Porsche has launched the most driver-focused Panamera to date with the LA Motor Show debut of the Panamera GTS. 

And, pleasingly, the firm has looked to the past for its name, bringing back the moniker used for the most special 928 built from 1989 to 1994. The 928 GTS was the meatiest of the original front-engined Porsche and, thanks to wider rear arches hiding 9-inch wheels, the best looking too (even though I still admire the purity of the gorgeous 1978 launch model too – and am not the only one…).

The Panamera is arguably the spiritual successor to the 928: while the original didn’t have rear doors, it was still intended to be a luxurious four-seat Porsche. Misguided engineering and the resultant dreadful space inefficiency was the only reason it emerged instead as a 2+2.

Reviving a name from the past isn’t the only blast from history, though. The newest Panamera’s colour has also been taken from the Porsche back catalogue. For the Panamera GTS only is the availability of an all-new hue for the luxury four-door range: Carmine Red.

Now, when I first saw it, for some reason my memory piped up ’944′, and it seems this is partly right. OK, the Carmine Red isn’t actually from the 944 (the one I was thinking of is an amalgam of Maraschino Red and Velvet Red, for the record…), but it HAS been used on Porsches past.

Carmine Red Porsche 928 AND 911

Indeed, it was actually used on the 928 itself, for the 1988 model year. It was also, more significantly, available on the 911, again for a limited period between 1987-1988 (some reckon the number of 911s in this colour doesn’t even reach the hundreds…). Yes, original Carmine Red – L80F – is a very rare colour indeed.

So why has Porsche brought it back? Maybe a mooted reason for its introduction back in the 80s reveals why: on the 911 it was a less vivid, less garish alternative to the commonplace ‘guards red’ 3.2 Carrera of the era, which Porsche believed many people desired.

Colours reflect the times and the financiers that lusted after Porsches had suffered a tumultuous time on Black Monday. Cheeriness was thin on the ground: a jazzy Guards Red car parked outside Lloyds wasn’t really what the red brace crew wanted.

Evidently not all that popular, as it turned out, given its short time on the options list: the Yuppies ensured fortunes revived, briefly, so the brighter hue soon returned. This is why 911 fans actively search it out today: it’s extremely rare.

And why the apostrophes above for Guards Red? Because, according to Tony Corlett, Guards Red wasn’t actually used on the 3.2 Carrera, with ‘India Red’  (027) being Porsche’s preferred name, later changing to Indian Red (80K). Same colour, different names.

(The joy of being a Porsche fan, if you didn’t already know, is delving into details like this…)

Question is, does the Panamera GTS possess the same name but a different colour? It *seems* similar, but is it exactly the same as the 1980s original?

If you’re as insatiably geeky as me and thus interested, you’re in luck. I’m such a devourer of details, I’m going to try and find out…

+ My hit car colour of 2011

+ Xirallic: what is it?

+ August 2011: what is Porsche up to at the moment?

Porsche is not phasing out the 997 just yet. Nor is it admitting the 991 is actually on the way. 

That’s despite prototype tests of the 911, in which many state it will be one of the stars of Frankfurt. Porsche hasn’t yet revealed what its Frankfurt plans will be, and made scant reference to the car so many have already driven.

It won’t be until the end of August that we’ll officially know Porsche’s Frankfurt star will be the 991 911.

Surely, though, customers have long known it is imminent? And surely they’re stopping buying 911s as a result? Apparently not: in June, Porsche delivered 1% more 911 than it did the year before. Sales in the first half of 2011 have topped the 10k mark. It easily outsells other sports-line Porsches: the Boxster sold 3800, the Cayman, just 2300.

That’s why, in the UK, all current 997 variants remain available to buy. “They’re built to order so if one comes in, we can accommodate”, revealed a spokesman. ”There is still a waiting list for a Porsche 911.”

Tellingly, though, the cars most people are waiting for over here are the special editions. If anything will make you buy a runout 911, it’s the combination of limited-edition appeal, bespoke styling and a whole host of value-added kit. Both Black editions and GTS 911 variants are keeping dealer handover areas busy.

Indeed, the four-wheel drive GTS has only just gone on sale. Yes, despite there ‘possibly’ being a new model on the horizon, Porsche is still rolling out the new model introductions.

As for which models go first, four-wheel drive and turbo versions are likely to last longer than the rear-drive variants. The 991 test mule is rear-drive and, in a reverse of Porsche 964 sequencing, it will come ahead of later four-wheel drive versions.

Multi-model Porsche dealers

Nowadays, dealers have plenty more besides to keep them busy. Although the 911 remains the best-selling Porsche in the UK – as it is for several other markets – ‘new age’ Porsche Cayenne and Panamera models are winning increasing sales too.

But in what split? For the Panamera, one third of sales are six-cylinder cars – the 300hp 3.6-litre V6 in either rear-drive or four-wheel drive guise.

That’s set to change massively, with the introduction of the Panamera Diesel. In a flash, a full 50% of the UK Panamera split will consist of Diesel models, despite it being offered in just one rear-drive form.

Some of those sales will be displaced petrol V6 sales, but not all of them. Could the Panamera Diesel thus soon lead to V6 sales taking two thirds of UK volume?

It won’t be the same everywhere. Europe is a key market for the Diesel, and other countries will take 40% of sales – but, overall, it will comprise just 10% of Panamera volume. That’s the influence of the US, Japan and China for you, none of which get diesel. They like V8s and hybrids, and will take those Panameras in droves.

Porsche is changing, fast. The 911 will long continue, and will also remain Porsche’s pinnacle. But it’s no longer the most important car for the business heads. The 911 made Porsche’s reputation but it’s the Cayenne and Panamera that today make its money.

Oh, and here’s a fact you may not know about the Panamera either. The biggest, mightiest, visually-massive four-door Porsche is actually lighter than the all-aluminium Jaguar XJ. Despite only the axles, doors, bonnet, wings and rear lid actually being made from aluminium…

+ Porsche misses obvious weight-saving tweak

+ Porsche makes cranky Cayenne cool

+ BMW April Fool brilliance (again)

Lotus is the car company that wants to be associated with everyone at the moment. 

Or should it be Lotus is the car company everyone wants to be associated with?

Either way, it’s great PR for the long-fledgling Norfolk brand, which suddenly has worldwide exposure it could never have imagined a year ago. If Lotus is eager for a bigger share of the limelight, it’s certainly getting its wish.

But given how every day seems to bring some sort of new Lotus linkup, it’s perhaps time for a recap: just what are the car firms whose name Lotus sits alongside today?

Well, here’s a list. Some are stronger than others, but all are focused on one thing – maximising the value of that world-famous Lotus roundel.

Colin Chapman would, I’m sure, be chuffed to bits.

Lotus

Lotus road cars is the focus of huge investment, activity and interest. Parent company Group Lotus wants to become a supercar rival to Ferrari and Porsche: after the clumsy way it launched these intentions at the Paris Motor Show 2010, it is now slowly winning acknowledgement that the plans could have merit – and COULD actually work.

Lotus-Renault

Renault, faced with falling market share, has pulled back on its F1 exposure in recent years. After selling a stake in the team to Genii Capital, Renault sold its remaining 25% stake to Group Lotus. The F1 cars are thus called ‘Lotus Renaults’.

Lotus-Caterham

Entrepreneur Tony Fernandes purchased the rights to use the ‘Lotus Racing’ name in 2009, successfully running the team in F1 last year. The team was renamed ‘Team Lotus’ for 2011. Group Lotus brought a court case against Fernandes this year, which culminated in the ruling that Fernandes can continue using the Team Lotus name. In the meantime, Fernandes also bought Caterham Cars. Team Lotus is now thus carrying ‘Caterham’ branding, just as the Renaults carry ‘Lotus’ branding.

Lotus-Proton

Proton owns Lotus, and has used its British sports car division’s name on several models in the past. ‘Engineered by Lotus’ has graced the back of models such as the Proton Satria GTI, after it commissioned Lotus Engineering to re-engineer the cooking budget hatchbacks.

Lotus-Youngman

Youngman, a Chinese bus manufacturer, entered passenger car production with a new brand, Europestar. These were rebadged Protons, which Lotus Engineering developed into Chinese-market models with a series of revisions. Youngman, drawn to the allure of the Lotus brand, has been increasingly associating itself with (and marketing itself as) Lotus, despite the link being with Lotus Engineering, not Group Lotus.

Lotus-Saab

Youngman-Lotus, in alliance with car distributor Pang Da, has secured a €245m equity stake in Saab and signed Memorandums of Understanding for further alliances subject to approval by authorities. Chinese interests in Saab are thus likely to grow, as further investments are made in the Swedish brand.

The Lotus name has links with yet more makers too: these are a bit more tech-specific but are still a rare public showcase of Lotus Engineering links with another manufacturer. Here’s a few examples:

Lotus-Tesla

The most well known recent Lotus collaboration: Lotus provides around 40% of the overall content of a Tesla Roadster, the world’s first electric sportscar. It doesn’t wear Lotus badges but even casual observers know the link.

Lotus-LTI

Lotus Engineering was part of a collaboration that’s developed a hydrogen fuel cell taxi, led by cash from the government Technology Strategy Board. Lotus designed the full propulsion system, including the fuel cell engine.

Lotus-Jaguar

The two worked together on the Limo-Green project that created a Jaguar XJ EREV. Lotus provided its 1.2-litre range-extender engine, created with funding from the TSB. This has three cylinders, 47hp, simple construction and weighs 56kg. It’s been designed specifically to drive an alternator, to generate electricity – and is thus better than the Chevrolet Volt’s car-derived 1.4-litre range-extender motor.

Quite a list. And these are just the public ones. Group Lotus’ consultancy division, Lotus Engineering works with many other car manufacturers besides, on below-the-line solutions to specific needs, most obviously in vehicle dynamics.

Lotus Engineering, for instance, is said to have worked on the latest Nissan GT-R, and also has long associations with GM/Vauxhall (the excellent Vauxhall Corsa VXR was Lotus Engineering-developed, and thus way better than the Vauxhall Corsa SRi it was derived from).

Frankly, Lotus is everywhere. It always has been – but the fact it’s so omnipresent hasn’t always been advertised so well. Finally, both the allure of and expertise behind the name are gaining recognition, which means lots are now keen for some of the Lotus limelight.

Not all these collaborations are perfect, but all of them DO have some genuine Lotus link in some way. Question is, which are the lasting Lotus links and which are the Lotus liabilities?

UPDATE

Lotus-Top Gear

Group Lotus Motorsport designed the original Top Gear test track, which stars in reasonably priced cars have competed with The Stig upon for years. Now, the link is being reinforced: Lotus is designing the new Top Gear Live test tracks. Well, the links don’t have to be literal car ones…

+ The Lotus position: confusing

+ Renault Energy dCi 130: F1 on the road

+ Pirelli tyres: a key into F1

Volkswagen has saved the home to one of its most famous cars.

Fittingly, it’s with the car that later saved the brand when the Beetle was substituted from the mainstream. Yes, the Golf.

As of March 18, production restarted at Volkswagen’s Osnabruck plant in Lower Saxony. This has only been a Volkswagen facility since 2009, mind: before then, it was the Karmann plant, which used to produce models such as the Mercedes SLK and Spyker C8 Spyder on a contract basis.

Volkswagen, of course, has worked with the Karmann chaps in the past, and not just on the Karmann Ghia. It’s made the Beetle Cabrio, Golfs Mk1 and Mk3 Convertible, Sciroccos I and II, Type 34 and the sublime Volkswagen Corrado. Quite a VW-centric history (and that’s before you throw in Porsches 912, 914 and 968).

Karmann, though, went into administration in April 2009, due to falling demand. Many of its contractors were taking the cabrio or coupe-convertible models Karmann specialised in back in-house.

Volkswagen revealed it had made an offer to buy its old pal Karmann in October – sealing the deal the following month (with rival roof maker Valmet taking on some of the CC-building facilities). And now, production has restarted… with a new Cabriolet version of the Golf.

1250 jobs have been saved, and 1800 people will be employed there by the end of the year. ‘Many past joint projects unite us with the colleagues here,’ said Bernd Wehlauer, Deputy Chairman of the Volkswagen Group Works Council.

It’s a lovely story, that is set to grow: In the future, Osnabruck is also going to serve as an ‘overflow’ plant for the Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman. This used to be served by Valmet in Sweden, but that deal ends next year when Valmet starts making the Fisker Karma (indeed, it’s already started production).

Osnabruck’s total capacity? 100,000. That’s a lot. What else does VW have planned for Osnabruck, then? That’s the really intriguing part: time will tell…

+ VW Passat 2011: A Flickr road test

+ Volkswagen Golf dials in extra speed

+ The perils of practice on a press car

The Porsche Boxster Spyder is 80kg lighter than the Porsche Boxster S, which is a praiseworthy weight saving.

However, I know a way it could have been an 80.0014kg weight saving (approx). By deleting a dash button that – shock horror – is completely unnecessary!

The Porsche Boxster Spyder has, unlike other Boxsters, a fixed rear spoiler. This replaces the snazzy pop-up spoiler of standard models, that raises at 62mph to reduce rear lift (by around 40%).

So why, pray, does it still have the manual override button on the dashboard? This seems a rare oversight by the obsessively detailed Porsche: It clearly knows there’s no wing, because pressing it doesn’t illuminate the LED… but shouldn’t it be removed entirely, and replaced by a blanking plate?

After all, without the button mechanism, vital extra zero-point-zero-point fractions of kgs would be saved, thus making the Boxster Spyder accelerate a fly’s breath faster. Who knows when the minute extra could prove important.

(Besides, hasn’t Porsche removed the plastic instrument cluster hood and interior pull doorhandles to save weight? If they’re so crucial, why not this?)

It’s seemingly minor, but glaringly important at the same time. Porsche is a company of fanatics – how has a detail such as this, on one of its best affordable driver’s cars ever, been left to pass?

Hopefully, not all Porsche Boxster Spyder customers are as hopelessly geekish as I.

Or maybe they are. See, I’m not the only one to notice it, either…

Motoring journos have a bit of a thing for watches.

No doubt because our lives are non-stop mad dashes against the clock. Nothing to do with a love of nice fancy cars somehow complementing a love of nice fancy watches. Oh, no.

It’s all the more apparent on the bigger launches, attended by more established names who have money to spend on posh watches.

During lengthy press conferences, it’s a flash of Tag here, Breitling there, Omega up front; that Albanian farmer could clear £25k’s worth in minutes.

I’m not quite there in the Seamaster stakes, but still like a good watch. Like all good motoring journos, I thus perused the duty free at Munich airport this week.

Spotted the Swatch shown above. Cool, aye? Who says Swatch watches aren’t ace?

(Indeed, a designer chap once told me car designers SWEAR by Swatches. ‘Means we can change them to suit our clothes and tastes, without blowing a fortune…’)

Want to know why I really loved it, though?

Because of this.

Those dials are from a 50s Porsche Speedster, and sport the green icons all early Porsches were graced with. Gorgeous, aye?

It’s certainly my reason why I love THAT watch. Explaining the appeal of a Gold Seamaster, though, is beyond me.

Give me a few years/promotions, mind, and who knows…

Why do you think motoring journos love watches?

Mad cars and people who are mad about cars? Makes for a perfect day.

So it proved this week when I was given a double dose of why-I-love-the-jobbery.

For Total 911 magazine, I write ‘classic road tests’. These are a modern-eyes drive in a classic Porsche, offering a retrospective look at just what made each special.

This month, it was the turn of the 964 Turbo 3.6. A rare car indeed: only around 1000 were built, and there are barely 40 in the UK. Finding one for the feature, in holiday-packed August, was, shall we say, challenging.

Turbo 3.6 owner Steve Armitage to the rescue. A Porsche nut, Total 911 fan, someone more than happy to help us out and, as he proved on the day of the shoot, an all round Good Guy to boot.

Male bonding paragraph: Chaps such as Steve make a great job THE best. He was helpful, trusting, listened to what we wanted and did his all to help us out. He did not treat us as a nuisance, did not forbid us doing things we suggested, understood we had a task list and made sure he helped us complete it.

We paid him back with a gem-like set of images, courtesy of Alisdair Cusick. Deal!

Model photoshoot

On gigs like this, it’s important as a journo to be as straight up as you can with the proud owner of the car. Respect is essential – fail to show this and you deserve moronic status.

Never forget, they don’t know you from Adam. It’s vital you thus eradicate any hint of cocky, arrogant, primadonnary. Pretend you’re on the other side instead. Pretend it’s your car.

When, though, it is reciprocated with the warmth our man Steve did this week – well, it makes every windswept moorland February photoshoot worthwhile. Nope, they’re not all like last week, but when they come around, how we savour ‘em.

Goodness, his wife even treated us to THE best toast at the start of the day. Lucky? You betcha!

Fingers crossed Steve now likes the feature…

+ Share your memories of highs like this…
+ … And let us know of any horrors you’ve had, too!
+ What’s been the trickiest car you’ve had to source for a shoot?

CAR feature photo shoots consist of artists doing their magic and journos doing all they can to actually be useful.

We clean the cars, polish their wheels, shuffle them about to get the right angles, take notes, try to stay out of the sun, Tweet and try to manage emails/calls/SMS from the office.

That’s for the statics. Moving shots? We find sexy corners, drop off the snapper on the most dangerous spot possible, and drive through said corner many, many times.

Such practice means we get progressively faster, perfecting our line and seeing how sideways we dare get someone else’s car. It makes us feel like an F1 driver, in our own little fantasy world.

Studio-trained photographer par excellence Alisdair Cusick caught a little of this on a recent shoot for Total 911. Watch the video below – it’s your man, flapping in the flatspot of a Turbo flatnose.

Ace fun! Ali will always say just one more run. And I never mind – particularly this time round…

+ Check out Ali’s site for some image-based brilliance
+ What sort of things would YOU get up to on a car photoshoot?
+ Have you been on a car photoshoot and have ‘interesting’ tales to tell?

LOTUS this week fired up an apoplectic rage of motoring journos exploring ingeniously creative alternative takes on the image of Colin Chapman spinning in his grave (I respectfully bowed out after I read Autoblog’s hybrid quip…).

Why? Because the firm has announced its intention to move upmarket.

Lotus will, in the future, be about challenging Ferrari and Porsche, in their exalted price brackets, rather than being the next obvious trade up from a Caterham.

And with this, many have assumed, comes a move away from everything the brand stands for. Lightweight, simple, light, affordable, only add lightness, don’t weigh much, all of these will be thrown out of the window, it is predicted, when Lotus starts instead selling Plutocratic Panamera rivals.

Me, though, I’m a dissenter. I reckon it’s just what Lotus should be doing. And, get this, feel Colin Chapman would agree.

Why? Well, why did he start making road cars in the first place? To finance the racing car team. And the more you can charge for those cars, the more money you have to go racing. Bingo.

OK, one of the first Lotus was the simplistic Seven. But this gradually moved over for higher-profit, more upmarket models, such as the Elite, the Eclat and, yes, the iconic Esprit. The period price lists reflected the trend, showed Chapman’s thinking.

So, why not the same approach today? After all, Lotus carries stonking brand currency. It’s back in F1, and doing a pretty good job to boot (as I write, a Lotus sits on the Valencia grid in 19th. Million-time World Champ Michael Schumacher, in the big-bucks Benz F1 team? 15th…).

It would be remiss of management not to trade on this value. Besides, who’s to say a move upmarket will distill the famed Lotusness? Isn’t there more opportunity for lightweight innovation and clever tech details with higher-margin cars – and wouldn’t Chapman have relished the opportunity?

Besides, it’s not even as if the aged Elise itself is all that cheap anymore. No, I’m all for it.

And if part of the move means Caterham can buy the production line for the Elise, and carry on the tradition with a sister to the Seven, then power to ‘em…

+ Do you agree with me?
+ Can Lotus pull off a move upmarket?
+ Just HOW cool would a Caterham Elise be?

HOW do you make a MINI One engine? Make a MINI Cooper engine and detune it. Simples.

It’s true, as well. All 1.6-litre MINI engines, be they in the First, the One or the Cooper, are now exactly the same. They’re built on the same line and have all the same bits inside.

A MINI engineer from UK build centre Hams Hall told me this is for production efficiency. By standardising all the parts, it actually works out cheaper than having bespoke variations for each version.

So, although a MINI First engine may thus seem more ‘valuable’ than a Cooper engine, it’s actually much more efficient for MINI and all its buyers alike to do it this way.

Besides, the intelligence is in the ECU mapping, anyway. Releasing the power in the Cooper is more than just switching a different number or two in a computer. That’s where your extra Cooper value comes in – knowing brains have been boffing-ing away in giving you the extra value, but in a driveable and linear way. You’re buying into someone’s IP.

It’s the two other versions that really benefit, though. See, the old MINI First and One had 1.4-litre engines. ‘People complained they lacked torque – with the 1.6-litre, we’ve filled in the gaps, but the longer gear ratios also mean it’s more efficient, too.’

Does beg one obvious question, though. How long will it be before Superchips-like companies offer a Cooper-creating First tuning kit for the MINI?

There’ll be distinct Porsche crossovers if they do: back-to-basics Cooper Club Sport, anyone?

+ MINI is not the only firm doing this – can you name any others?
+ How does MINI’s approach contrast with the downsizing trend?
+ Could future MINIs move back to smaller engines with turbo to fill the torque hole?