1983 Porsche 911 Sc on 2040-cars

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New details mooted about Porsche's '988' Ferrari rival

We could be on the verge of a big expansion at everyone's favorite rear-engined German sports car manufacturer. Porsche is allegedly preparing a four-car assault that will be led by a proper challenger to the Ferrari 458 Italia (sorry 911).
Code-named "988," the new model will reportedly feature a mid-engined layout and, get this: a flat-8. Autocar, which has the story, expects that engine to displace about 4.0 liters, while the car itself will draw styling inspiration from the 918 Spyder. 600 ponies and over 400 super-accessible pound-feet of torque should be on tap with the new mill.
Joining the 988's supposed eight-cylinder is a new family of four- and six-cylinder boxer engines that Autocar claims will have a focus on power density and fuel economy. These new mills will be available in naturally aspirated, turbocharged and hybrid forms.

Porsche reveals new 911 Turbo Cabriolets, starting from $160,700*

Porsche has come a long way from the days when its entire model line revolved essentially around the 911, but its prototypical rear-engined sports car is still what it's known for best, and still keeps the German automaker pretty busy. With a seemingly endless array of variations on the theme, the 911s just keep on coming until a new generation arrives and then it starts all over again. And what we have here is the new king of the hill (for now, anyway).
Set to debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show a little less than two months from now are the new Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolets. And no, that's not a typo: that's cabriolets, plural, because what you're looking at are two new models. First up is the 911 Turbo Cabriolet, whose 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six develops 520 horsepower, driving the droptop to 60 miles per hour in 3.3 seconds. That's Porsche's claim, and we have a feeling it's a bit conservative. But if that's still not enough, the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet adds an extra 40 hp for a total of 560 to drop the benchmark acceleration run down to 3.1 seconds.
That makes the new topless Turbos 30 horses stronger and 0.2 seconds quicker than the respective models they replace, but the weight penalty involved with replacing a fixed roof with a folding one (and the necessary structural reinforcement) does make the new 911 Turbo Cabs a smidgen more lethargic than their contemporary coupe counterparts, which run the gauntlet in 3.2 and 2.9 seconds in standard Turbo and upgraded Turbo S specs, respectively. They only lose a single tick on the top speed, though, which clocks in at a follicle-tickling 195 mph in either spec. Otherwise the specifications are as identical as you might expect.

Muffler Man gets racing suit to mark progress on Porsche Experience Center

In a dramatic change of careers, a fiberglass Muffler Man statue on the side of a busy Los Angeles freeway, formerly known as "Golf Guy," traded in his clubs for a Porsche driver's suit a couple days ago. It's no coincidence, as he's standing on land that the German automaker bought from the Dominguez Hills Golf Course a couple years ago to build its west coast Porsche Experience Center - which will be complete with a test track, restoration and maintenance facilities, a cafe and restaurant, a home for Porsche Motorsports North America and more, when it's finished in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The Porsche Muffler Man will serve as the gatekeeper to the 53-acre center and overlook the test track on the side of the 405 freeway. We can't think of a better job for a fiberglass giant that used to watch golf all day than to watch Porsche road cars and racecars getting wrung out on a test track in the middle of LA. Since Muffler Men are quite adaptable, we're sure this one will fit into his new role in no time - just as easily as he can double as Paul Bunyan.
Check out the press release below for more information on the Muffler Man and the experience center, which could be the ultimate adult playground when it's finished.