Might Porsche be working on a new machine that would combine these two icons? According Auto Express, the answer is yes. Take it all with an appropriately sized grain of salt for now, but the rumormill would have Porsche building exactly 100 911 Speedsters for roughly $300,000 (£200,000) each.

That princely sum will reportedly buy a 911 boasting a cut-down windshield and racing-style sloping rear humps behind each passenger headrest. The German automaker’s well-known 3.8-liter flat six would provide power, boosted 17 horses over the mill found in the 911 Sport Classic for a total of 402 horsepower.

Rear-wheel drive over all-wheel drive should make traditionalists happy, and a supposed 0 to 60 times of about 4.5 seconds and top speed of 190 miles per hour ought to please everyone else. Also, Porsche is reportedly cooking up wide-body non-Speedsters that will use the same engine and be available in either coupe or cabriolet forms with a much more reasonable price tag.

At least 2,000 individuals have put in non-binding expressions of interest for the supercar, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The 918 Spyder is one of three hybrid models Porsche presented at the Geneva auto show in March.

Demand for luxury cars is returning as Wall Street firms add jobs for the first time in two years and offer guaranteed payouts to attract top bankers. While Porsche hasn’t decided whether and when it will begin production of the model, at that price the 918 Spyder would top the 453,000-euro Carrera GT. Fewer than 1,500 of that model were built between 2003 and 2006.

“The Spyder will become Porsche’s new supercar showpiece project,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch- Gladbach, Germany. “It unites Porsche’s high-performance engineering with intelligent drive technology.”

Porsche, which is merging with Volkswagen AG, needs at least 1,000 sales pledges to approve limited production of the car, development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer said in an April 24 interview. If only half of those who signed up eventually bought the car, Porsche stands to reap 500 million euros in revenue.

A Porsche spokesman declined to comment on the potential price tag and said a decision on production of the model will be made later this year.

The two-seater car accelerates to a top speed of 320 kilometers (199 miles) per hour, relying on a 500-horsepower V8 engine and electric drive-systems allowing the vehicle to run up to 25 kilometers on electric power.

The 918 Spyder emits no more than 70 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer on fuel consumption of three liters per 100 kilometers, according to Porsche’s website.

Frank Biller, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, where Porsche is based, said the 918 Spyder may enhance the carmaker’s environmental credentials and potentially help attract customers to the brand which he says builds “Europe’s worst gas guzzlers.”

Bloomberg

Zwart, now a seven-time Pikes Peak class winner, not only broke Rhys Millen’s 2009 class record by 38 seconds (after smashing his qualifying record by 18 seconds), but went faster than all but five of the entire field – three Unlimited Class and two Open Wheels cars, all with 600-plus horsepower. His 911 GT3 Cup car also beat all the production based race cars entries, 2WD and 4WD. Nobulhiro Tajima, from Japan, won the hillclimb overall in an eight-cylinder, turbocharged Suzuki 4WD one-off race car with an Unlimited Class entry.

Zwart said the key to his victory was the confidence that build up every time he drove the car.

In my previous six victories – all in Porsche street-based turbo cars – I spent most of my practice time trying to tame the car to fit this difficult course; With this Porsche 911 Cup car, it was clear to me from the beginning that the car was challenging me to drive my best, and I went faster every time I stepped behind the wheel. Each time I thought I was asking too much from the car, especially when I carried maximum speed into one of those hairpins, the Porsche responded and challenged me to push even harder,” said Zwart.

He also repeated his amazement from Friday’s qualifying session that the normally-aspirated car didn’t lose horsepower from its 9,000-foot-elevation start and the 14,000-foot finish line. A combination of the 450-hp, 3.8-liter Porsche Cup car engine and expert engine map adjustments from Porsche Motorsport North America gave Zwart the performance of a lifetime.

Zwart again praised the Pirelli road racing rain tires, which he felt held their grip evenly on both the gravel and tarmac surfaces, a necessity as the course has been transformed from all gravel to half and half. Next year, with two more miles of the 12-mile course scheduled for paving, road-racing- based tires will make more sense than ever. The team made some adjustments to tire pressures on all four wheels prior to qualifying. Pirelli had developed a tire for Zwart based on the rain tire they use for the Rolex Grand-Am series.

Without Luminox Watches, Porsche Motorsport North America, and Pirelli tires support, this victory would not have been possible,” said Zwart.

Porsche Motorsport started with a 2007 Cup car, updated it to 2010 specifications, and installed a new 450 horsepower 3.8-liter engine currently in use in the Patron GT3 Challenge, American Le Mans Series Challenge Class, and the Porsche Supercup series. The engine management mapping was modified to perform well in high altitude as the race starts at 9,390 feet and finishes at the summit, 14,110 feet above sea level, and ride height was increased for the gravel sections of the course. The underbody was also modified to protect the car from gravel and stones similar to rally competition. Zwart has now won his class at Pikes Peak – all in Porsches – in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2010, setting new class records four times. Most recently, before this weekend, he co- drove a Porsche Cayenne with Pikes Peak veteran Paul Dallenbach at the challenging TransSyberia Rally (Moscow to Mongolia) in 2007. He also has an SCCA PRO Rally Championship (1990) and a SCORE Baja 1000 class win (2004) to his credit.

Porsche Motorsport

In keeping with the Festival’s chosen Viva Veloce theme, the Porsche Museumin Stuttgart will be bringing some of the victorious sports cars from the Targa Florio road race in Sicily, as well as the Porsche 917 to celebrate a significant Porsche motorsport anniversary – 40 years since the 1970 win at Le Mans. The rare 804 Grand Prix car from 1962 will also be demonstrated, as part of commemorations of 60 years of the F1 World Championship.

These iconic models will share the spotlight with some all-new Porsche stars. The Festival sees the debut of the fastest-ever Porsche, the 620 hp GT2 RS, in the Supercar Run alongside the new GT3 RS. The new Porsche Cayenne range will also be on display, and in action, in the Porsche Experience area.

Porsche successes at Le Mans, the Targa Florio and in Formula One celebrated
With an unbeaten record of 16 victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the reputation of Porsche has been founded on success in the demanding high pressure, high speed motor sport environment.

The iconic Porsche 917 scored the first Le Mans win for the marque in 1970, and this year Porsche celebrates the 40th anniversary of this achievement by demonstrating the number 23 winner at Goodwood.

The Sixties and Seventies was a golden age for sports car endurance racing, and Porsche drivers climbed the top step of the podium at many venues. With more than 6,000 curves and countless climbs, the 720 kilometre Targa Florio course in Sicilian Madonie was one of the greatest challenges in international motor sport for many decades. To commemorate the feats of the cars and drivers in the renowned ‘Targa’, the Porsche Museum is bringing to Goodwood the 908/02 Spyder that won the race in 1969 together with the 908/03 Spyder that was victorious in 1970.

Although indelibly associated with sports car racing, Porsche has enjoyed success at the very pinnacle of motorsport in Formula 1. The peak of this involvement was undoubtedly a hat trick of World Championship victories between 1984 – 1986, achieved with the 1.5-litre 900 hp TAG Turbo engine designed by Porsche. However, in 1961 the Stuttgart marque entered its own chassis in Formula 1, and for the 1962 season the company developed the 804 – powered by a flat eight cylinder 1.5-litre 180 hp engine. Driven by the American driver Dan Gurney, the 804 scored its first victory at the 1962 French GP and quickly followed this with another triumph at the Solitude track in Germany.

Debut of 911 GT2 RS
The Sunday Times Supercar Run is a prime attraction at the Festival of Speed, showcasing the fastest and most exclusive road-going sports cars. This year’s event will mark the debut of the latest Porsche 911 GT2 RS, which arrives in UK showrooms in September. With 620 hp and the capability to lap the Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit in Germany in 7 min 18 secs, the GT2 RS is the fastest and most powerful road-going sports car ever built in the history of Porsche. With power up by 90 hp and weight down by 70 kg in comparison with the prior 911 GT2, the new 911 GT2 RS has a power-to-weight ratio of 452 hp / tonne, by far the best in class, and marks the summit in the 911 range.

Joining the GT2 RS in the parade of power will be the new 911 GT3 RS. Offering an engine power increase to 450 hp, lower weight, shorter transmission ratios and a chassis optimised to an even higher standard, the 911 GT3 RS sets the foundation for homologating the racing version of the 911 GT3. The GT3 RS thus provides the key ingredients for extending the unparalleled racing record of Porsche and continues the series of absolute, uncompromised, motor sport-oriented editions of the 911 that are homologated for road use and which can trace their roots back to the classic Carrera RS 2.7 of 1973.

The all-new Cayenne and the Porsche Experience
The new generation Porsche Cayenne range is a trend-setter in terms of efficiency and performance and, compared with the former models, offers an increase in fuel economy of up to 23 per cent.

The highlight of the new line-up is the technically sophisticated parallel full hybrid drive-train which combines the sporting performance of an eight-cylinder with the economy of a six-cylinder. The ultimate in performance driving experiences continues to be delivered by the 500 hp Cayenne Turbo.

The driver-oriented chassis of the new Cayenne has been designed to combine sports car handling on the road with the added versatility of being able to cover ground quickly, regardless of the terrain.

Visitors to the Festival of Speed will be able to experience Porsche power personally courtesy of Driving Consultants from the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone, who will be demonstrating the performance and handling of the new Cayenne on a specially designed dynamics course laid out in the Porsche Driving Experience area at Goodwood. The grass-surfaced course around which the 400 hp V8-engined Cayenne S models will power is intended to demonstrate perfectly the outstanding dynamic ability of this immensely versatile Porsche.

Look out for Porsche personalities and relax at the Café Le Mans
Porsche enthusiasts visiting Goodwood will be pleased to learn that there are many more examples of the marque, and former factory race drivers, participating in the Festival of Speed. Not least amongst these will be Richard Attwood, former F1 driver and 1970 Le Mans winner, who will be taking time out of his daily schedule as a Porsche Driving Consultant, at the Porsche Experience Centre Silverstone, to rekindle old flames in the paddock!

For visitors wishing to refuel themselves, the Porsche Café Le Mans will be once more situated on the outside of the track near the footbridge, offering meals and refreshments throughout the weekend.

However, while it was held at Road Atlanta, it was not the famous circuit that was used, but rather an infield section of the track arranged in an Autocross manner. On this side of the pond Autocross is known as “Mini Trials”,  so the name should give a clue to the type of car that is best suited to this kind of motorsport.

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On 14 June 1970, Porsche claimed the first of what would become 16 overall victories in the world’s most prestigious endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours. After precisely 4,607.811 kilometres – or 343 laps – Hans Herrmann and Richard Atwood were first across the finishing line in the legendary Porsche 917 KH from Porsche Salzburg, which bore the starting number 23. Gerard Larrousse and Willy Kauhsen in the Martini Porsche 917 LH, followed by Rudi Lins and Helmut Marko in the Porsche 908/02 took second and third places respectively, making it a total triumph for Porsche.

However, the road to this victory was by no means an easy one for Porsche. The Zuffenhausen sports car manufacturer had been racing at the Sarthe circuit since 1951, achieving numerous class wins thanks to intrinsic Porsche qualities such as lightweight construction, aerody-
namics and reliability. In 1969, Porsche was pipped to the post in the closest ever Le Mans race, with Herrmann and Larrousse in the Porsche 908 finishing just 75 metres – around one second – behind the Ford GT 40 of Jacky Ickx.

In the anniversary year of 1970, all the signs pointed towards an offensive that would finally see the much longed-for overall victory in Le Mans go to Stuttgart. The Porsche 917 was destined for victory, having made its debut just a year earlier. On 21 April 1969, the 25 Porsche 917s were approved by the homologation commission in Zuffenhausen. The cost of materials alone exceeded DM 5 million. The Porsche 917, developed by Ferdinand Piëch, was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. This new ‘ultimate’ Porsche quickly caused a stir among rival competitors. Weighing in at close to the minimum weight of 800 kilograms, it went on to become one of the fastest and most successful racing cars of all time. The lightweight 12-cylinder engine delivered up to 580 hp at 8,400 rpm with a displacement of 4.5 litres. This enabled the long-tail version to reach speeds approaching 400 km/h (248 mph) on the 5,823 metre-long Hunaudières straight at Le Mans.

In the run-up to the 1970 race, it was clear that the lessons learned from previous years had been worthwhile. Realising that rash manoeuvres in the first few hours of this classic endurance race would ultimately end in failure, Porsche made the experienced Hans Herrmann its first choice as driver. The Sindelfingen veteran combined speed and good sense. Together with Englishman Richard Attwood, he started in the 4.5-litre short-tail version bearing the number 23, which was painted in the red and white colours of Porsche Salzburg. The team’s second car, featuring a 4.9-litre engine and long-tail body, was driven by Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens. A further three Porsche 917s were entered by John Wyer along with the psychedeliccoloured 4.5-litre long-tail version of the Martini team. There was also an entire armada of 907, 908, 910, 911 S and 914/6 models. At precisely 4 p.m. on 13 June, 24 Porsche cars stood at the starting line in Le Mans. By the next day there were still 12 remaining, five of which were classified. The only other cars to be classified were two Ferrari 512 S – this was out of a total field of 51 starters.

This race went down in history – and not just from the perspective of Porsche – because of the disastrous weather. Vic Elford recalled how it was sometimes impossible to overtake, even on the long straights. Kurt Ahrens described it as being like sitting in a boat. And just a few weeks after his victory, Hans Herrmann admitted that driving in the rain had prompted him to make the decision to finally hang up his helmet no matter what the outcome. When leaving his house in Sindelfingen-
Maichingen, his wife had asked him when he was going to give up driving, to which he responded: “When I win.”

A promise is a promise. An hour after the start, which saw the drivers begin the race sitting in their cars instead of performing the world-
famous “Le Mans start”, Herrmann was only in ninth place. The race leader was Jo Siffert, also in a Porsche 917, followed by Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari 512 S. Siffert later missed a shift and blew his engine, while Ickx crashed his red racer at the chicane. At around 6:15 p.m. came the almost unbelievable news that four Ferrari 512 S had crashed into one another in the driving rain and were out of the race. The race also took its toll on the Porsche armada, with all three 917s of the Gulf team gradually dropping out.

Now was the moment for the experienced veteran Herrmann, who had the perfect partner in Richard Attwood, to show what he could do. Under the most difficult weather conditions, he gradually moved his way up the field, guiding the Porsche Salzburg 917 confidently to the first ever overall victory for Porsche at Le Mans. He realised the significance of this moment as the race came to an end on 14 June 1970: “Wow! That may have been your last lap ever as a racing driver.” Back home in Stuttgart, his victory was celebrated with a parade, in which he drove his winning car through the city to the market square. Thousands of people turned out to congratulate Hans Herrmann, ex-racing driver.

Porsche followed up this success with a further 15 overall victories at
Le Mans, the second coming just a year later in 1971. In a unique Porsche 917 with a lightweight magnesium chassis, Gijs van Lennep and
Dr. Helmut Marko drove to victory on a still largely chicane-free circuit. In doing so, they set an incredible record, which has never been broken. The Porsche 917 completed precisely 5,335.313 kilometres and 397 laps in 24 hours, clocking up an average speed of 222.304 km/h (138.140 mph) despite all of the pit stops and the long night. The fastest lap in the race was achieved by Jackie Oliver’s Gulf 917, with an unbe-
lievable 244 km/h (151.6 mph) average speed, while the 917 long-tail Coupé of Elford/Larrousse was clocked at a maximum speed of 386 km/h (239.8 mph) on Hunaudières in 1971.
In 1976 and 1977 the Porsche 936 was victorious, while in 1981 it won again under Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell with a new turbo engine. Belgian driver Ickx won at Le Mans six times, four of them in a Porsche. In 1982 he was yet again part of the winning team in a triple victory that represented the first milestone for the most successful racing car of all time, the Porsche 956. Up to 1994, different variants of the 956/962 won at Le Mans seven times. 148 of these were produced in Weissach.

In some years, Porsche conceded the most important race of the year to customer teams, who emerged as frequent winners. Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington brothers thus achieved victory in Le Mans in 1979 with a Porsche 935 for the Cologne-based Kremer team, while Reinhold Joest guided the Porsche brand to well-deserved overall victories in 1984, 1985 and 1997.

Faced with the strongest ever field to line up at Le Mans in June 1998, Porsche racing director Herbert Ampferer spoke at the time of the “race of the century”. Porsche was represented with two new 911 GT1s and achieved a stunning double victory for the factory in the world’s most important endurance race, in front of a crowd of 250,000 thrilled spectators. This was the 16th and most recent overall victory for Porsche at the Sarthe circuit.

From 9 to 11 July 2010, Porsche will be celebrating this special motor sports anniversary in suitable style by taking part in the “Le Mans Classic”, an event which is only held every two years. In six classes covering model years 1923 to 1979, around 400 historic racing cars will gather to relive their old racing triumphs once more. Among them will be some of the overall winners from the Porsche Museum, which will lead an anniversary parade on the race track. Many famous drivers including Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood will also be taking part and will be available for autograph sessions.

Porsche – Press Release