Argentine Dealer Signs Porsche-For-Wine Program to Offset Car Imports

Argentina's Industry Ministry signed an agreement with Porsche importer Grupo Pulenta according to which, the company will have to offset all car imports with equivalent exports of wine and olives.

The deal complies with local regulations that allow companies to import cars for sale only if they export goods of the same value. Grupo Pulenta, which aims to import 100 vehicles worth around $8 million this year, will therefore have to export wine and olive products to 18 countries, including the U.S. and neighboring Brazil.

The agreement comes two weeks after Volkswagen signed a deal with the Argentine government to increase exports from VW's Cordoba plant by 77 percent in 2011, so that the deficit between the company's exports and imports will drop around 70 percent.

Automobile sales in Argentina rose 43 percent in 2010 to a record 698,299 units, according to the country's Automobile Manufacturers Association. Out of these, 435,767 units were imported. Exports from Argentina's car industry reached 447,953 units last year.

By Dan Mihalascu

Source: Bloomberg

PHOTO GALLERY

Patrick Motorsports Rebuilds a Rare Porsche 906

Hands up who doesn’t like the Porsche 906? Not many, I guess, and that’s rather unsurprising. The 906 was the last of Porsche’s street legal race cars, built to homologate the Group 4 racing category. Weighing in at a lithe 1,300 lb (580 kg), the 906 featured a body comprising a lightweight tubular space frame and unstressed fibreglass shell. Most were fitted with a 220 hp (164 kW) 2.0 L six that gave it a top speed of 170 mph (280 km/h).

And with its mid-engine enclosed by a Plexiglas cover and those oh-so-fashionable gullwing doors, the 906 looked like a prop out of a science fiction movie. A 1970s science fiction movie to be sure, but that’s neither here nor there.

Patrick Motorsports (PMC) of Phoenix, Arizona has recently completed an intensive restoration on one of these cars, of which only fifty were produced. The so-called, “Full Concourse Quality Restoration” of this 1966-built model included the chassis, sub frame, fibreglass body and exterior paint.

The company went so far as to redesign and fabricate new gullwing door hinges and added a roof-mounted exhaust port to help cool the 906’s glassed-in cabin. They also completely rebuilt the suspension and replaced all the suspension rod ends with stainless steel.

Overall, the work appears to be of a high standard, resulting in a museum quality show piece that should also be driveable. Though, from the looks of that minimalist cabin and lack of sound proofing, I’m not too sure it’d be an altogether smooth or quiet ride. Still, one can’t have everything. Check out our gallery and feel free to leave a piece in the comments section below.

By Tristan Hankins

Link: Patrick Motorsports

PHOTO GALLERY

New Porsche Commercial Shows Sports Cars Doing Ordinary Activities in Style

Porsches are renowned for their every day usability, although it's hard to believe this is the main reason for which people buy them. However, in its most recent commercial, Porsche promotes the practical side of its 911, Cayman and Boxster sports cars.

The ad is made up of four short fragments called ‘Snowmobile’, ‘Pickup Truck’, ‘Getaway Car’ and ‘School Bus' that show a 911 Carrera 4S, a Cayman, a 911 Carrera GTS and a 911 Turbo involved in everyday activities like shopping or picking up the kids from school. As a bonus, Porsche released a fifth fragment that didn't make it to the 30-second ad, called ‘Pet Carrier’. Take a look at the videos after the jump.

By Dan Mihalascu

VIDEOS

VIDEO: Corvette ZR1 ALMS Ad Belittles BMW, Ferrari and Porsche, but Ends up Losing to M3s in Sebring…

Just before the season opener of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida this past weekend, GM aired an aggressive commercial touting its 638-horsepower-strong Corvette ZR1. The ad claims that the firm’s engineers had to reduce the stock ZR1’s LS9 engine output by 168HP in order to compete in the race and “just to be fair against Porsche, Ferrari and BMW”.
For one, the Corvette ALMS racers are actually powered by a V8 loosely based on the Z06’s LS7 engine (see the second video after the jump). Perhaps most importantly, the Corvettes finished third and fourth in the GT class in Sebring behind two BMW M3 GTs… Videos follow after the break.

VIDEOS

Porsche Announces Pricing on 918 Spyder Hybrid Supercar, Starts at $845,000 in the US, €645,000 + VAT in Europe

We may be more than two years ahead of the production launch of Porsche’s new 918 Spyder, but that isn’t stopping the Stuttgart automaker from putting up a price tag and at the same time, begin accepting orders on its upcoming plug-in hybrid supercar.

The 918 Spyder will be Porsche’s most expensive model ever with prices in the USA, excluding destination and handling chargeς, starting at $845,000 (€598,000), and in Europe from €645,000 ($911,400) subject to VAT and country-specific charges.

As an extra treat, those who place an order for the 918 Spyder will also be eligible to buy a new special edition version of the 911 Turbo S series, more of which we’ll tell you about in our next post.

Production of the 918 Spyder will take place at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen plant in Germany starting from September 18, 2013, with delivery of the first vehicles to commence in November 2013. Porsche plans to limit production of the two-seater model to no more than 918 units worldwide. According to Porsche, “the earlier a customer orders his vehicle, the earlier it will be delivered, as production is initialized in the same sequence in which orders are received”.

The 918 Spyder is closely modeled after the concept study seen at last year’s Geneva Motor Show. However, the production version of the two-seater ditches the full open-top treatment for a manual roof system with removable roof panels that can be stowed in the front luggage compartment. Other changes visible from the official sketches include the addition of exterior mirrors and the elimination of the side exhaust tail pipes.

The flagship Porsche supercar is built around a carbon fibre-reinforced plastic monocoque and features a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that comprises of a V8 gasoline engine with a displacement exceeding four liters and output of more than 500HP plus two electric motors – one each on the front and rear axle – with a joint output of at least 218HP.

The V8 engine transfers its power to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual clutch transmission.

The electric motors are fed via a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery that can be charged from a conventional domestic power socket, delivering a range in excess of 25 km (16 miles) in the NEDC on purely electric power. Porsche said the charging time depends on the country-specific mains network, being approximately three hours in Germany. The automaker added that a quick charging option is planned to reduce charging time yet further.

According to Porsche, the 918 Spyder’s combined total fuel consumption in the European driving cycle is estimated at 3.0 lt/100 km (94 mpg UK / 78.4 mpg US.), equating to CO2 emissions of 70 g/km (112 g/mile). Porsche said official EPA fuel economy figures for the US model will be announced just before the first customer cars begin arriving near the end of 2013.

The 918 Spyder can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of more than 320 km/h (199 mph). Porsche said the Spyder will be able to manage a lap of the Nürburgring in “less than seven minutes and 30 seconds”, compared to the Carrera GT which needs seven minutes and 32 seconds. The top speed on purely electric power is 150 km/h (94 mph).

PORSCHE 918 SPYDER PRODUCTION MODEL

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PORSCHE 918 SPYDER CONCEPT