We gave you the rundown and a few photos yesterday, but here’s Porsche’s press release video on the 918 Hybid Concept they’re showing in Geneva. I still don’t believe the performance numbers quoted by their marketing people, but at least they stopped short of saying that the 918’s trunk held a shark that fired laser beams from its eyes. It’s still car porn of the finest order, and at least you get to see it move in the video.

Porsche held an ace up their sleeve, unveiling the 918 Spyder Hybrid Concept days before the opening of the Geneva Motor Show. The 918 is a mid engined V8 plug in hybrid, which produces over 500 horsepower. Per Porsche’s press release, the V8 works in conjunction with front and rear electric motors, which produce another 218 horsepower. A PDK 7 speed transmission delivers power to the rear wheels, while the electric motors power the front wheels directly via a fixed ratio. Lithium ion batteries provide current to the electric motors, and the car takes advantage of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), converting recovered braking energy into electricity.

The second generation Porsche Cayenne is set to be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, but the widespread distribution of bootleg images on the internet have convinced Porsche to release press photos ahead of time. As you can see from the above and below images, Porsche was conservative with the restyling of their best selling vehicle. The sloping front end gives a more sporty, less truck-like appearance, and the updated rear causes the Cayenne to blend in with the rest of the crossover crowd. You can see styling elements pulled from the Panamera, but what fails on the sedan somehow works on the SUV.

More pics after the jump.

2010 Porsche 911 GT3; endangered species?

CAFE, or Corporate Average Fuel Economy, is a government-set standard that requires automakers to meet certain fuel economy ratings across their fleet. Take Chevy, for example: the fuel economy of the ZR1 Corvette (16 mpg combined) is offset by the fuel economy of the Aveo (30 mpg combined). Calculation is based on harmonic mean, not arithmetic mean and involves a rather complex equation factoring in vehicle type, fuel economy and units produced. Under the current standard, adopted in 2007, manufacturers must achieve a CAFE rating of 27.5 for passenger cars and 23.5 for light trucks.

2010 Porsche Panamera S. It's not quite as ugly in person.

Lusting for the new Porsche Panamera sedan, but finding the $90k Panamera S point of entry a little too steep? Looking for something a little more fuel efficient than a 400 horsepower, 4.8 liter V8? Don’t lose any more sleep, because Porsche is bringing in a V6 version this June.

No, that's not a replica, Porsche 917s really were that tiny.

To put things in perspective, the Porsche 914 had roughly the same dimensions as the original Mazda Miata (OK, the 914 was two inches longer – I said roughly the same). Compared to the diminutive 914, the fire breathing, pushing-1,000-horsepower-chariot-of-the-gods Porsche 917 looks like a kids pedal car. It took huevos mas grande to drive this thing down the Mulsanne Straight at speeds approaching 200 mph.

Source: Jalopnik

Porsche says it’s going to reveal a 911 GT3 hybrid racer at the Geneva Auto show in March, and it’s not anything like a Prius. Instead of using batteries, the car will use an F1-derived mechanical flywheel system to power two electric motors at the front wheels. Porsche plans to take the car to the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

The system uses a standard wickedly tuned flat six out back and boosts power with two electric motors up front. A mechanical flywheel power generator will ride shotgun to the driver. Its heavy flywheel is connected to a generator. When the car slows under braking, the flywheel stores the energy of deceleration. The car also has regenerative breaking, which uses the two front motors as generators when the car slows down.

The flywheel and regenerative breaking will deliver six to eight seconds of power to the dual front motors, giving the driver extra juice out of the corners.

Porsche doesn’t expect the car to be competitive in the 24-hour race, but says it’ll be a great testing ground for the technology. Personally, I think it’s far too complicated to be feasible. If you really want a fast, long-distance hybrid, a microturbine coupled to a generator seems like a much better way to go.

Via: Cnet

Photo: Dennis Culver / newspress.com

A south Florida woman learned the hard way that your local garage may not be the best place to take a mid-engine, rear drive sports car. Nanelle Wehmann dropped her 2008 Boxster at the local Shell station for “routine maintenance”, which apparently included high speed road testing by the station’s owner, Kenneth Kasten. Kasten lost control of the vehicle at a high rate of speed (although I’m doubting the Florida Highway Patrol’s estimate of 163 mph) and flipped the car into a mangrove swamp. Not seriously injured, the mechanic fled the scene and was found hiding in a nearby parking lot. He’s been charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of a crash; apparently, being a jackass is not against the law.

Action Express Racing Riley Porsche

In the motor sports underdog story of the year (so far), a team that made it’s first public appearance in December 2009 has won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Action Express Racing defeated perennial favorites Brumos Porsche and Ganassi Racing, with a well used Riley chassis running a bastardized privateer motor that began life in a Porsche Cayenne. Since Porsche neither builds the motor nor sanctions it for racing, they will not claim the win as a victory for Porsche.

Drivers Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller led 316 of 755 laps and crossed the finish line fifty two seconds ahead of their closest competitor, the Ganassi BMW Riley driven by Scott Pruett. This year’s race featured plenty of drama, including a start under yellow for rain and the early retirement of the heavily favored second Ganassi BMW Riley, which led 144 laps before going out with a blown motor.

The GT class was won by Jonathan Bomarito, Nick Ham, David Haskell, and Sylvain Tremblay, driving a Mazda RX-8 for SpeedSource Racing

Today, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) member and Tokyo Motor Show chairperson Toyokazu Ishida, confirmed that Hyundai has become the 23 and final major automaker to withdraw from the show. “Hyundai called last week and orally confirmed their intent to cancel,” said Ishida. “It’s unbelievable.” Decidedly more a sound business maneuver then a personal slight, Hyundai’s decision comes on the heels of a string of cancellations from literally every major foreign manufacturer, including Chrysler, GM (and all its subsidiaries), Ford, Volvo, Porsche, and Maserati, to name a few. Excluding native Japanese manufacturers, that leaves Germany’s Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen and Britain’s Lotus as the sole participants.