Carrera

Porsche has almost two dozen models in the 911 lineup, but this one stands out. It is both highly capable and relatively unadorned with turbos, ragtops, or all-wheel drive. It's the kind of 911 that true Porschephiles love. Brian Cooley takes you for a drive in the 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS to check the tech.

You can also read CNET's full review of the Carrera GTS.

Gone are the days when "getting coffee" was the main responsibility of the corporate intern. Porsche recently let one intern design the race insignia emblazoned on a 911 GT3 race car.

Anna Frey, a recent industrial design graduate from Georgia Tech, in Atlanta, was responsible for designing the paint job for Porsche Cars North America's (PCNA) entry in the 2011 Porsche Carrera World Cup. The 70.2-mile race was held over the weekend on the Nurburgring-Nordschleife, and PCNA's 911 GT3 was piloted by American Le Mans Series GTC Champion Melanie Snow.

PCNA also let a team … Read more

As a car-maker, Porsche is unusual in that it usually seems to be driven more by engineering than by marketing. But, especially in the 911 line, that means a focus on traditional sports car core values--power balanced with handling, and driving characteristics that can be best utilized by skilled drivers.

The recently introduced 2009 911 Carrera and Carrera S models continue in that vein. They are still known by internal code 997, but it's Version 2.0. New engines boast more power, better fuel efficiency, and lower emissions. As with all 911s since the 1963 prototype, they are horizontally … Read more

Long before RC toys began terrorizing household pets, there was the slot car. They still exist today, of course, but have become more of a hobby akin to model trains than something that would occupy kids for hours on end, pre-Nintendo.

But now that Speed Racer has been resurrected--"the movie event of the century," as Craver Caroline McCarthy puts it--the venerable slot car may make something of a mild comeback. Carrera is coming out with a new package that includes a Mach 5 (of course), a Racer X Street Car, 20 feet of track, and endless bouts … Read more

The Porsche Camp4 racetrack is perched more than 9,000 feet above sea level. So if the sight of the new Porsche 911 Carrera S to which I was assigned didn't take my breath away, the elevation certainly did. But armed with water, aspirin, and special acupressure wristbands to prevent motion sickness, I was ready to start my engine.

The one-day program was divided into four specific exercises: The skid pad, an obstacle-avoidance course, a slalom course, and the full track. The skid pad was a large circle cut into the snow. The goal wasn't to just drive … Read more

When the weather turns cold, scores of well-to-do winter sports enthusiasts flock to the high slopes of Vail valley in Colorado for world-class skiing and snowboarding. But about 20 miles west of Vail Village, high upon a privately owned mountain, sits a secret winter wonderland: a racetrack made of snow and ice.

The twisty road course, built on top of a golf course, is the training ground for Camp4 Colorado, a winter driving school hosted by the Porsche Travel Club, an offshoot of the Porsche Sport Driving School. Here, with professional instruction, participants drive the Porsche 911 Carrera 4, the … Read more

Somehow, we don't associate the name Porsche with a hand crank--especially when it's on a radio. But that's what the venerable designers have done with the "Eton Porsche Design Radio," which combines old and new by using an aluminum crank to power its "super-heterodyne technology."

The crank, of course, is designed for use in emergencies or camping trips; the rechargeable radio can also run on AA batteries or an AC plug. But the elbow grease could come in handy for other uses, such as recharging a mobile phone with an adapter that's … Read more