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Porsche names new motorsport chief

Though it may have expanded into crossovers and sedans, Porsche is still a company with racing at its heart. You might even argue that Cayenne and Panamera sales only serve to fund the company's motorsports activities. Competition-spec 911 coupes still make up a large portion of the grid in any GT racing series, and those activities are presided over by the Porsche GT division (separate from its LMP1 program), which has just announced a changing of the guard.
Porsche's GT unit - which is responsible both for racing models like the 911 RSR and road-going models like the 911 GT3 - has until now been steered by Hartmut Kristen (pictured above, left) in his capacity as Vice President of Motorsport at Porsche AG. During his ten-year tenure, Kristen gave birth to the RS Spyder that competed in the American Le Mans Series and the pioneering 911 GT3 R Hybrid. He also fostered what Porsche characterizes as "arguably the most comprehensive youth development program in motor racing" and saw the marque return to Le Mans last year with a dominant 1-2 class victory.
Kristen, now 59 years old, is leaving the German automaker, but will remain an advisor to the company's R&D department. Taking over as VP of Motorsport will be Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, who has until now been head of the 918 Spyder project (a responsibility he will continue). Walliser (pictured above, right) was previously Porsche's general manager for motorsport strategies and will now be responsible for Porsche's GT projects on and off the track, while Fritz Enzinger continues at the helm of the LMP1 program in pursuit of better results next year than the 919 Hybrid achieved at Le Mans last month.

Porsche 911 Cabriolet refresh may hide new engine

If we learned nothing else from our recent frolic through Porsche's secret museum, it's that the automaker goes to incredible lengths to disguise future products during initial testing. Just as a number of cars in that Stuttgart bunker hid the true identity of developmental mules (like the Audi-V8-powered 911), such could very well be the case with these spy shots showing what, on the surface, appears to be simply a facelifted 991 911 Cabriolet.
Similar to what we saw last month on a 911 coupe, this Cabriolet has obvious styling modifications made to the front and rear fascias suggesting that the 911's still-fresh appearance is already set to get a few tweaks. The big news here is at the rear of the car. The additional vents on the lower edge of the fascia and the mocked-up vent above the engine leads our spy photographer to believe that a new engine could be tucked under the body work - likely a smaller-displacement, turbocharged flat-six focusing more on improving fuel efficiency and reducing exhaust emissions rather than performance.
We last heard rumblings of such a detuned 911 back in August, but could this be our first look at said new model? Have a look for yourself, and let us know what you think - either about this mule specifically or the idea of a "green" 911, in Comments below.

Watch this Koenigsegg CCX hit 211 mph on a runway, outpacing McLaren's P1

Vmax200 in in England organizes events where those who care to show up with a supercar can run them down the two-mile runway at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground. Evo attended the latest event, bringing an impressively green Lamborghini Aventador to test its girth and gaping vents against other precious metals like the McLaren P1 and F1, Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and Enzo, a Porsche Carrera GT and enough 911 Turbos to start a dealership. Speaking of those Porsches, nine of the top ten slots in the top speed competition are claimed by modified 911 Turbos.
A monochrome Swede ruled them all, though, a black-and-white Koenigsegg CCX setting fire to the speed trap run after run, hitting 211 miles per hour at its quickest. It was followed by, surprise, a 911 GT2 modified by 9E that did 210 mph. You can watch the EVO video below, GT Spirit has a bigger breakdown of the day, and we've included another vid showing the tandem launch of the CCX and McLaren F1.