Porsche Intelligent Performance lights up the stage at Auto China 2010
- Source: Global Times
- [18:56 April 23 2010]
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A strong crowd favourite was the unveiling of the new 911 Turbo S, the top-of-the-range sports car which offers supreme driving dynamics alongside great levels of efficiency. With a top speed of 315 km/h, it accelerates to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds through a turbocharged PDK gearbox.
Featuring two VTG turbochargers, the 911 Turbo S boosts output by another 30 bhp over the previous 911 Turbo to reach a staggering 530 bhp. Scheduled for release in July of this year, the 911 Turbo S coupe will retail from RMB 2,639,800 (incl. PDK) with the cabriolet version retailing from RMB 2,785,000 (incl. PDK).
Similar sparks of inspiration from the Porsche engineers were displayed with the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. Prompted by the desire to use the power that is lost when braking on the race circuit, this innovative hybrid technology is significantly more sophisticated than conventional hybrid systems. In this case, electrical front axle drive, with two electric motors developing 60 kW each, supplement the 480-bhp four-litre flat-six cylinder power unit at the rear of this Porsche.
By maximising the use of power still further through a fly wheel accumulator, efficiency is markedly improved, leading to longer driving times and greatly improved performance overall. This will no doubt be admired by motor sport fans worldwide when the 911 GT3 R Hybrid is tested in long-distance races on the Nürburgring in May.
The first appearance in China of the Boxster Spyder mid-engine roadster was an additional highlight. Weighing just 1,275 kg, the new model is the lightest car in the Porsche model line and the third version in the current Boxster range, complementing the popular Boxster and Boxster S. This light, powerful, open and highly efficient model has been rightly acclaimed as a classic Porsche sports car, and will be available in mid-year for RMB 1,060,000 (incl. PDK).
Porsche cutting-edge technology was beautifully displayed in the Porsche exhibition at Auto China 2010: from plug-in hybrid technology units in the 918 Spyder, Cayenne S Hybrid and 911 GT3 R Hybrid that offer a highly efficient power source without compromising performance, to the large scale improvements in the new generation Cayenne, Panamera V6 and 911 Turbo S. If one message emerged from the exhibition as a whole, it is that Porsche will continue as the leading innovator in sports car technology for generations to come.
Mr. Bernhard Maier, the newly appointed Board Member Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG, reflected on the path taken by Porsche at Auto China.
"Porsche Intelligent Performance represents a new chapter in the history of Porsche. For many years, the performance of Porsche has been based on intelligent and innovative ideas for even more efficient engines and lighter car bodies, for more power on less fuel and lower emissions – what we call Intelligent Performance. Here in Beijing we are underlining this claim with no less than three Asia hybrid premieres – for the road, for the race track, and for the future. Each of these three new hybrid models is a milestone on the road to electric mobility."
Mr. Helmut Broeker, Chief Executive Officer of Porsche (China) Motors Ltd. said "Auto China 2010 proved a wonderful presentation of Porsche principles: as seen with the extraordinary 918 Spyder, the ground-breaking V6 variants of the Panamera, the new generation of the hugely-popular Cayenne and many other exciting new Porsche models. The presence of hybrid technology in three Porsche cars also demonstrates how we are responding to the need for environmentally-friendly technology without compromising our standards of performance. We are maintaining our clear commitment to our roots as a manufacturer of outstanding sports cars. Here in Beijing, we have clearly proven that efficiency and performance are not a contradiction in terms."
