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This year does not only mark Aston Martin’s centenary but also the Porsche 911’s 50^th anniversary.

Since its introduction in 1963, The Porsche 911 has earned a well-deserved reputation as race car and luxury convertible.

Two thirds of the 30, 000 race victories by Porsche have been notched by a 911.

To mark this astonishing event, Porsche Great Britain launched “Project 50”.

The idea of Project 50 started back in March when Porsche announced a special 911 model; the 1965 ‘short-wheelbase’ Porsche 911 that will be powered by a 2 litre, flat-six Boxer engine putting out a whopping 130hp.

This project 50 Historic 911 race car was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed media day.

The 1965 Porsche 911 will be one of the thousands of 911 Porsche’s to be raced at Project 50, a big celebrated race taking the 911 models on some of the most famous racetracks in Europe like the Silverstone Classic and Nurburgring OldTimer festival and selected Master Series events.

Drivers of the past and present like Richard Attwood (1970 Porsche Le Mans Winner) and Barry Horne will partake in this historic race throughout Britain and Europe.

The historic race 911 will take part at the following race dates:

• May 5th – Test session at Donington
• May 25th – 27th – Brands Hatch Masters Festival
• July 11th – 14th – Goodwood Festival of Speed
• July 26th – 28th – Silverstone Classic
• August 9th – 11th – Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix
• September 20th – 22nd – Spa Francorchamps – Spa 6 hours
• October 11th – 13th – Jerez Masters festival

The project 50 911 will be joined by Porsche’s 1967 911 model, which is currently on a world tour to promote Porsche’s 50 year anniversary.

Porsche will also debut two new race cars later this year based on the ‘type 991’ generation of the Porsche 911 in the Le Mans 24 hours race. With an overall of 16 victories Porsche is the most successful motoring producer in Le Mans history.

“The new 911 RSR is currently being developed by our engineers and tested by our works drivers,” said Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “What better time could there be to introduce the new car than in the 50th anniversary year of the Porsche 911?”

Project 50 is symbolic for how far Porsche has come in half a century, what has been done and for what is yet to come. A present, historic event that will be remembered for another 50 years!

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The Porsche 911 turns 50 this year, and to celebrate Porsche will be hosting a variety of anniversary events throughout the year. To keep up to date with news and events check out the this link origin.porsche.com.

The Porsche 911 saw its world debut as the model 901 at the IAA International Automotive Show in September in 1963. Over 820,000 Porsche 911s have been built, making it the most successful sports car in the world.

For each of its seven generations the engineers in Zuffenhausen and Weissach have reinvented the Porsche 911, time and time again demonstrating to the world the innovative power of the Porsche brand. Although some people may state they don’t like the 911 for this very fact, we don’t think Porsche lovers out there have any complaints.

The 911 delivers sportiness and practicality, tradition and innovation, exclusivity and social acceptance, design and functionality. Ferry Porsche best described its unique qualities: “The 911 is the only car you could drive on an African safari or at Le Mans, to the theatre or through New York City traffic.”

As part of the anniversary celebrations of the Porsche 911, the company will be sending out an authentic 1967 model 911 on a world tour. Over the course of the year, this classic car will travel to five continents where it will be shown in places like Pebble Beach, California, China, Goodwood in the UK, Paris and Australia. Any chance Porsche could squeeze in South Africa? Anyway if we don’t get to see it in South Africa, we will still be able to follow the cars progress online at porsche.com/follow-911.

Below is an overview of the seven generation of the Porsche 911:

1963: The first Porsche 911 successor of the Porsche 356 is unveiled. A legend is born

1973: The first thorough makeover of the Porsche 911. The first Porsche 911 Turbo is unveiled in 1974 followed by the introduction of the 911 Cabriolet in 1982.

1988: Introduction of the 911 Carrera 4 (964) just as automotive experts were predicting the imminent end of an era. The all-wheel drive Carrera 4 was also introduced with the introduction of the 964.

1993: The Porsche 993 marks the end of the air-cooled models.

1997: The Porsche 996 features the first water cooled ‘boxer’ engines

2004: Introduction of the Porsche 997. 2006 saw the introduction of the 911 Turbo, the first petrol engined production car to include a turbocharger with variable turbine technology.

2011: The introduction of the Porsche 991, which represented the greatest technical leap in the evolution of the 911.

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The new Porsche Cayman made its debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show yesterday. The third generation Porsche Cayman has according to Porsche been completely redeveloped and is now lower, longer, faster, more efficient and more powerful.

The longer wheelbase, wider track and larger wheels help to ensure that the new overall dimensions of the car enhance the driving performance of the car.

Two new versions of the Cayman will be available from the onset, the Porsche Cayman and the Cayman S.

The base model is powered by a 2.7-liter flat six-cylinder engine with 202 kW. It accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds, depending on the equipment, and reaches a top speed of 266 km/h. Its New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) fuel consumption is 7.7 l/100 km when equipped with Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK).

The 3.4-liter engine of the Porsche Cayman S produces 239 kW; the best possible acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h is 4.7 seconds with appropriate features. The Cayman S can reach a top speed of 283 km/h, and its NEDC fuel consumption value is 8.0 l/100 km with PDK.

Both models are offered with a six-speed manual transmission as standard and the seven-speed PDK will only be available as an optional extra.

Some of the new optional features that will be available on the Porsche Cayman will be the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and the Keyless Entry and Drive System.

Thanks to the team at Drive for the video.

We came across this interesting video on the Porsche Boxster S earlier this week. The video, from Autocar, compares the original MK1 Porsche Boxtster S against the current generation Porsche Boxster S.

Watch the video below.

The Porsche Macan which is set for its official debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show has been caught again on camera undergoing testing. The vehicle in the video seems to have less camouflage and is most likely one of the near pre-production vehicles which is being used to accumulate real world mileage.

Source: World Car Fans

This isn’t the first time the Porsche 911 GT2 RS has been put up against the Ducati 1199 Panigale, in previous attempts Chris Harris driving the Porsche 911 GT2 Rs was unable to beat the Ducati from a standing start. However this time they get to a longer track (2 miles long) and perform both standing and rolling starts. Which one wins, watch the video to find out.

The eagerly anticipated Porsche Macan is set to debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Heavily compared to the Audi Q5, perhaps due to the fact that its platform is based on the Audi Q5.

However Wolfgang Hatz in an interview with Auto Car, has made particularly clear that the Porsche Macan is “Not a Q5 with a Porsche hat on.” Wolfgang Hatz is a member of Porsche AG Board of Management in charge of Research and Development, and is additionally Head of Engines and Transmissions Development for the Volkswagen Group.

“Everything has been modified,” said Hatz. “Engines, transmissions, suspension – it’s all new. Audi can’t believe what we’ve done.”

Hatz also confirmed that the Porsche Macan would also be the first modern-day Porsche to be powered by a four-cylinder engine. However he also pointed out that the four-cylinder engine lineup would be introduced sometime after the introduction of the Porsche Macan.

Both the Porsche Macan and Audi Q5 should both continue garnering fans without any threat of cannibalism from either brand or so says Hatz, “Audi should have no fears.”

Source: Autocar

Porsche CEO, Matthias Müller has confirmed that they are considering the introduction of a sportcar which will slot between the new 918 Spyder and the 911. The new mid-engined sports car will sell for between 300000 to 400000 Euros.

In an interview with the Handelsblatt, Matthias Müller, also spoke of other new models which will be introduced, namely the new Porsche Panamera which will most likely be based on the Panamera Sport Turismo recently unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, the 2013 Porsche 918,as well as the 2013 Porsche Macan.

Porsche plans to increase it’s sales and production in 2012, and the introduction of a new product range will definitely help them going forward despite the weakening demand in Europe.

Source: Motor Authority