
Filed under: Classics, Audi, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche A few weeks ago, we bid a fond happy 40th anniversary to the automotive dark ages of 1973-84 that have come to be known as "The Malaise Era" - the performance ice-age when 160 horsepower was a lot and a 0-60 time of under 10 seconds was remarkable. Like music in the 1980s, everything in automobiledom didn't suck, however. There were a few bright spots. Here are five of our favorites: 1976-79 Porsche 930, aka 911 Turbo Carrera (above) Photo Credit: Dorotheum While Chevrolet beat them by a decade with the turbocharged Corvair Corsa, the Germans more fully developed turbocharging through racing where General Motors couldn't. Early Porsche 930s (known technically as 911 Turbo Carreras) were a bit crude, with turbo lag that could be measured with an egg timer. They lacked an intercooler as well as brakes that were up to the task, but performance was sensational, with the buff books reporting 0-60 times of anywhere from 4.9 to 5.8 seconds and quarter-mile times of under 14 seconds. This was '60s muscle car performance at the height of the Malaise Era. Sadly, the 930 cost about six times as much as your average muscle car did. Rob Sass is the Publisher of Hagerty Classic Cars magazine. He is a regular contributor to the automotive section of the New York Times and is the author of "Ran When Parked, Advice and Adventures from the Affordable Underbelly of Car Collecting." Continue reading Malaise Era All-StarsMalaise Era All-Stars originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

When Porsche GB invites you to the Scottish Highlands to drive its new Cayman, you tend to reschedule whatever else was in the diary. Glenn Brooks was just-auto's man on EasyJet to Inverness.

Filed under: Convertible, Hybrid, Performance, Videos, Porsche, Luxury Last October, Chris Harris got a shotgun ride in the Porsche 918 Spyder. Seven months on, the automaker is quite a bit further on the development on the hybrid supercar, and Porsche invited him to the Leipzig circuit for a test drive. Harris starts off going through some of the technical bits on the car, including the galvanized carbon fiber instrument panel and forged carbon fiber attachment points, and before he gets in, he's a little unsure of the car. The hybrid aspect is of particular concern, Harris almost wishing that instead of a 3,608-pound coupe with a combined 887 horsepower, that Porsche would ditch the heavy batteries and make a 2,420-pound coupe with the combustion engine's 608 horsepower. Then he drives it, and all of a sudden, "It doesn't feel like I'm driving a hybrid sports car." You can watch him come around in the video below.Continue reading Chris Harris among first to test the mettle of Porsche's 887-hp 918 SpyderChris Harris among first to test the mettle of Porsche's 887-hp 918 Spyder originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Porsche, Electric We've seen it (in concept form, in officially rendered form, in flat black, and in Martini Racing livery), we've heard all about its 4.6-liter V8 with 608 horsepower, buoyed as it is by twin electric motors, its sophisticated all-wheel-drive system and carbon fiber monocoque chassis. We've even taken a ride in one. What we haven't had, up until now at least, is had all of these details about the Porsche 918 Spyder in one convenient press blast. And we also now know that it will be a introduced as a 2015 model. Along with the official specifications, Porsche has seen fit to release a new batch of images showing its production body from all angles. We get a good look at the car's interior bits and pieces, including a few shots showing how people fit underneath the removable hardtop panel. Porsche sums up its baby with the following words: Maximum driving fun with minimal fuel consumption. We like the sound of that, and we think it's cool that the 918 can travel up to 18 miles on electricity alone, with performance statistics that aren't far off what we had from sports cars from a few short decades ago. We think you'll find plenty of interesting information in the press release below, but first, you'll want to browse through the high-res image gallery above to take in all the unique visuals. Enjoy!Continue reading Pics Aplenty: Porsche 918 Spyder shows its production bodyPics Aplenty: Porsche 918 Spyder shows its production body originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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