As it edges closer to production next year, the 2010 Porsche Panamera is starting to stray farther from home. This time our spy photographers caught up with the Panamera while it was undergoing cold-weather testing in the Arctic Circle.
As it edges closer to production next year, the 2010 Porsche Panamera is starting to stray farther from home.
We're only a few months away from the official launch of the 2009 Porsche 911, but recent spy video from the Nürburgring suggests that a refreshed version of the 911 GT3 will follow for the 2010 model year.
Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, as well as Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, is celebrating his 65th birthday on May 10, 2008. Ferdinand (‘Ferry’) Porsche’s youngest son, who was born in Stuttgart, has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the sports car manufacturer since 1978. He has also been family spokesman since the death of his father Ferry in 1998.
Wolfgang Porsche has always seen it as his primary duty to continue to drive forward the company in the same spirit that his father Ferry and grandfather Ferdinand intended when they founded and built up the firm, in close collaboration with the members of the Porsche and Piëch families. As a result of this fundamental stance, he contributed significantly to the increase in capital that occurred in 1992 to ensure the continued independence of the family-owned company, and has also influenced all further important business decisions. This particularly includes decisions relating to the expansion of the product portfolio to include the Roadster Boxster, the Cayenne sports utility vehicle, and the four-seater Gran Turismo Panamera, as well as the building of the Leipzig plant, and last but not least, the stake of Porsche AG in the Volkswagen Group in 2005.
As Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, CEO of Porsche SE, notes: “Throughout the past 16 years, Wolfgang Porsche has tirelessly supported us as an approachable and competent advisor, both on everyday questions as well as on the various strategic decisions we have faced to position the company in the best way. This advice has always been open and frank, and he has served as an essential bridge between company and shareholders. In all decisions, the Porsche Managing Board could always count on his integrity and his support, and for this we are extremely thankful”.
Wolfgang Porsche was born on May 10, 1943, the youngest son of Dorothea and Ferry Porsche, the founder of the sports car icon. He spent the first 6 ½ years of his life at the so called ‘Schüttgut’ in Zell am See, Austria, to which his parents and grandparents had retreated during the final years of the war. The family returned to Stuttgart in 1950. At first, Wolfgang went to the Waldorf School in Stuttgart, before moving over to the Odenwald School in Heppenheim. It was here that he obtained his Abitur (higher school-leaving certificate) in 1965, and at the same time abandoned his training as an apprentice locksmith. Following this, he obtained his degree in Business Administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. He received his doctorate in International Business in 1973.
After completing his studies, Wolfgang Porsche went into business, and became an importer for Yamaha motorbikes in Austria, a trade that he pursued successfully for 27 years. He returned to Stuttgart in 1976, and worked at the then Daimler-Benz AG as a manager in several different areas of domestic and foreign sales. In 1978 he was appointed a member of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG, taking over the position of Chairman in January 2007. He was also appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE at its incorporation in June 2007. In addition, he has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Holding Ges.m.b.H. in Salzburg, the largest Austrian trading company, since 1983. Furthermore, he is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Swiss watch manufacturer Eterna S.A. in Grenchen, and, since April 24, 2008, a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg.
On the death of his father Ferry in 1998, he was selected as spokesman by the Porsche family. As such, Wolfgang Porsche considers his main role to be that of an intermediary and consensus-builder between the individual family members to ensure that the shared goal of the independence and financial stability of the Porsche company isnever compromised. His calm, objective style, as well as his wit and humor, are his chief assets. In this regard, Wolfgang Porsche has even described himself as a ‘Swabian Austrian’, for whom level-headedness, reliability and tradition are all important. The father-of-four lives alternately in Munich, Stuttgart, and at the paternal ‘Schüttgut’ in Zell am See, which he has inherited. A keen hunter, he has always maintained his special affinity with the sports car icon that is still ‘made in Zuffenhausen’, both to its past and its present.
Wolfgang Porsche has received numerous honors for his services to business. In 2005 he was awarded the ‘Great Golden Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria’ by the Prime Minister of Austria, the highest award granted by the country of his birth.
Source: porsche.com
Porsche is launching a new edition of the Boxster, the RS60 Spyder, that is intended to evoke memories of the Type 718 RS60 Spyder endurance racer of the early 1960s. It is slated for U.S. sale starting in the spring following a 2008 New York Auto Show debut in March.
Porsche is recalling 5,573 MY 2008 Cayenne v6 vehicles. A fuel line in the plenum panel area may contact the rear engine compartment cover. Relative movements of the engine while driving may cause knocking noises and chafing on the fuel line. A fuel leak may develop. Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire.
For more information, visit the NHTSA web site.
Porsche will add some spice to the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Auto Show by unveiling the Cayenne GTS to the American public. Already known for exceptional on and off-road prowess, the GTS has been formulated, tested and tweaked to offer the best on-road characteristics of any Cayenne Porsche has ever produced.
The Cayenne GTS features a 405hp 4.8 liter V-8 engine. Based on the same V8 found in the Cayenne S, this more robust powerplant can be coupled either with an automatic Tiptronic S or, for the first time in a Cayenne V8, a six-speed manual transmission for those who want to take full advantage of this new power and suspension package. The GTS gets its cornering prowess from standard 21-inch alloy rims equipped with 295/35 R21 tires and air suspension that features Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM).
The Cayenne GTS front end is reminiscent of the Cayenne Turbo while the body has a lower stance and a striking new wheel-arch design that complements the new 21-inch rims. The interior boasts redesigned front and rear seats that offer a sportier look and feel with Alcantara to hold both driver and passenger in place during spirited driving.
The 2008 Cayenne GTS goes on sale in February and pricing for this new model is US $69,300.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga., and its subsidiary, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., are the exclusive importers of Porsche sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles for the United States and Canada. A wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing.h.c. F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs approximately 250 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 212 U.S. and Canadian dealers. They, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service.
Source: Porsche
Porsche announced today that it is developing a hybrid drive version of its highly anticipated four-door Gran Turismo. The Panamera Hybrid will utilize the same gas-electric drive concept as the Cayenne Hybrid that comes to market at the end of the decade and will claim a remarkable 30% reduction of fuel consumption.
The full parallel hybrid system of the Panamera will be configured with the battery unit positioned below the luggage compartment, and hybrid module, comprising of an additional clutch and electric motor, will be between the engine and transmission. Depending on driving conditions, the hybrid module has the ability to disengage either the combustion engine or the electric motor, or to combine both drive systems as one joint power unit. This flexibility results in benefits such as a zero emissions driving mode, fuel savings in both city and highway driving and maximum performance when desired.
The Panamera, which represents Porsche’s fourth model line, will make its world debut in 2009 and promises to redefine the Gran Turismo category by featuring a unique design package that will afford equally generous front and rear space and seating comfort for four while retaining the sporting and unmistakable driving dynamics of every Porsche. Introduced initially with traditional drivetrains, the hybrid version of the Panamera will be offered at a later date.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, GA, and its subsidiary, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., are the exclusive importers of Porsche sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles for the United States and Canada. A wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing.h.c. F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs approximately 250 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 212 U.S. and Canadian dealers. They, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service.
Source: Porsche
On certain 2 door coupe vehicles, the switch console for the Porsche active suspension management (PASM) and the traction control (TC-off) switches was inappropriately installed. The leds in the switches can signal a functional change in the PASM mode or the deactivation of traction control even though the switches are not actuated. If the traction control or active stability management system are inadvertently disabled, and the subsequent warning lamp illumination in the instrument panel onboard computer is unnoticed by the driver, the safety benefits of these systems would be unavailable to the driver which could increase the possibility of a crash during aggressive driving maneuvers.
For more information, visit the NHTSA web site.
Source: Recalls.gov
