Porsche Cooling On IndyCar Interest
Talks between the NTT IndyCar Series and German auto manufacturer Porsche regarding a future engine supply agreement have come to light. RACER has followed the topic with interest in recent weeks as the possibility of signing Porsche to become an official supplier gained momentum behind the scenes. With a new 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 engine formula due in 2021, IndyCar has held numerous meetings with a variety of manufacturers, including the German auto and racing powerhouse, which are believed to have started in January at Daytona. In search of a third supplier to complement Chevy and Honda, Porsche鈥檚 legendary status in sports car competition, and to a lesser degree, Formula 1 and IndyCar, would add a powerful brand to assist the series鈥?ongoing growth. RACER has learned, however, that a decision, made around the Long Beach Grand Prix event, to forego an IndyCar engine program was delivered. Porsche鈥檚 sole focus of late in open-wheel competition involves the all-electric Formula E series, where the brand will enter a factory effort in the upcoming 2019/2020 season. Assuming Porsche does not reverse course and opt in with IndyCar engines, the conversations between both entities would not necessarily come to an end. Persistent rumors of an initiative to bring Porsche鈥檚 popular Carrera Cup GT racing category to the United States, as a regular support series featured at IndyCar鈥檚 road and street courses, continue to make the rounds. It鈥檚 unclear whether the Carrera Cup would be sanctioned by INDYCAR or by its longtime partners at IMSA.
New Porsche 911 Cabriolet, seen here testing in two different configurations. We鈥檙e willing to bet you hardly noticed the black prototype as the electric green one catches all the attention. The flashy green bodywork is combined with a black soft top that fits flush with the car鈥檚 prominent rear end, giving the Cabriolet a similar roofline with the coupe when the roof is up. The black 911 Cabriolet prototype with the red canvas roof and the white one with the black soft top are definitely for customers who value understatement more but not enough to roll in an all-black car. The convertible looks just like its fixed-roof sibling, including in the wheel department. All prototypes feature staggered wheels, with the rear rims being larger and wider than those at the front. This feature is more obvious on the green prototype that features two different alloy wheel designs on each axle. Judging by the look of the bumpers, all three prototypes are Carrera S or 4S models, which means they pack a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six engine producing 450 PS. The entry-level Carrera uses a detuned version of the same engine that makes 385 PS.
Drop-top thrills no longer come at the expense of grunt, with the new Boxster Spyder endowed with the same 309kW/420Nm of naturally aspirated muscle found in the new Cayman GT4. Once the poor relation to the GT4, the Spyder is now no longer the supporting act. And that鈥檚 thanks to the boss of Porsche鈥檚 GT road-car program, Andreas Preuninger. Pushing the Spyder program is Preuninger, a man who likes open-top cars. His personal 993 911 is a cabriolet and it鈥檚 Preuninger who pushed so hard for the recent 911 Speedster. He describes the Spyder as: 鈥渁n open GT4鈥? Therefore it gets the same engine, the same suspension and the same underbody aerodynamics as its coupe relation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit like the Speedster idea, the Spyder a full-blown GT car, but without a roof. It鈥檚 purist and it鈥檚 gained a lot of performance,鈥?Preuninger said. The roofless Spyder generates downforce largely thanks to the underbody aero, but also via the pop-up rear spoiler. Like the Cayman GT4, the Boxster Spyder will be offered exclusively with a six-speed manual and power the rears wheels - there鈥檚 no PDK option here. The transmission comes with a rev-matching feature for the perfect downshift, but you can switch the system off it it鈥檚 not to your liking. The Spyder also gains the latest version of Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with a mechanical locking diff. Both Porsche Stability Management and Porsche Active Suspension Management feature, while it sits 30mm lower than the standard Boxster.
By 2040 the UK Government hopes to completely ban the sale of pure petrol and diesel cars. Yet look at the statistics for 2018 and you鈥檒l see that a mini-revolution has been brewing. While diesel models used to account for nearly half of all British new car sales, registrations are down by 29.8 per cent and now stand at one third, and falling. The petrol-powered Mercedes GLC 250 therefore seems like a car appropriate for the times. It鈥檚 a relatively new addition to the GLC line-up; aimed squarely at buyers nervy of diesel鈥檚 demise. On paper at least, it fills a neat, emerging gap in the market, and out on the road it feels like a pretty convincing option. Using Mercedes鈥?latest 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, the GLC 250 injects a bit more refinement into the 鈥榚veryday鈥?(sub-AMG) end of the GLC line-up, which previously was a diesel-only zone. Add the optional Air Body Control suspension set-up on our car (a 拢350 option), and the 250 immediately becomes the quietest and most comfortable member of the GLC pack.
With the brand鈥檚 mid-size SUV a less dynamic proposition than a BMW X3, Jaguar F-Pace or Porsche Macan, the petrol motor feels perfectly at home here. You probably won鈥檛 miss the extra grunt of the 250 d model, either. While the petrol version鈥檚 350Nm torque figure leaves it 150Nm down on the diesel, it weighs 120kg less - and as such it outguns its sibling from a performance perspective. Every version gets the same high-quality interior, with enough space for all the family and their luggage. While the infotainment system is starting to show its age alongside more modern Mercedes models such as the G-Class, it鈥檚 still packed with tech. This version costs around 拢1,000 less than its diesel-powered GLC 250 d twin, and sits in a lower Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax band, too. But there鈥檚 no avoiding the fact that the petrol GLC will cost more to run. Official fuel economy of 37.2mpg puts it near enough 10mpg shy of the entry-level 220 d. Even the 250 d will officially return more than 45mpg - so while the petrol car is an enticing proposition, it鈥檚 likely only to find favour with lower-mileage motorists.