2010 World Car of the Year finalists released, top 3 to be announced in Geneva

The World Car of the Year jury has announced their top 10 finalists for 2010. The top 3 will be announced in Geneva, while the actual awards will be given out at the New York International Auto Show.

VW Group to stop expansion

Martin Winterkorn - VW Group CEO

The biggest car producer in the world, Volkswagen, has announced that it has no more interest in expanding, therefore buying other brands. After purchasing a 19.9% stake in Suzuki and a 49.9% stake in Porsche in the last months, VW’s CEO Martin Winterkorn said that he has no more intentions of acquiring stakes in other brands.

More Details on Boxster Spyder Released

Porsche has released more details on their upcoming Boxster Spyder, ahead of its unveiling at the LA Auto Show.

The engine being used comes out of the Cayman S. It develops 315bhp, compared to the 305bhp of the Boxster S, and revs to 7500rpm.

The car will weigh just under 1275kg, making it lightest car that Porsche makes today. Equipped with a seven-speed PDK gearbox and a Sport Chrono Plus package, it’ll get from 0 to 60mph in just 4.8seconds.

They’ve saved weight by fitting aluminum doors, an aluminum rear deck, lighter bucket seats and a lighter roof. The car also comes without air-con and a radio as standard.

There have also been some modifications to the chassis and suspension, including a 20mm drop in ride height and stiffer springs. To contribute even more to handling, the track has be widened both at the front and rear.

The alloy wheels are the lightest that Porsche offers, weighing less than 10kg each. They come with high-tech compound tires which can be ran at lower than normal pressures.

Other changes from the Boxster S include a different steering box, different front brakes and a limited-slip diff as standard.

There’s bad news too though. With the roof up, you can’t drive at more than 124mph, and Porsche doesn’t recommend that you drive it through an automated car wash.

Source: Autocar

More News From Porsche

A report indicates that Porsche is planning several new models within the next 4 years.

These apparently include a new generation of Cayenne, a baby Cayenne (This will be to the Cayenne as the Audi Q5 is to the Audi Q7), a V6 Panamera, with a diesel version in certain markets and a hybrid Panamera, which will be coupled to either a V6 or V8.

Also, a new generation of 911 is due by 2012. It is expected to be significantly different from current one, though the engine will still remain in the wrong place back.

A successor to the 928 is also planned (In coupe and convertible form), as well as a supercar based on the RS Spyder racing car, and if their last supercar is anything to go by (Carrera GT), it should be brilliant.

Besides the disgusting fantastic hybrid Panamera they’re developing, there’s also an electric sportscar on it’s way. Lastly, the Boxster Spyder I posted earlier will be released, as I mentioned, in February 2010. Looks like the brand is going to have the biggest line up in a while soon.

Source: Autoblog

A Bit More on WordPress and Porsche’s Latest Creation

So then, as our new member Alex explained, we have moved to a new host, WordPress. There are one or two disadvantages, but the advantages make up for it. If it weren’t for WordPress, I’d still be over at our old host Blogetery scratching my head over how to add Alex as an author to the blog. I spent hours looking for it, it might not even exist for all I know. Thankfully, it’s very simple at WordPress. The systems are very similar, after all, Blogetery is based around WordPress, so the move was very quick and most of the content was preserved. Only the image in the sidebar changed. Also, I lost one of the comments, but otherwise, everything’s here.

Now for some car news. Porsche has announced the Boxster Spyder. It’s a modified, lightweight version of the Porsche Boxster.

Porsche has managed to lose about 80kg over the original Boxster with this. It also has 10hp more than the Boxster S, bringing the power up to 320hp. With the PDK dual clutch flappy-paddle gearbox, it’ll get from 0-60mph (About 100kph) in 4.6 seconds. It’ll go on sale during February of next year with a base price of around $61,200.

The roof is more of a wind deflector than a roof, this car is mainly designed for that sunny Sunday morning when you want to go out and have some fun. Despite being a bit of a Porsche hater, I think I might like it. The altered design looks good to me, and I like the idea of a fun, lightweight convertible.

My only concern is, why have they called it a Spyder? I understand it’s supposed to be a tribute to the old Porsche Spyders, but the Boxster was already a convertible, so the naming ends up sounding a bit stupid.

Source: Autoblog