Forget Your Local Mechanic, Porsche Wants To Service Your Classic

Porsche wants to cash in on classic cars.

Vintage Porsche models are extremely collectible and have been skyrocketing in price recently. In fact, classic Porsche models are such a large market, even Porsche itself has decided to build parts to help these cars on the road. More than 70% of all Porsche cars ever built are still on the road, most of which are serviced by independent shops.

While Porsche can certainly brag about how many of its cars are still on the road, it doesn't really do the German automaker any good if they are all being serviced by private mechanics. According to Automotive News, the company will expand its Porsche Classic operations to capture more business from classic car owners.

Porsche Classic currently has 10 dealers in the US, which can repair, maintain, and even perform factory-sanctioned restoration on classic models. While 10 dealers is a nice start, Porsche wants to include more of its 190 stores in the program, though Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer didn't mention exactly how many dealers would be included. "What I can tell you is, I think there needs to be a lot more," Zellmer said. "Strategically speaking, we need to ramp up our game because that's a business field where we can still grow."

Even though Porsche classic only has 10 stores, its business is growing at a rapid 10% per year (the fastest growth of any Porsche business in the US). "The business here in the States is growing at a much higher rate than anything else we do at the moment," Zellmer said. "There's a lot of work that we need to do here in the United States in order to take care of those wonderful pieces of art."

Becoming a Porsche Classic dealer isn't easy. The factory takes into account the age and size of the showroom, the dealer's demographics, the quality of the service technicians, and the amount of volume through the service department. If approved, a Porsche Classic dealer can work on any class Porsche model - any model that has been out of production for 10 years or more.

Porsche Classic currently provides over 52,000 parts to dealers and independent shops to help keep classic models on the road. Over 300 new parts are added each year, and soon, more dealers will be added to ensure these vehicles stay in working order and Porsche keeps rolling in profits.

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Porsche Wants To Make A Naturally Aspirated 911 With 9,500 RPM Redline

Looks like the new GT3 RS might not be the last naturally aspirated Porsche 911 ever.

The new GT3 RS is the most powerful naturally aspirated 911 Porsche has ever built. But with rumors suggesting the next-generation model will be turbocharged, it also seems like a swansong for sublime-sounding naturally aspirated 911s. There's no need to worry however, because they’re here to stay for the foreseeable future. In an interview with Motor, Thomas Mader, Project Manager GT Road Car Engines, said “there will be a future” for natural aspiration when asked about the next-generation GT3 RS being turbocharged.

He went on to say it should still be possible to make naturally aspirated engines more fuel efficient to eliminate the need for forced induction. When asked if the current 4.0-liter unit will be the last, he replied “I don’t think so.” He also admitted that it’s possible to increase the engine’s displacement beyond its current 4.0-liter capacity but added that “the engine designers would have to look at that.” An increase in revs is more likely to happen in a future model, however, implying that the ultimate naturally aspirated 911 road car is still to come. The existing flat-six powering the 911 GT3 RS revs all the way up to 9,000 rpm, but Mader said a higher redline is technically possible.

The engine inside the road-going model is nearly identical to the ones in the mid-engined 911 RSR, the 911 GT3 Cup, and the 911 GT3 R race cars. In the RSR, the engine can rev up to 9,500 rpm. But while it’s technically possible, it would require some radical changes to the 911 GT3 RS. For [the new GT3 RS], [9000rpm] is matched perfect to the whole system,” he said. “Now I have to speak to my colleagues and we will have a car, and we will have 9500 revs, and matched to that all to the gearbox, then we will work on that technical side, which should be possible ... but [although] we have that engine for the racetrack, the lifetime aspect for road car is different."

If it does get the green light, a street-legal with a redline of 9,500 rpm would be one of the highest-revving production cars ever made, surpassing hypercars like the 918 Spyder, which revs up to the 9,150 rpm of and the LaFerrari, which revs up to 9,250 rpm.

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Genesis Wants An Immediate Divorce From Hyundai

Luxury car buyers aren't interested in walking into a Hyundai dealership.

Creating and defining a new car brand, be it luxury or mainstream, is not easy – especially when competition is fierce. This is currently the dilemma Genesis, Hyundai’s semi-new luxury division is facing right now. According to Automotive News, Genesis brand management wants an immediate separation from Hyundai, instead of the originally planned several years, in order to pursue a new sales strategy. Later this month, Genesis will supposedly reveal a new retail strategy specifically for the US market that will see it further separated from Hyundai.

What does that mean, exactly? Basically, only a certain number of Hyundai dealerships are even allowed to sell the Genesis G80 and G90 right now, and that figure will be further reduced in an effort to enhance exclusivity. Remember, both Genesis sedans compete directly with the likes of the BMW 5 and 7 Series and the upcoming G70 will take on the 3 Series. Genesis crossovers are also currently in the works. But this pending divorce from many Hyundai dealerships could create some problems, mainly because those dealers are losing models to sell. Also, which dealers will be dumped?

No doubt this separation will damage some dealer-automaker relationships. Hyundai’s outgoing strategy for the Genesis brand hasn’t worked very well. For example, right now any of Hyundai’s 835 US dealers can sell the G80, which was formerly the Hyundai Genesis. A total of 352 of those dealers also opted to sell the larger G90, but doing so requires each of them to build a "showroom-within-a-showroom." The next phase of the Genesis brand rollout would have seen its own separate dealerships in two to three years, but the new plan will expedite this by one to two years. Genesis executives seem to clearly understand the urgent need for exclusivity.

If luxury buyers are being targeted then chances are they don’t want to be seen walking into a Hyundai dealership as they cross-shop BMWs and Mercedes’. Also, a smaller and more exclusive Genesis dealer network will allow parent company Hyundai to maximize profits. But at the same time many Hyundai dealers may not be so willing to give up Genesis, and that’s where this divorce could get messy.

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Acura Wants Us To Think There's A Little Bit Of NSX In All Its Cars

Are you convinced?

Despite having possibly the longest build up that we've ever seen for a car, the NSX just doesn't blow the competition away. The new NSX has been compared to other hybrids like the BMW i8, other supercars like the McLaren 570S and even a car from its own manufacturer, the Honda Civic Type R. Amazingly, it doesn't seem like the NSX has walked away from any of these comparisons as a winner. Perhaps this latest comparison by Auto Guide will help change that.

In this road test (that was sponsored by Acura), Auto Guide tries to prove that the NSX shares its DNA with other cars in the Acura lineup, namely the MDX SUV. We know that the NSX hasn't boosted Acura's sales the way a halo model should, and we thought this is because it shared almost nothing in common with the other models in the range.

It's pretty obvious that this comparison was sponsored by Acura, because Auto Guide really had to reach on some of the similarities between the two cars. The five similarities that are pointed out are LED headlights, being designed and built in North America, push-button shifters and ignition switches, safety systems such as SH-AWD, and a nine-speed automatic transmission. These comparisons are so silly, because the NSX and MDX really couldn't be more different. If we wanted to, we could say that the Nissan Sentra is very similar to the GT-R because they both have four wheels, trunks, and gas tanks. For now, the NSX is definitely a bit of a disappointment, especially when considering its legendary predecessor.

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Stop Obsessing Over The Urus, The Fenyr SuperSport Wants Attention Too

Up until recently, Dubai didn’t have a supercar of its own to give the world. And what’s a better way to give thanks for the blessings of wealth than to give back to the world with just that? The W Motors Fenyr SuperSport is here to ensure that Dubai doesn't get off the hook on this one. Powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo boxer flat-six, this machine makes 900 horsepower and an astonishing 885 lb-ft of torque. We had our reservations about the Lykan HyperSport—W Motors' previous car—in the past, but maybe the Fenyr SuperSport can solve all that. Until now, we haven’t really gotten to see it in action. This teaser changes that, finally giving us an idea of what one of W Motors' cars looks like at the limit.

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