From August 2009

Porsche Cayman Recognized as top Sports Car in UK and USA

Both Motor Trend and Auto Express award top spot to Porsche Cayman in recent competitions

Atlanta – Motor Trend Magazine has chosen the Porsche Cayman S as the “Best Driver’s Car” for 2009. Additionally, the Cayman was also picked by British car journal Auto Express as “Best Sports Car” in their New Car Awards 2009. In both cases Porsche’s mid-engined coupe won over experts with its driving dynamics, precision, feedback and response.

Featuring PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung), Porsche’s Double-Clutch Gearbox, the Cayman S impressed Motor Trend on both regular roads and the race track, making its way to the top against nine other thoroughbred sports cars. The test team included select members of the Motor Trend staff as well as two professional race drivers – Randy Pobst and Massimiliano “Max” Angelelli.
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World Debut in Frankfurt: the New Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

997 2010 GT3 Cup
Stuttgart. Stronger, wider, faster – the new version of the Porsche
911 GT3 Cup offers its many customers the world over even greater value than ever before. The successor to the best-selling racing car of all time built in a production series of more than 1,400 units is based for the first time on the 911 GT3 RS, with the weight of the racing model reduced significantly versus the lightweight road-going version.

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Porsche Raided on Insider Trading Suspicions in Germany

wiedeking
by Stefan Theil

Porsche headquarters were raided by German investigators Thursday due to suspicions of insider trading by former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking, who was ousted last month following an epic takeover battle in which the luxury carmaker almost swallowed Volkswagen─Europe’s largest carmaker, which is more than 10 times Porsche’s size─before VW turned the tables. It is now set to gobble up Porsche instead.

In trying to buy up Volkswagen, Wiedeking had accumulated 43 percent of VW’s shares but secretly held options on another 32 percent. Porsche did not disclose the options until October 2008, roiling the markets. The company said yesterday that the trades were perfectly legal under German law.
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New Porsche 911 GT3 RS

2010 GT3RS
Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is sending the new 911 GT3 RS to the starting line: Delivering even more engine power, offering lower weight, and featuring shorter transmission ratios as well as body and suspension elements upgraded to an even higher standard, the new 911 GT3 RS sets the foundation for homologating the racing version of the 911 GT3 and therefore offers everything it takes for ongoing success on the race track, continuing the series of absolutely uncompromising, sporting 911s homologated for the road.

The heart of the new 911 GT3 RS, the power unit, is based on the engine already featured in the 911 GT3. Like the latter, the RS power unit now displaces 3.8 instead of 3.6 litres, delivering even more power and revving up even faster and more dynamically.
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VW to Raise $5.7 Billion for Stake as It Fills in Details of Porsche Deal

By KATHARINA BECKER and WILLIAM LAUNDER

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen AG said Friday it would raise €4 billion ($5.7 billion) in capital to acquire a stake in the operating business of Porsche, as it fleshed out details of the highly indebted luxury sports-car maker’s merger with VW.

Volkswagen plans to acquire a 42% stake in Porsche AG, the sports-car arm and a 100% subsidiary of holding company Porsche Automobil Holding SE, for €3.3 billion by the end of 2009. A new name for the company created through the merger of Porsche and Volkswagen is yet to be decided, Volkswagen said.

Porsche said on Friday that Qatar Holding LLC will acquire 10% of the ordinary shares of the Porsche holding company from the family owners and the majority of Porsche’s cash-settled options on Volkswagen shares, freeing up more than €1 billion for Porsche that is currently serving as collateral for the options structure.
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