last year was the new Macan compact SUV, at 80,216 deliveries, followed by the Cayenne with 73,118 vehicles. Porsche sold 17,207 Panamera coupes in 2015 and is rolling out a revamped version this year.

Check out Porsches amazing vehicles here and contact us to take yours home today!