Porsche » Australian Car Advice

Porsche Panamera first official glimpse

September 16th, 2008 9 Comments

Porsche is savouring every last moment of publicity prior to the official launch of the new four-door Panamera Gran Turismo.

Together with the first official teaser image, the brand has launched a new web site to showcase the latest member of the Porsche family.

Porsche plans coup against Volkswagen Chairman

September 15th, 2008 6 Comments

If you thought your office politics were bad, you will have to feel a little for Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piëch who is rumoured to be out the door today after Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche (Piëch’s cousin) is expected to remove him.

A German magazine has published the news today saying Mr Porsche has gained majority support among shareholders that own his family’s carmaker. “It is not a question of ‘if’, rather ‘when’ and ‘how’,” the Magazine quoted one Porsche manager as saying.

Video: Fifth Gear GT-R vs 911 Turbo

September 9th, 2008 27 Comments

When Top Gear were handed the keys to the Nissan GT-R - it bit back, sending Clarkson home in an ambulance - let’s see how Fifth Gear fair.

With GP2 driver Bruno Senna behind the wheel - nephew of legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna, Fifth Gear pits the GT-R against its most ferocious rival - the Porsche 911 Turbo.

GT-R wins Targa West

September 8th, 2008 5 Comments

In a tribute to the solidarity of Japanese product, Nissan’s mighty GT-R, driven by Steve Jones, has beaten off Porsche and Lamborghini to win this year’s Quit Targa West Rally in Western Australia.

Jones (above, right) and his co-driver Ruari Soutar-Dawson bravely fought off challenges from the Porsche GT2, driven by veteran racer Jim Richards, and Kevin Weeks in the Lamborghini Superleggera. Jones was 15 seconds in front of Richards by the chequered flag.

Porsche goes hi-tech with virtual test drive

September 3rd, 2008 2 Comments

Porsche Cars North America has added a nifty little gadget to its official web site to showcase its new 2009 Porsche 911 sports car.

Potential buyers and dreamers alike can now build their own virtual course and view the new model in all its digital glory.

Ferrari races ahead of Porsche in July

August 27th, 2008 7 Comments

Ferrari has experienced flourishing sales this July, despite a significant decline in the market sector - edging out its main competitor, Porsche in the sales stake.

Surprisingly for the Italian legend, these figures were calculated by VFACTS - meaning the prancing horse has achieved this success in Australian showrooms rather than overseas markets.

2010 Porsche Cayenne CGI and spy shots

August 18th, 2008 6 Comments

Early reports surrounding this latest test mule from Porsche speculated a smaller Cayenne sibling dubbed the ‘Roxster’ was in the works.

However as these fresh spy shots reveal, it is the icon itself hauling what appears to be a very heavy load over its rear axle.

Spied: 2009 Porsche Boxster and Cayman

August 15th, 2008 14 Comments

You have to just love Porsche’s approach to camouflage - its blink-and-miss-it evolutionary styling means less is more when it comes to evading sly photographers.

Luckily ours had nothing better to do that day, and here we have our best glimpse yet of an almost completely undisguised pair of next-gen Porsche’s.

Limited Edition Porsche Cayman S Sport

August 5th, 2008 5 Comments

Porsche has introduced a new limited edition arrival into its Cayman line-up which improves upon the Cayman S which was originally introduced in November 2005.

Matching the dynamics of the Cayman S with the visual impact of the iconic 911 GT3 RS, the new Cayman S Sport boasts a significant power upgrade.

The Supercar Club - the coolest club in Australia

July 29th, 2008 11 Comments

The Supercar Club - the coolest club in Australia

- Paul Maric

Okay, so I was a member of a chess club when I was younger. No big deal, I just made sure I didn’t tell anybody about it - especially girls. This club on the other hand is one that all members aren’t afraid of boasting about.

The title says it all – the Supercar Club.

For those of us who don’t find the idea of owning and experiencing the depreciation of a supercar, there is hope at hand.

The team at the Supercar Club offer members a variety of cars to drive throughout the year, ranging from city runabouts like the HUMMER H2, right through to earth shaking supercars like the Ford GT. After paying a once off joining fee and an annual fee, members are entitled to a certain number of days behind the wheel of the exotics of their choice – the number of days varying with each membership level.

Sitting on the Supercar Club’s fleet at any given point are cars such as the Audi R8, Ferrari F430 and F430 Spider, one of only two right-hand drive Ford GTs in the world, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and DB9, Porsche 911 Turbo and GT2, Lotus Exige S and even an Aerial Atom - amongst others.

This unique program runs out of Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast. The Supercar Club has plans to expand to Perth by years end and Adelaide early next year (2009).

Members book their desired vehicles through an online portion of the Supercar Club’s website which gives priority to early birds. Members have the ability to book 30-days in advance and have the ability to use a limited number of wildcards to book cars up to 12-months in advance for special occasions.

Although you may have heard of many exotic car rental companies operating throughout Australia, but the Supercar Club is unique as it owns every car on its fleet. Those exotic car rental companies generally rent out privately owned cars and can’t guarantee availability as the actual owner of the vehicle has the final say.

The Supercar Club recently launched an initiative allowing Australian members to own a share of a truly exclusive hypercar – the Bugatti Veyron. This exclusive experience is still in the development stage and will finally depend on a minimum number of acceptances.

The idea behind the Bugatti deal is to allow Australian members time behind the wheel of the Veyron. Although the car can’t be driven on Australian roads, members will be given the opportunity to access about one month in total behind the wheel overseas. After driving the Bugatti Veyron myself earlier this year, there is simply nothing that compares in terms of the driving experience and pleasure.

Once the car is sold at the end of its use, members receive a return on their investment – certainly not too bad for a person with around $200,000 in expendable income.

After joining the Supercar Club, members are put through a driving course to help them cope with the size and driveability of a supercar. One of the club’s major repair costs comes from scratched wheels – no wrecked cars to speak of yet, touch wood!

Also on the cards are track days at major racing circuits with the club’s cars. These days will give members a unique opportunity to throw some exotic machinery around the race track in an environment where they can exploit the cars full potential. Instead of owning just the one vehicle and taking it to track days, members will be able to drive a whole range of supercars under controlled conditions.

Some manufacturers were initially threatened by the Supercar Club’s presence in Australia, but soon realised it was a benefit rather than a detriment. Members are able to sample a wide variety of cars and will likely purchase the car that really polarises them. After driving machinery like the Audi S5 and several Lamborghinis, it takes a proper drive to cement the decision to purchase such a car.

A cap of five members to one car means that new cars are added frequently to meet member demands. Prospective members will be happy to hear that it’s a democracy at the Supercar Club. Members are given the chance to vote at frequent meetings and share the decision about the next vehicles entering the fleet.

Members are the ones who ultimately choose the car they’re after, opposed to the big wigs and bean counters of the operation.

According to the Supercar Club, New South Wales members are around 39-years old, on average, and evenly split between business owners and employees. Victoria is somewhat different though with the average age lingering around 47-years old, while about 97 per cent run their own business, indicating entrepreneurial skills are directly related to hot cars … sort of!

Although the general income of members is in the vicinity of $300,000 a year, there is a high school teacher who has recently joined the exclusive club. It’s certainly not a bad way to con students into school work!

Boys, if you have access to your Dad’s black Amex, pop it back in his wallet. The minimum joining age is 30 – although the Supercar Club is willing to make exceptions after prior approval from their insurers.

The most popular cars on the fleet are the Ferrari F430, Ferrari 360, Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Victoria is also hung on Aston Martins, with the V8 Vantage and DB9 Volante striking a chord with southern state members. With the recent addition of a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, this could soon change!

The general feel of the place is that members are key and are treated with the utmost respect. In the Supercar Club it doesn’t matter how much you earn or who you are, or even whether you are part of a chess club. Everyone is on the same level and shares the one passion – fast cars.

To find out more information about the Supercar Club, please visit http://www.supercarclub.com.au. You can also call the club on 1300 798 900. If you are interested in Bugatti Veyron ownership, follow this link.

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2009 Porsche 911 Targa 4 and Targa 4S

July 28th, 2008 4 Comments

“Every bit as iconic as the 911 Turbo, Porsche’s new 911 Targa, is a masterpiece in design and visually stunning”

- Anthony Crawford

Porsche might have adopted the name Targa after the famous Targa Florio road race before any other manufacturer for their 1966 (1967 model) Porsche Targa, but it was the English sports car company Triumph, which first used the system in their 1961 TR4. Unfortunately for them, they called it the “Surry Top”.

Porsche were far more business minded than the small English company and took out a trademark on the “Targa” name. From that moment on, all other manufacturers in the sports car business were forced to come up with alternative names for their removable tops.

But it’s the Porsche Targa, which has survived all these years, and the new 2009 Targa 4 and Targa 4S, with their removable glass roof, is a masterpiece in design and visually, the most unique 911.

Looking down onto the car from some height – the entire roof is glass. That’s 1.54-square metres in two distinct pieces. The front section of the roof slides back beneath the fixed rear glass panel exposing driver and passengers to open space measuring 0.45 square metres.

Opening time for the roof is a fast seven seconds and as standard kit, you also get a new sunblind offering more privacy than on the previous model while opening and closing (electrically) independently of the sliding glass roof section.

And for those rightly concerned about the effects of the sun, there is no need to panic. The glass is anti-sunglare and will protect you from UV radiation and with some heat reduction.

Porsche only build fast cars and these two siblings are no exception. The Targa 4 packs a new 3.6-litre flat-six engine with direct fuel injection and punches out 254kW with a top speed of 284 km/h.

The 4S is powered by the beefier 3.8-litre powertain, which produces 283 kW and will propel this car onto the supercar speed of 297 km/h.

And if you’re thinking about ordering the Targa with the optional Tiptronic gearbox, forget it. Porsche have developed their own version of a fast shifting double-clutch transmission they are calling PDK or Porsche-Doppelkupplung. Not sure of the actual shift times in milliseconds but it is said to be a full 0.2 seconds quicker in the 0-100 km/h run than the standard six-speed box, and with better fuel economy and less emissions.

Traction and stability has also been enhanced on the new Targa variants with the introduction of the Porsche Traction Management (PTM). It’s an electronically controlled system, which replaces the previous all-wheel drive with viscous multiple-plate clutch.

Almost forgot, 0-100 km/h in the Targa 4, will take you all of 5.0 seconds, and just 4.7 seconds in the Targa 4S. That’s with the double-clutch transmission deployed in both cars.

Pricing for the new 911 series will be announced by Porsche Australia shortly and the Targa variants along with the Carrera 4 and 4S models will go on sale here on October 25.

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