Porsche has announced that it will be relocating its Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) subsidiary to the new Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles once it’s completed in fall of 2013.

The German automaker is currently working on building the new 53-acre Experience Center out in Carson, California and will feature a world-class test track and handling course, a leading sports science laboratory, a Porsche Cafe, and gift shop. Additional dining facilities will also be available for those upscale business meetings and events that could benefit with some track side views.

Porsche Motorsport North America will be relocating to the new Experience Center where they will continue to sell and service the North American customers sports programs. PMNA supplies a wide range of products from 911 Cup cars to the ultimate 911 RSR to race teams all across America.

“This not only makes sound business sense, but is symbolic as well,” said Detlev von Platen, PCNA’s President and CEO. “Aside from offering a modern, purpose built working environment, the motorsport specific operations will provide additional energy and dynamics to a facility that is all about performance both on the vehicle and human side. Thus our new Experience Center will perfectly symbolize the core of the Porsche brand, which has always been a successful blend of a passion for racing and for spirited yet responsible driving on open roads,” he added.

Our photographers caught pictures of the 2013 Porsche 911 GT3 today, and in the spy photos you can see an unmasked version of the front spoiler.

The same outlet we’ve seen on the front of the car in previous glimpses is present to push air over the car and increase downforce at high speeds. This time we also see the car wearing a large rear wing missing in previous shots. With nothing actually covered, this is probably the closest version to the actual production model before pictures of a fully finished version start to circulate.

With an expected 450 hp coming from its naturally aspirated flat six, the new GT3 will be more athletic than its predecesor and certainly the best 911 to date.

GALLERY: 2013 Porsche 911 GT3 spy photos

Caught testing several months back in the European arctic, our latest spy photos show the new Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet out for some top down fun.

Based on the all-new 991 platform the newest Porsche Turbo will be 4-inches longer than its predecessor and make for an even more comfortable ride with a more spacious cabin. With this elongated platform there was some hope that the newest Porsche Cab would lose the bubble-butt stigma, but based on these photos that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Rumors have suggested the new Porsche 911 Turbo will get a tri-turbo 3.8-liter flat-six setup, using one smaller turbocharger and two larger ones. Not only would this setup produce plenty of power, but it would be more responsive than ever before. Look for engine output of at least 530 hp and acceleration times in the supercar level.

Look for the new 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo to bow later this year at the Paris Motor Show, if not sooner.

GALLERY: 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet

Bill Gates has quite the history with his Porsche collection in his younger years, including a high-speed excursion in New Mexico that got him arrested and photographed for his infamous mugshot.

Heading to an auction in Vienna, Austria is a 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo that Gates purchased shortly after he founded Microsoft with Paul Allen. Someway, somehow, after Gates gave up this Porsche around the early-1990s, it found its way over in Austria where the current owner recently had it repainted the original metallic turquoise and had the German automaker overhaul the 3.3-liter, 300-hp engine.

The 911 Turbo is heading to a Dorotheum auction and has an estimated selling price of $55,500 to $71,000 and will be up for auction on June 6.

GALLERY: Bill Gates Porsche 911 Turbo

[Source: Hemmings]

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That at least seems to be the theory at Porsche these days in regards to its new flagship sports car. Rather than let details leak out and spy photos appear online the German sports car maker is controlling the flow of info and pictures when it comes to the highly anticipated 918 Spyder.

After released a smattering of info back in March, Porsche has now released a selection of new photos with the official announcement that (duh!) first testing of the prototypes has commenced.

Porsche has confirmed that the project is going according to plan and that the 918 Spyder will begin production in September of 2013 with the first cars being delivered to owners before the year is out.

According to Porsche, “The initial results of the driving trials are in line with the high expectations placed on the 918 Spyder.” That’s saying a lot as the 918 Spyder looks to be a revolutionary product for the brand, using a plug-in hybrid system with a mid-mounted gasoline V8 engine as well as two electric motors – one driving the front wheels and one acting on the rear wheels. Porsche claims power output will exceed 770 hp, while fuel consumption will hit 74 mpg.

Other performance and technology features include a full carbon fiber monocoque, adaptive rear steering, adaptive aerodynamics an even an interesting “top pipes” system, with the exhaust tips pointing upwards.

See the full gallery of 918 Spyder prototypes below, painted in camo that mimics the historical Porsche 917 race cars.

GALLERY:Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype

Plans for a cheaper, smaller entry-level model from Porsche have been dropped according to CEO Matthias Mueller, essentially laying to rest the idea of a baby Boxster model.

During an interview with a German newspaper, Mueller affirmed that plans for a smaller entry-level model would not only dilute the brand but alienate traditional Porsche customers that not only buy a Porsche for its performance, but the prestige that goes along with it. “We would do no good to the brand if we were to lose traditional Porsche customers,” Mueller said.

Last year, the German automaker expressed its interest in building a small, mid-engine sports car that would essentially be a successor to the Porsche 550 model from the 1950s. Early plans had the launch set in 2014, but we can now cross that date off our calendars.

In related news, this also means that the Pajun model might not just be delayed until 2017. Porsche now has no immediate plans to develop the smaller Panamera variant and will revisit the idea in a few years, possibly making it a reality in five or six.

[Source: Automotive News]

It’s been a while since we heard anything about the Porsche Pajun, a smaller version of the Panamera that would compete with the Mercedes E-Class or BMW 5 Series, but information is starting to crop up again. 

Previous reports suggested that the car would come around in 2016, but that date seems to have been pushed back to 2017 for now. The latest information also suggests that a range of V6 gasoline engines reaching from 320, 420 and 520 hp will be available alongside a diesel with 313 hp. It will also be built on Audi’s MLB platform.

There wasn’t any mention of a hybrid drivetrain, as was reported last year, but given the demand for efficient vehicles (even in the luxury segmgent) it seems reasonable that something along those lines could be coming too. Then again, the diesel engine in conjunction with Porsche’s dual-clutch transmission could probably offer the fuel efficiency those clients would want.

Still, it’s hard to think that the company is really going to deliver in five years. Last year it was 2016, now it’s been pushed again and the word from Stuttgart seems to be grim for new vehicles. The company hasn’t been shy about emphasizing its preference to focus on cash cows, but then again that’s exactly what this could be with the right price tag.

[Source: Autobild]

About the only thing your morning commute has in common with three-time ALMS GT2 Driver’s Champ Patrick Long is the cup of coffee.

The only American to be a factory Porsche driver, Long picks up a cup of java for fellow driver Hurley Haywood at the Porsche Sport Driving School at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Driving the hard-core GT3 RS 4.0, frankly, we’re surprised it even has cup holders.

Watch the video below and enjoy:

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There was a time that potential Porsche owners wouldn’t even concern themselves with fuel efficiency figures, but nowadays mpg figures are important to any educated car buyer.

The EPA has released its mpg figures for the 2013 Porsche Boxster equipped with the 2.7-liter, flat-six engine with 265-hp. The six-speed manual Boxster gets 20-mpg city, 30-mpg highway, while the seven-speed PDK-equipped model gets a respectable 22-mpg city, 32-mpg highway.

The figures are a noticeable improvement compared to the Boxster’s former 2.9-liter powerplant, which got 20-mpg city, 29-mpg highway for the automatic model and 19-mpg city, 27-mpg highway for the manual.

So those purchasing a 2013 Boxster will not only get 10-hp more in a chassis that is 55 lbs lighter, but will also get improved fuel economy. The EPA has not released figures on the Boxster S model yet, but we expect a similar improvement.

GALLERY: 2013 Porsche Boxster

Sharing some body camouflage from its big brother the Cayenne, our photographers have just snapped these spy photos of the upcoming 2014 Porsche Macan.

Set to slot in below the Cayenne and ride on the same platform as the Audi Q5, the Porsche Macan is noticeably smaller with a lower overall height as well.

Details on what engines the Porsche Macan will sport have not been confirmed but there’s plenty of speculation and a long list of donor engines within the VW Group lineup. For starters there’s the same hybrid drivetrain used in the Audi Q5 Hybrid with a VW-sourced 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine being mated to a 44 hp electric motor. A non-hybrid 4-cylinder is also rumored and either way it’s a near certainty that the Macan will be the first Porsche since 1995 to sport fewer than six-cylinders.

A top level Porsche Macan Turbo is believed to get a 3.0-liter V6 engine with twin turbochargers making 370 hp and around 400 lb-ft of torque. Look for Porsche’s 7-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic to be used, while there is the possibility we could see the 911′s new 7-speed manual as well.

Along with the 4-door spied here, Porsche is prepping a 2-door version of the Macan as well.

GALLERY: 2014 Porsche Macan Spy Photos

An interesting report has surfaced from the 33rd Vienna Motor Symposium that revealed Porsche has diesel powerplants firmly in its strategy, while electric vehicles are not.

Speaking at the conference, Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz revealed that the German automaker believes that pure electric vehicles are “not even close to series production with the current battery technology.” It’s a peculiar statement since Porsche announced that it would begin testing its Electric Boxster prototypes last year.

Perhaps Porsche isn’t pleased with the results so far, with Hatz stating that internal combustion engines will remain dominant in the foreseeable future and that the diesel is a firm part of the VW Group’s strategy currently. More importantly however, Hatz said, “There will be more powerful variations with Porsche-like performance.” He went on to add, “It would be wrong to say no to a Boxster diesel for all times.”

This of course raises questions about what Porsche’s diesel car strategy might be. There is, of course, the conventional fuel economy and budget-minded direction. Porsche, however, could look at diesel’s as a performance option, much like how BMW has just introduced a new M line of performance diesels.

[Source: Car and Driver]

Conversation about a Porsche 550 successor swings back and forth between production dates and delays. According to the latest from the brand, the newest projected year could be 2017.

While it’s probably little more than hot air, a senior Porsche strategist told Automobile that the brand is still planning a 551, though there is a lot left to chew before it reaches that dish.

“We need to concentrate on our cash-cows before entering a new segment where profit margins are notoriously critical,” an unnamed source said. “But once we are done with the 918 Spyder, the 960 [Ferrari-fighting] supercar, and the new Panamera, a window will open between 2016 and 2018 which may be wide enough to get the Mimo[551] project under way after all.”

The 551 was previously thought to be on tap for 2014, but the sails died on that ship, leaving people uncertain of the project’s future. Moving forward will mean parent company Volkswagen’s decision to develop the MSB platform, which would underpin sports cars across VW’s subsidiary company lines. Everything from the 551 to the Lamborghini Aventador’s successor, to the Porsche 960 supercar.

That platform would allow for front- mid- and rear-engined cars all to be designed on the same underpinnings. Once the MSB architecture is in place, companies under VW ownership will be better able to progress toward new sports cars.

[Source: Automobile]