#Porsche

Gearheads love to argue about stuff: Ford vs Chevy, Evo vs WRX, Senna vs Prost. There’s only one answer to that last one, by the way.

Inevitably, someone tells us we have an incredibly bad take on something, and we’re forced to defend our unpopular opinion. Click through and let us know yours in the comments. I’ll go first — and it involves the Porsche 911.

Jerry Seinfeld is suing the company that sold him an ultra-rare 1958 Porsche 356 A 1500 Carrera after an earlier suit brought its authenticity into question. The comedian sold the car in 2016 for $1.5 million via a Gooding & Company auction only to see the buyer, Fica Frio Limited, claim it was fake.

(Jerry, just remember — it’s not a lie if you believe it.)

Seinfeld is now seeking unspecified damages in a Manhattan federal court from European Collectibles of Costa Mesa, California. However, the suit’s primary mission isn’t about hunting for a payday — Seinfeld appears more interested in clearing his name and forcing the dealership into settling things with Fria Fico directly.

So, perhaps not cheapest for long. Tuesday, the German automaker announced its next-generation Macan crossover will divest itself of internal combustion for its next generation.

By adopting new architecture and dropping its gas powerplant, the Macan, refreshed for 2019 and currently starting at just a tick below $50k U.S., will become the company’s third electric vehicle. It’s unlikely the S and GTS variants will survive, but perhaps the Macan will retain TURBO badging of a non-turbo nature?

With the eighth-generation Porsche 911 having made its debut at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, we anticipated waiting months for the automaker to start rolling the high-horsepower variants. Up until now, we’ve seen the Carrara S, 4S, and their convertible counterparts. But we didn’t expect to see the 992 Turbo until the fall.

However, it appears that one Porsche enthusiast managed snag a candid photograph of the Turbo without the manufacturer’s knowledge, spreading the image all over the internet.

In addition to being one of America’s most-famous comedians, Jerry Seinfeld also happens to be a car snob of the highest order. His collection of vintage automobiles is so vast that he got the itch to sell a large portion a few years ago. As his fleet is already heavy with Porsches, his favorite brand, Seinfeld worked with Gooding & Company to get over a dozen under the gavel and make room for newcomers. Among these was an extremely rare 1958 Porsche 356 A 1500 GS/GT Carrera Speedster. It sold in 2016 and, yada yada yada, eventually resulted in a big lawsuit.

Estimated to move at over $2 million, the model went for $1.54 million to Fica Frio Ltd. with the suit surfacing just a few days ago. According to details outlined in the lawsuit, it was brought to the United Kingdom after being purchased. Then, in March of 2017, Fica Frio asked Lee Maxted-Page, the Managing Director of Maxted-Page Limited (which knows its Porsches), to evaluate and prep the vehicle for resale. However, the appraiser expressed concerns that the Porsche might not be authentic.

Well, “free” under certain circumstances. We’re referring to the cost of recharging Porsche’s upcoming electric super sedan, and we’re certainly not referring to the time it takes to reach triple-digit speeds.

As it prepares to launch a vehicle that truly deserves the overused title of “Tesla fighter,” Porsche has a perk it wants would-be owners to know about: industry-beating charging speed, at no cost to the operator.

Porsche’s new 718 Boxster and Cayman T are following a trail blazed by the 911 Carrera T by becoming the value option for enthusiasts. Equipped with the entry-level engine, T-trimmed models receive swathes of standard equipment that focus exclusively on expanding the “joy of dynamic driving.”

For the 718, that bundles the Sport Chrono Package, Porsche Active Suspension Management (lowing the car by almost an inch), torque vectoring (with a locking rear differential), 20-inch wheels, and a short-throw shifter with the standard 2.0-liter, turbo flat-four. That leaves buyers to make do with 295 horsepower and 285 pound-feet of torque, resulting in a car that’s not really any quicker in a straight line but superior in the corners. Of course, speed hunters can still ditch the six-speed manual for the PDK.

Up until I was eleven, I pronounced Porsche in the plebeian, frowned-upon way. “I’ll take the Pour-sh,” I would tell my friends while we played racing video games and shoveled bags of chips into our mouths. Then I met an adult who actually owned one and they set me straight on the matter as I ogled their vintage 911.

“It’s pronounced a little like the woman’s name Portia,” he told me as I nodded and acted as though I understood, even though I had never met a single person with that name.

Since then, I’ve had countless opportunities to utter that name in a condescending manner, and not just regarding the brand. Several of Porsche’s models use names that look easy enough to pronounce, but aren’t. However, as the years roll on, I’ve almost stopped correcting people — as I’ve become absolutely convinced of a conspiracy where Porsche does this intentionally so those in the know can lord it over those who aren’t.

Any measure of change to the 911 reliably sends Porsche purists into a tailspin worthy of the car’s legendary snap-oversteer thirty years ago. It has been suggested that the 911 was the leading cause of death of doctors, lawyers, and – erm – entrepreneurs in the ‘70s and ‘80s than anything else, including cocaine.

Those diabolically catastrophic handling traits have long been exorcised, of course, along with air cooling and church pew seating. With each change, anoraks have wailed into their Porsche Design espresso cups.

What will be said about a hybrid 911? Well, according to one source, they’ll at least be able to say it’s the most powerful 911 ever made.

If you want a Porsche Taycan EV, you may end up waiting even longer than planned.

Unless you’ve already raised your hand, that is.

Production is a year or more away, but Porsche USA’s top boss is already saying that if all preorders are turned into sales, the car is already sold out for year one. This, despite the company’s CEO saying that production will increase to account for the number of preorders.

Porsche unveiled the 992 Series of the 911 at the LA Auto Show this past week, providing a model that ought to keep the brand’s most-ardent with little to complain about. The 2020 model year hasn’t reinvented the 911 so much as it has refined it — adding power to the pre-existing 3.0-liter flat six via a new intercooler, turbochargers, and other upgraded components, while also injecting premium features like pop-out door handles and a larger center touchscreen.

Porsche even left room for an electric motor in PDK-equipped variants but a hybrid model 911 was nowhere to be seen in Los Angeles. That’s because the manufacturer doesn’t seem sold on the idea of such a vehicle — a little odd considering they developed the 922 Series specifically to allow for hybrid implementation. Then again, sometimes it pays to hedge your bets.

Porsche is in an interesting position. While it remains an enthusiast brand par excellence, adding SUVs and sedans has left the automaker with one foot in the upper-crust portion of a more mainstream market. Fortunately, this has worked out incredibly well for the company. Porsche has broken its own sales record every year since 2012.

This week at the LA Auto Show, the German manufacturer paid service to its most ardent fans by unveiling the new 911. While not Porsche’s best-selling model, it’s easily the most iconic. But what if the brand tried to bridge the gap between adrenaline-seeking Carrera owners and the well-heeled soccer moms who drive the Macan crossover?

Apparently, that’s a concept the company’s staff is currently mulling over — when they aren’t sorting and cleaning their wrenches. A specific member of Porsche’s Executive Board feels it might be a good idea.

Allow me that one, as I’ve always wanted to use it in a headline. Porsche has taken the wraps off its new 911, showing the eight-generation model to a fawning crowd in Los Angeles on the eve of this week’s auto show.

The exterior, well, that’s an unmistakably Porsche 911 profile at which to gaze. Hanging out behind the rear axle of the S and 4S models is a flat-six now making 443 horsepower.

Party, indeed.

What do you get when you combine the sporty personality of Porsche with all the comfort and luxury of a Mercedes-Benz sedan?

The answer is this E500.

High-end sports cars are much more likely to endure the onslaught of time that inevitably forces most automobiles into the junkyard. Why such vehicles might not all serve as pampered automotive “investments” for wealthy individuals, most are still well cared for and subject to fewer harsh winters and daily commutes than their mainstream counterparts.

Porsche claims that over 70 percent of all vehicles it has ever manufactured are still in operation today and the majority of those cars reside in the United States, not Europe. As a result, the automaker wants to expand its Porsche Classic operations in the region — helping owners keep their vintage machines in pristine condition while earning dealerships some side cash in the process.