Mike Sinclair•17 Feb 2013
NEWS
Turbo and 918 supercar head 2013 rollout
Porsche still has a busy 2013 ahead of it, with a new Turbo 911 leading the wayPorsche will roll out a bevy of new models between now and the end of 2013. And though there's unlikely to be any real surprises, on the back of an all-new Cayman, the depth of the new model line-up is nonetheless impressive.
Geneva Motor Show will see the raciest variants of the new 991-type 911 range debut. At the show Porsche will debut its new PDK-equipped GT3 and its full track-ready sibling, the GT3 Cup.
The latter will pioneer a new automated manual gearbox for the maker. Though a true three-pedal car with a clutch that's used for starts and (sometimes) downshifting, the Cup car will feature paddle shifters. Gear changes will be automated. The car is also expected to use a downshift rev matching system like the new Cayman and Carrera 4.
The Cup car will not be raced in the national Carrera Cup series until 2014. In 2013 it will be limited to Porsche's international but essentially European based Supercup series.
Shanghai motor show in April will see the Panamera mid-life facelift unveiled. Porsche officially launched the big four-door at the Chinese show. The Sino market is now one of Porsche's most important.
In July first drives of the new 911 Turbo will take place. With more power and even more torque than the 368kW/650Nm 997 Series car it replaces it's pegged to be the fastest full series production 911 ever.
The 911 Turbo's first show appearance will be Frankfurt in September but it won't star there. That honour will be split between the new mid-sized Macan softroader and Porsche's new flagship, the 918 plug-in hybrid supercar (pictured).
Porsche insiders say the 918 is still a work-in-progress but they promise it will deliver on its targets of full electric mode, 3L/100km equivalent fuel consumption and record setting Nordschliefe lap times.
Already a prototype 918 has recorded a 7:14 laptime of the famous circuit, but insiders say there are "still seconds we can find."
Just 918 examples of the 918 will be built, by hand on a special production line set up at Porsche's Zuffenhausen factory. The first deliveries of the left-hand drive only supercar will take place this December, Porsche promises.
In a year when Porsche will celebrate the anniversary of the first 911 Turbo, an interesting aside related to that car and the 918 is worth highlighting. Says Porsche, the 918's electric motor output alone matches the power output of the original 1973 930 Turbo.
With a V8 petrol engine related to Porsche's RS Spyder LMP-2 racer providing upwards of another 425kW, that the 918's straightline performance is expected to be electrifying is a bad pun that need not be stated.
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Written byMike Sinclair
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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