In the Market for a Used Porsche 911 (997) GT3? This Video Has all you Need to Know

Now that the new Porsche (991) 911 has been around for a while, we’ve already seen its GT3 derivative, and it is just as hot as we were expecting it to be, frankly…

However, it’s appearance does not in any way detract from the appeal of the previous-gen car (the 997), originally launched in GT3 trim in 2006. If you’re in the market to get one, then scroll down because it’s all detailed in the AutoTrader video posted after the break.

The 997 GT3 (RS or not), in any type of spec and engine option, is considered to be one of the most focused road-going cars you can buy. One of the reasons why it was made was so that Porsche could homologate parts for racing use, parts that it shares with the track-only cars. Those who have had a go in one say it definitely feels it, and that seems to be the consensus among the plethora of video reviews dedicated to praising it.

One in good condition will still cost over $100,000, even now, though most have very few miles on them and it’s the kind of unique car that gets bought by an enthusiast who will cherish it – the 2006-2007 3.6-liter 415 hp cars are obviously the cheapest. We added three links to ones that are for sale now, for reference: eBay Link 1, eBay Link 2, and mobile.de Link 1.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

Toyo Tires Previews Unique Booth Vehicles for 2013 SEMA Show

Toyo Tires will display more than 20 vehicles at this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas. With three locations in the Las Vegas Convention Center, the company will have a larger presence than ever.

The main Toyo Tires booth located on the first floor of the South Hall will include Baja Champion BJ Baldwin's Chevrolet trophy truck equipped with Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires, suspended in air over the Liberty Walk Nissan GT-R.

The 600+ horsepower GT-R features a CSDadjustable suspension with Platinum VIP-coil overs, an LB Performance Works wide body kit and 20-inch Forgiato wheels shod with Toyo Proxes R888 Rcompound DOT competition tires.

Another special exhibit will be the RWB (RAUH-Welt-Begriff) Porsche 930. The car is owned by RWB founder and renowned Porsche tuner Akira Nakai of Japan. The 930 features and RWB wide body kit, KW coil over suspension, Recaro racing seats, Takata harnesses and Work New Mesh 18-inch wheels shod with Toyo Proxes R888 tires.

Also making it debut is the all-wheel-drive Kontrabrands 2014 Lexus IS built by Gordon Ting. The urban road machine resembles a competition touring car and features a TRD five piece aero kit, massive Brembo brakes, a Sparco interior and Toyo Proxes T1 Sport tires.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray could not be ignored, so the Toyo Tires main display will feature the P58 Concept Stringray by Michigan-based design house TZD. The 580hp show car sports a TZD aero package, carbon fiber motorsports-style rear wing plus 20-inch front and 21-inch rear Vossen Monoblock wheels with Proxes T1R ultrahigh performance tires.

Classic vehicle lovers will notice the 1969 Ford Bronco built by ASC. Owned by actor Tony Besson, the SUV features a lift kit, 33-inch Toyo Open Country M/T tires for off-road and a 351 Windsor engine. There will also be a 1969 Camaro called “Lou's Change”, which has been built by V8 Speed & Resto.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

Porsche Designer Walks us Through the 911 50th Anniversary Edition

To celebrate the Porsche 911’s 50th anniversary this year, the German carmaker has launched a special edition 911 that combines styling cues from previous generations of the car, particularly the first one.

In a new official video, Porsche design manager Tony Hatter explains how these traditional design elements from the original 911 and following generations can be found in the Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition.

At a first glance the 20-inch Fuchs alloy wheels remind of past Porsche 911s, as do the black and chrome grille at the back and the 'houndstooth' fabric found on the seats. There are more subtle cues as well, such as the green instruments (just like on the original 911).

Only 1,963 units will be built, each priced from €121,119 in Germany, £92,257 in the UK and $124,100 in the U.S. You can check out how all upgrades look like in the video posted below.

By Dan Mihalascu

VIDEO

Oh Mon Dieu! Porsche 993 Driver Handles Extremely Close Call Like a Boss

The problem with highway accidents happening in front of you is that everything usually comes about in a blink of an eye, leaving drivers only a split second and very little space to take evasive actions that could have life-or-death consequences.

YouTube user Augustin Kuntz had the unfortunate experience of not only witnessing an accident take place right in front of his eyes while driving his 993 generation (the one built from 1993 to 1998) Porsche 911 at highway speeds, but also having to deal with and avoid being part of it.

You might have to rewind and watch the video again to see exactly what happened when an older Renault Clio somehow shot across the highway hitting another car that ended up in the bushes.

Given that the 993 isn't exactly the easiest car to handle in these sudden situations, we think Kuntz did pretty good in our books. What do you say?

Merci monsieur Benjamin V.!

VIDEO

1999 Porsche 911 with LS1 V8 Swap on Craigslist for $25,000

This car is definitely not for Porsche purists, who want to match the serial numbers of all the bolts that hold the car together. It’s a 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 (996 generation) that has had its trademark 3.4-liter boxer-six engine ripped out, and replaced with a GM LS1 V8.

This is not a new idea, and proof of this is the common Renegade Hybrids kit it uses that contains engine mounts and other necessary bits to make the swap operation more straightforward.

It’s up on Craigslist, going for $25,000 in San Diego, California, and the seller says the main incentive for going to all the trouble of putting a new engine in it was reliability. The original six-pot the car came with, model M96, is apparently prone to suffering any number of failures, the most common of which is the intermediate shaft (bearing) failure, while the LS1 motor, which runs an LS6 oil pump, an LS3 water pump and LS2 timing chain, will have far fewer such worries and cheaper fixes.

According to the seller, there’s no bad news associated with it as it’s lighter (we can't vouch for that claim) and is said to make around 100 lb-ft / 135 Nm and 50 hp more than stock. Two notable downsides mentioned are the loss of the air-con and power steering.

Exterior modifications give this car a unique feel, in particular the wider body panels from the period Turbo, the lower stance and more pronounced camber (courtesy of a K-sport coilover kit) finished off by tasteful factory Turbo wheels. The owner rates the overall state as an eight out of ten “for its age,” so it may possibly need some minor jobs done,

Whatever you think of this swap job, there’s no denying it’s a conversation starter, and if you explain the reasoning behind it, chances are that even those who might have opposed it at first will sway your way.

By Andrei Nedelea

Story References: Jalopnik

PHOTO GALLERY

Porsche 911 GT3 Passenger Can't Stomach Ride on the 'Ring

Why did the white Porsche 911 GT3 3.8 Clubsport rent-a-racer pull over the Nürburgring road? No, it wasn't because of a mechanical failure, a flat tire or a chicken crossing by.

Apparently, the man riding shotgun in the specially-prepped 435-horsepower 997 couldn't handle the Nordschleife turns and all the excitement that comes from running around the world's most famous circuit…

So, the GT3 driver pulled over to the side of the track on the grass and the man jumped out for some fresh air, and you guessed it, to empty some of the contents found in his stomach.

And since these days, a man can't even have some puke-alone-time without someone recording him, the entire scene was captured on camera and then shared with the rest of the world via YouTube (courtesy of Automobilechannel). At least the guy had a sense of humor about the whole thing.

VIDEO

Car Magazine Says a Porsche is its Favorite Performance car of 2013 – Do You Agree?

The year that’s drawing to a close has been a very prolific one for performance cars. We’ve had new models sprout out in all classes, from supermini hot hatches, to hybrid hypercars  and even an electric sedan that can punch well above its weight (literally) in terms of track performance.

In order to make sense of the vast number of sporty cars released this year, Car Magazine gathered all its editors  and let them loose on their chosen selection of new and relevant models.

What became immediately obvious was the fact that there really were no real losers among their picks, and I know I personally would have enjoyed any of the cars they had lined up to compare, even the Ford Fiesta ST.

In the end, the knockout competition only had the Porsche 911 GT3 left standing at the end, despite its unpopular switch from a ma to an automatic – it was praised by all who drove it, and apparently ‘they all wanted one.’

The video on how they chose the Porsche as their winner is posted below. After watching it, why not tell us which one you would have preferred, in the comments section.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

How Does the New Corvette Stingray Stack Up Against the Competition on the Track?

Talk about milking it to the very last drop… Oh, yes, it's another one of Edmunds' videos on the new 2014 Corvette Stingray that supposedly comes to wrap up (though, we wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't…) the individual tests it performed against a variety of sports cars, regardless of price or if they're direct competitors in the eyes and pockets of consumers.

The online news site brought together all six challengers, including the SRT Viper, Nissan GT-R Track Edition, Porsche 911 Carrera S, Porsche Cayman S, Ford Shelby GT500 and the now discontinued BMW M3 Coupe, to the Willow Springs International Raceway, which is about an hour away from Los Angeles, to see how the Corvette C7 stands up to them.

We know what you're thinking, but the Stingray wasn't the fastest car on the track; can you guess which one was? To find the answer, click play on the following video.

VIDEO

This is How Fast the New Porsche 911 Turbo S Goes from 0 to 333km/h [207mph]

Does anyone doubt that the new 991-generation Porsche 911 Turbo is one helluva fast machine? Well, in the rare case that someone out there does, then strap on your virtual seatbelts and take a seat behind your computer, laptop or phone screen, because you're about to take a very quick ride to 333km/h (207mph).

German magazine Sport Auto's Christian Gebhardt wanted to verify Porsche's acceleration and speed claims for the new 911 Turbo S Coupe, which packs 552hp (560PS) from a 3.8-liter turbocharged flat-six. Stuttgart says that the more powerful edition of the 911 Turbo series completes the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.1 seconds and tops out at 318 km/h (197.6 mph).

In the second part of the video, Gebhardt's electronic chronograph recorded a 2.8 second run for 0-100km/h (62mph) and 10 seconds for 0-200km/h (124mph).

Looking at the car's dashboard gauges in the first part of the clip, it took about 25 seconds for the Turbo S to reach 300km/h (186mph) and approximately 38 seconds for 333km/h (207mph), but keep in mind, the last two times we mention are rough estimates without taking speedometer errors into account

VIDEO

2010 Porsche 911 GT3 Recalled Over Potentially Faulty Rear Wheel Hubs

Porsche Cars North America informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it is recalling certain 2010 MY 911 GT3 cars over an issue with their rear wheel hubs.
The GT3s that are recalled were manufactured between May 15, 2009 and February 11, 2010 and the potential number of affected vehicles is 455 units.

Slippery when Wet: Porsche Demonstrates New 911 Carrera 4 in Adverse Road Conditions

Even Porsche itself knows that, if it weren’t for its large fan and more importantly, customer base, the 911 would be long gone and replaced by something that adheres to, rather than disregarding, the laws of Physics.
No matter how you put it, letting the engine hanging out behind the rear axle may provide superior traction from a standstill but, when it comes to cornering, it creates a pendulum effect that’s hard to contain.

Porsche Details New 911 GT3 Cup While Displaying it on the Track

Porsche is far from done showing off its most prized version of the 991-generation 911, the all-new GT3 Cup racing model, but if you're expecting to see the car roar through a circuit with no other distractions in this new video, we're sorry to say, you will be disappointed.

Porsche Teases 991-Based GT3 Cup Racer, Road-Going 911 GT3 Must Be Close

If there’s one thing we know about Porsche is that, no matter how many SUVs or sporty saloons it may churn out, it will never tinker with the trusted, 50-year old 911 philosophy. Truth be told, it did try to kill it once, back in the 1970s with the 928, but it failed – so it was a lesson it must have learned well.
That recipe isn’t just about maintaining the iconic shape and the flat-six engine hung out behind the rear axle; it’s also about launching a whole bunch of new variants of each generation.

Porsche Announces World Premiere of Compact Sports Car at LA Auto Show

Porsche says it has selected the 2012 edition of the Los Angeles Auto Show, open to the public from November 30 to December 9, for the world premiere of a brand-new, never before seen model together with a US premiere.
The German company says the world debut will take place on November 28 and it concerns a "compact sports car". While Porsche won't name the car, from what we have heard, the "mystery" model is the new Cayman coupe based on the latest generation of the Boxster (981).

New Porsche 911 Meets its 49-Year Old Ancestor in the Swiss Alps

In its past issue, CAR magazine celebrated its golden anniversary and declared the Porsche 911 the best car ever in its 50-year-old history.
Editor-at-large Chris Chilton decided to take the new Porsche 911 with the internal codename 991 to the famous Furka Pass in the Swiss Alps. He also brought along a 1965 version of the 911 that's identical to the original launched in 1963.

Oxigin's Gulf Racing Style Porsche 911

There's something inexplicably cool about the iconic baby blue and orange paint scheme of the Gulf Oil-sponsored racers from the 1960s and 1970s (before the company went down in the 1980s), which provided the inspiration for this previous generation Porsche 911 from German aftermarket firm Oxigin. 

SPIED: New Porsche 911 Turbo Pops Into our Radar

For the past 38 years, all generations of the 911 include at least one Turbo variant, and the most recent iteration of Porsche's iconic sports car with the internal designation 991 will be no different.
Stuttgart's engineers have been meticulously working on the development of the all-new 911 Turbo for quite some time now and it shouldn't be long before it makes its official appearance.
Like the outgoing 997 Turbo, the top version of the 991 series will feature an all-wheel drive system to keep things civilized, while motivation will once again be provided by a 3.8-liter flat-six with diesel-style variable turbine geometry turbochargers, which should be good for around 520-horses in normal trim and close to 550-ponies in S Turbo flavor.

Porsche to Bring Historic Race Cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed

An array of historic Porsche race cars will make their way at this at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed that takes place in the UK from 2 to 4 July. The German automaker said that it will be bringing some of the victorious sports cars from the Targa Florio road race in Sicily, as well as the Porsche 917 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1970 win at Le Mans.