Autoblog

In the land of mergers and acquisitions, there are takeovers, there are hostile takeovers, and then there are I'm Gonna Git You Sucka No Matter What takeovers. Porsche's increasingly acrimonious battle to swallow VW is becoming that third option, and the brawl might threaten the short term plans of Porsche, VW and Audi. Porsche wants access to Audi engines and electronics, but VW, which owns more than 99-percent of Audi, won't allow it.

Porsche has de facto control of VW, with a 35.1-percent share. The so-called VW Law, which allows the government of Lower Saxony ultimate veto power even though it has only a 20-percent share, has been the broadsword that both VW and Germany have been using to keep Porsche at bay. The law has been struck down at least three times by the EU Commission and a German Court, only to have politicians figure out how to rewrite it without changing the substance of it.

VW's supverisory board recently declared it would need to approve any sharing between Porsche and Audi, and at the moment, Porsche can't overrule that decision. Ferdinand Piech, the head of VW, is in a battle with the Porsche family and Wendelin Wiedeking, the CEO of Porsche, over control, and neither is expected to budge. The risk is that since no one knows how this is all going to play out, a battle of egos and punitive reactions could interrupt development of and platform sharing between – and therefore the profits of – all three manufacturers' future products and technology.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

We know when it happened, we just don't know why it happened. Autoblog reader Joshua Silverman sent in some cellphone pictures of a Panamera he drove by in Denver, Colorado. And all of a sudden -- like the Grinch's heart growing three sizes -- we liked it. Or at least, we got it.

Just to make sure, we had a look at the last set of Panamera spy shots, the ones that this very blogger lambasted as "still ugly," and, well, we kinda liked those, too. We could see possibilities. When the car is given the S and Turbo treatment, we could even imagine, incredibly, beauty. Have a look at the photos below for yourself, and tell us if we should take a bow for discovering the vision, or take a nap. Thanks for the tip, Joshua!

Sour grapes or legitimate complaint? That's the question we're left pondering after reading that Porsche believes Nissan must have cheated to record its 7:29:03 lap time of the famed Nürburgring race circuit. Porsche claims that it had been suspicious of the Nissan's lap times, so it acquired a U.S.-spec GT-R for testing back-to-back with its own 911 Turbo and GT2. The result? The mighty Godzilla was toppled by the Teutonic German duo, with the GT-R posting times a good 25-seconds slower than Nissan's claim.

How can Porsche explain the discrepancy? "This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car. For us, it's not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tires," says August Achleitner, the man in charge of the 911 program. There is footage of the GT-R lapping the 'Ring at high speed, but it's taken from inside the car where the tires cannot be seen.

Considering the fact that Nissan saw fit to issue a press release commemorating the car's fast-lap, we doubt this is something that will be taken lightly. There's a big can 'o worms here, and Porsche's in the corner holding the opener.


[Source: Carsguide]

Volkswagen is set to debut a mid-engine concept at this year's LA Auto Show, and an Audi R3 derivative that could replace the TT is reportedly also being considered. With Porsche's increased stake in VAG, it was just a matter of time before rumors of sharing this mid-engine platform between VW, Audi and Porsche began to surface, and a new model destined to slot in below the Boxster is the obvious conclusion.

Once again, CAR is leading the speculative charge, with sources suggesting that Porsche will use the mid-engine architecture to revive the 356 marque – not the 914 moniker – to create a baby Boxster priced around £20,000-35,000 and produced in very small numbers.

Unlike the stillborn Audi R4, the R3 and its Porsche sibling wouldn't encroach on Boxster sales due to their limited availability. Fixed roof and convertible versions of both models are planned, but engine choices would be limited to turbocharged four-cylinders displacing between 1.2- and 2.0-liters and ranging in output from 105 hp to 280 hp. Diesel variants could also be offered in the Audi, but Quattro all-wheel-drive wouldn't be part of package due to weight and friction penalties.

It's a very compelling proposition, particularly since the new architecture is reportedly being developed to accept everything from electric drivetrains to hybrids, and with a curb weight around 2,200 pounds. But don't expect anything to come to market until 2012 or 2013 at the earliest, assuming that Porsche doesn't get cold feet and kills off the project before it leaves the drawing board.

[Source: CAR]

In case you hadn't had quite enough of German automakers producing cars themed after yachts – like the Volkswagen Caddy Topos Sail and Audi Q7 Coastline – here comes one offshoot preparing to actually design a line of mega-yachts.

The Porsche Design boats are being penned for Singaporean shipyard's Royal Falcon Fleet, and will start off with RFF135, a 135-foot catamaran (that means two hulls for all you land-lubers). Australian firm Incat Crowther and Swedish outfit Kockums are also involved in the project, which is slated to include a variety of mega-yachts for the uber-wealthy with either two hulls or one. Yachts of this size typically leave the engine room up to the buyer's specifications, along with most everything else, but don't expect to find a bank of air-cooled flat-sixes below decks. If you're wondering how an automotive merchandise design firm could translate their competence to the entirely separate field of naval architecture, just remember that, following the Fearless speedboat series, this won't be the first time Porsche Design has tangled its toes in the water.

[Source: Luxist]

It's not like Porsche has done a very good job keeping the Panamera, its upcoming four-door sports sedan coupe, a secret. We've seen more spy shots of the Panamera undergoing testing than pics of Britney doing something unseemly in public, and that's a lot. But rather than just show us the final production form of the Panamera, the name of which is now officially followed by "Gran Turismo", Porsche has decided to do a full blown marketing roll out using the just launched Panamera Online Magazine as the medium through which we'll see the production Panamera bit by bit. The first issue is out and contains a few not-very-revealing sketches of the car as well as an image that will be used in upcoming advertisements in which the Panamera peeks its nose out of a garage. Unfortunately, the front end of the car looks pretty much like every other Porsche. Nevertheless, the roll out has begun and sooner rather than later we'll be able to pass judgment on Porsche's first four-door passenger car. Porsche says the Panamera's official debut is scheduled for next spring (probably the Geneva Motor Show in March), with sales to commence in late summer or early fall of 2009.


[Source: Porsche]

For the past 15 years Ferdinand Piech has been the guiding force behind Volkswagen, first as CEO and Chairman, and since his mandatory retirement in 2002, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Before that he headed Audi and helped to cultivate the four-ringed brand's engineering reputation. However, the Piech era may be drawing to a close as the Porsche takeover of VW looks set to break out into intra-family warfare. While Porsche is public company, much of the voting control is held by members of the Porsche and Piech families, the children and grandchildren of founder Ferry Porsche. While little has been said publicly about what is going on in the boardroom at Porsche and the companies reasons for taking control of VW, Piech has been in the peculiar position, being on both sides of the takeover battle. Earlier this year there were reports that Piech was trying to oust Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking in order to maintain control of VW. It now appears that Piech's own family may have had enough of his control, and cousin Wolfgang Porsche is reportedly preparing to push him out. Piech apparently stayed away from a board meeting on Friday to avoid voting with or against his family on the issue of Porsche cooperating with Audi. The family is apparently incensed at Piech's behavior and want him dismissed.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Remember those pseudo-scientific experiments you did as a child after school or on summer break? Well of course you didn't do them...you were a good kid. But there was always some mischievous child in the neighborhood who would.

Well those kids have grown up. (Technically, anyway.) And now they race in the Porsche Supercup series, where they wonder what would happen if you put a couple dozen race-tuned, rear-engined 911s on a rain-soaked grand prix track and told their drivers that there's a prize waiting for them at the finish line. Follow the jump to see what happened.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer]

CAR has gotten its hands on the Porsche Cayman spy shots we featured earlier, along with a few new snaps of the next 911 undergoing testing. While the Boxster facelift – due to be unveiled at the LA Auto Show this November – and the tweaked Cayman – coming out early next year – won't be anything revolutionary, CAR has revealed speculated that big changes are underfoot for the 911, taking technology, power delivery and driver comfort to levels never thought possible in the iconic coupe. Check out what we're talking about after the jump.

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Porsche 914

Once every 40 years or so, when the stars are aligned just right, there arises the cosmic possibility for Volkswagen and Porsche to collaborate on a small sportscar. The stars in question seem to be Porsche chairman Dr. Ferdinand Piech, a spirit of takeover cooperation between the two German automakers, and the input of third-party contractor Karmann. It was Dr. Piech, the same man who has been driving Porsche's takeover of the Volkswagen group, who had ushered the original Porsche 914 into reality. But when Volkswagen launches its latest concept at the LA Auto Show this November, it hopes the little Elise fighter will garner enough attention to put the project into production as soon as 2011 with versions for both VW and Porsche.

The original Porsche 914 was based largely on borrowed Volkswagen mechanicals. Karmann was also heavily involved in the 914 project, and could be tapped once again to build the new sportscar for both Volkswagen and Porsche, with the project potentially spawning an Audi R4, as well. Although some sources suggest the Porsche version could adopt the 2.7-liter flat six from the base Boxster, with Zuffenhausen admittedly considering the possibility of going back to four-cylinder engines, anything's possible. Sources point out, however, that the four-cylinder version of the 914 was the top selling model. While you consider the idea of a budget Porsche, check out the high-resolution images of original 914 images in the gallery below.

[Source: Motor Trend via PistonHeads]