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PCA—By now, thanks to the wonders of the Internet, most of the world (my octogenarian parents included) knows about the Taycan and Porsche’s audacious intro of the car in three different “sustainable”
locations — wind and solar farms and a hydro site in the form of Niagara Falls. Not too many people at this point, however, have any sense of how it drives. But in advance of the first journalist drives in about two weeks, a few of us got in a couple of quick laps in the right seat at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, under the condition that we would respect the information embargo that expired yesterday.
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Perfourmance News
is a monthly email newsletter offered by PCA specifically for four-door Porsche owners and enthusiasts interested in the latest news and information about Panamera, Taycan, Macan, and Cayenne vehicles.
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| | CarBuzz—Porsche simply had no choice. After BMW and Mercedes showed it could be done, the German carmaker had to make a coupe body style version of the one and only Porsche Cayenne. Ever since BMW
successfully created the X6 out of the X5, a direct competitor to the Cayenne, Porsche stood by as thousands of buyers ended up behind the wheel of the polarizing X6. Earlier this year, Porsche finally responded with the Cayenne Coupe, essentially a somewhat sleeker version of the Cayenne with less cargo space and rear headroom.
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CNET Road Show—The Porsche Macan received a small but meaningful update for the 2019 model year, adding sharper style, better infotainment tech and, in the case of the Macan S, a new, more powerful
engine. That same recipe is being applied to the range-topping Macan Turbo, which Porsche officially debuted Wednesday. All Macans use turbo power, but the capital-T Turbo is the, uh, turboiest of the bunch.
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| | Wheels.ca—If you take a look at the full-size luxury sedan segment the Porsche Panamera doesn’t quite fit. Long-established entries like the BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes S-Class line up in size and price but
the essence of them are completely different. Where the big Bimmer and Benz waft you along in complete silence and comfort, the Porsche puts driving pleasure at the forefront. It’s still a large and heavy sedan that offers all the expected creature comforts one expects when shelling out well over six-figures for a luxury automobile but in a package that’s much more driver-focused.
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Road & Track—The first-gen Cayenne is arguably the worst Porsche ever. Not that there isn't plenty of competition for this booby prize: The 924 is slow, the 914 is slow and has a gear linkage like shaking
hands with a corpse, and the original Panamera resembles a whale schwanz. Yet for many Porsche fans, the original Cayenne marked the point at which Stuttgart pivoted from being a company where performance and heritage were utmost, to another mass manufacturer churning out crossovers and profits.
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Business Insider—Last week, Porsche officially launched its much-anticipated Taycan all-electric car. The German sporting brand, famed for the legendary 911 and more recently the Cayenne SUV, will initially offer a pair of staggeringly expensive versions of the vehicle, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Porsche's Panamera
sedan.
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EN24—The new Porsche Taycan turbo is available for 156.153 euros. For this you get a 680 hp electric sports car with a Sprint time of 3.2 seconds and a range of 450 kilometers. How does that cut? automobile in the comparison with the Porsche Panamera and the Tesla Model S from? We give clues for the Stammtisch discussion. All three models measure about five meters in length and have four-wheel
drive.
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| | CarBuzz—It has finally happened. Porsche's first electric car is finally here. After years of waiting, the Mission E Concept has
become a reality with the 2020 Porsche Taycan, an all-electric sedan that could finally dethrone the Tesla Model S. But wait just a minute. Doesn't Porsche already have a fast sedan with electric technology? Yes, and it's called the Panamera, a similarly-sized luxury sedan with outstanding performance in its own right. It is even priced similarly to the new Taycan.
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Road & Track—Last year, Porsche face-lifted its best-selling car, the Macan. The revisions brought subtle, but meaningful changes to the small SUV to help it keep pace with new competition. Today, we see the new, 2020 Macan Turbo, which does a little more with a little less. Replacing the old 3.6-liter 400-hp twin-turbo V-6 is a new, 434-hp 2.9-liter with the same amount of pistons and turbochargers. It's
the same V-6 used in the Cayenne S and Panamera 4S (and various Audis), and paired with a seven-speed PDK gearbox, it helps propel the Macan Turbo from 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds.
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| | BBC News—Neil Campbell, 45, broke a previous record of 167mph, using a specially-built, £15,000 bike. The architect from Essex was pulled along at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire by the Porsche Cayenne,
then released to go through the timing gate under his own power. The previous record for a man was set by a Dutch rider in 1995. Mr Campbell, of Little Horkesley, said he was "thrilled and relieved" to achieve the fastest bicycle speed for a male in a slipstream. He said "the team worked amazingly well".
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SunCruiser—When I first got the email, I thought my spam filters were failing. It was from Porsche. Would I like to drive a Porsche Cayenne S off-road outside of Whistler, British Columbia? What? Which part
of 4WDrive says AWD Porsche? Naturally, I said yes. They were going to let me; A) drive a Porsche, B) drive it off-road and, C) I wouldn’t have to pay for the towing and damages. I stopped laughing when I found the payload topped out at 850 kg (1872 lbs) and the towing capacity was 3500 kg (7716 lbs) – more than most, if not all mid-size pick-up trucks and full-size SUV’s.
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| | Classic & Sports Car—This is a car that won’t sit well with all, not least Porsche purists. Not only is it a four-door – technically an estate, in fact – but its 4-litre twin-turbo V8 is boosted by an
electric motor. Ye gads. Yet this is a car that will beat the Mercedes SLR McLaren to 60mph by a full two tenths, and will carry the kids and luggage in sheer comfort. And instead of the cynicism of owning an excessively big Chelsea Tractor, comes kudos. That’s not to say this five-seat (ish) Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo isn’t big – those last two words add 20 litres of boot space compared to the standard 405-litre Panamera.
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CNET Road Show—Those looking for more competition in the premium EV space were surely glad to see the production version of the Porsche Taycan revealed late last week. The company's high-power, high-design
electric sedan delivers some serious performance chops and competition to Tesla's Model S. However, with a starting price of $150,900, the Taycan Turbo is well out of reach for many. Fear not, because there are cheaper flavors coming, and they'll be here soon. At the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday, Klaus Zellmer, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, told me that we'll see a more-affordable Taycan before the year's end.
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| | Providence Journal—Porsche’s revised Cayenne Turbo pushes the vehicle further toward track-car territory and
away from the soccer mom scene. The all-new 2019 model, featuring a new engine, chassis, suspension, brakes and more, will now turn any Walmart parking lot into a lap at Willow Springs. This is an essential vehicle for the German car company. Once derided by car snobs as a people pleaser and a cheap bid for popularity, the Cayenne is now Porsche’s top-selling vehicle.
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Cars Guide—If the Cayenne saved Porsche, the Macan consolidated its gains. SUVs print money for premium manufacturers, and you only have to have seen the Germans pivot to SUVs as their first major EV products
to get the full force of what these types of cars mean. The Macan held the distinction in Australia of being the first affordable Porsche, breaking well below $80,000 and nabbing yet more customers who had never thought, or ever dreamt, that they could take the wheel of one of Stuttgart's finest.
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| | Rennlist—Let’s be honest. There aren’t a lot of Cayenne Turbo owners taking them off the pavement. However, when they do venture off into the wilderness, you’ll find that they are a lot more capable than you
might expect. Porsche’s AWD traction management is top tier in terms of understanding terrain.
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Drivetribe—We've got over 80 Porsche Cayenne's for sale right now ranging in price from ridiculously cheap to the ones that cost over a quarter of a million Dirhams. But of them all, one, in particular, stood
out. Feast your eyes upon the exceptionally rare Cayenne S Transsyberia. Built to commemorate Porsche's multiple victories in the Transsyberia rally of which the majority of the field were Cayenne's.
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| | Autoblog— True to its word, Motor Trend has released a follow-up video to its three-way drag race between the Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon, the Porsche Panamera Turbo and the BMW X6 M, though this isn't
exactly your run-of-the-mill comparison test. Given the quirkiness of the vehicles at hand, MT took all three vehicles out to a dry lake bed for a little fun in the sun. If you like watching high-dollar, high-horsepower cars get down and dirty, you'll want to check out the video after the jump. It's hosted by none other than our pal Jonny Lieberman, and he's even wearing proper footwear this time around. So, which of these automotive oddities came out on top?
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| | InsideEVs—Porsche didn't wait long and started the production of the Taycan punctually on September 9, right after the unveiling. Cars and components are produced at Porsche's main site in
Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen in Germany. According to the almost 30-minute long video, which includes body shop, paint shop, component production and the final assembly, the new facilities at the plant are highly automated.
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PCA—The smell of a campfire, bacon and eggs sizzling on the camp stove, smiles all around - the perfect breakfast on the trail – really? Before this scene becomes reality, there are a number of
factors that need to be discussed. Simplicity is the operative word. How do you get started? How much energy did you invest in menu planning, utensils, pots pans, storage, living with an ice chest, etc? How much experience do you have camping on the trail? Are you alone or are there several others and who is setting the schedules? Are there children, pets, both? How late were you getting to the campsite? Are you a morning person? What kind of meals do you serve at
home?
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PCA— Take a look at this month's Perfourmance News four-door Porsche image gallery. Which photo is your favorite? Thank you for submitting your images last month.
Email your four-door Porsche photo to jimh@pca.org for a chance to be published in the next Perfourmance News e-newsletter.
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Perfourmance News
We hope you enjoyed this issue of Porsche Club of America's Perfourmance News. If you have any questions or comments, please contact:
Jim Hemig
PCA National Marketing Director
jimh@pca.org
(410) 381-0911
If you wish to advertise with Porsche Club of America, please contact:
Ilko Nechev
PCA Advertising Director
ilko@pca.org
(212) 490-2079
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