Every week is a busy week on PH but this one's had more than its fair share of hot stuff. See below for details but Porsche's GT3 has been pretty much inescapable, thanks to Chris Harris scoring one of the first drives worldwide in this most eagerly anticipated - and controversial - of new 911s. With Le Mans to look forward to there's a great deal ahead too but, for now, catch up on the week here with our regular digest.
Few cars have attracted such fevered debate on PH as the new Porsche 911 GT3. Traditionally the most PH-worthy 911 in the range, the GT3's hardcore appeal has always played well to the purist crowd. But what about the move to paddles only and four-wheel steered gadgetry? Who better to answer than Chris Harris, who both
filmed the car
wrote at length
about what it's like in the 9,000rpm red zone.
And if the lack of a manual option and tech leaves you cold we took the opportunity to look back at GT3s of old. Our timeline feature means you can talk the talk with the 911 experts while our extensive market watch piece helps you pick the right one for your budget. Lucky you if it extends to any of them!
Quite a bit of genre stretching this week on PH, be it the idea that
a Volvo 360
Nissan Bluebird
belong on the homepage or an AMG still qualifies as such with half the usual cylinder count. First impressions
of the A45 AMG
suggests it does, but we also looked back at another
four-wheel drive mega hatch
with a more traditional badge if a souped up A-Class isn't quite your thing.
Meanwhile Alfa Romeo took the bold step of attempting to claw back the definition of 'supercar' from the mega-power, 200mph-plus brigade. The 4C trades on featherweight fun, not outright pace or engine size and brings exotic carbon-tubbed construction to the Cayman sector. Plenty of discussion and a worthy Pic Of The Week too.
Everything else is just waiting
With the countdown to Le Mans 2013 well under way and excitement building in the PH office (Garlick's taking his 'waxed Stetson' to cover all weather eventualities apparently...) Porsche went into fast forward by previewing its return to front line
LMP1 for 2014
bit of chest beating
about past glories. 2014 should, hopefully, also see the
return of Bentley
Meanwhile over at Pikes Peak Range Rover set a production car record and Loeb laid down his marker for the forthcoming hillclimb and is clearly the man to beat. We also wrapped up the action at the TT and World Superbikes while checking in on our Caterham Academy competition winner Dan as he took his first steps into competitive motorsport. Oh, and Harris bought a rally car.
Amid it all Dan enthused about the newly 'lifestyled'
PH fleet Focus ST
, before paying tribute to Audi's back to basics approach to anti-speed advertising nannies who don't want car companies to promote fast cars. Like Jaguar it's
using noise instead
Nick Gibbs meanwhile caught up with TVR's new owner Les Edgar, who impressed PHers with his no-BS style and feet on the ground approach. We wish him well. Rounding off our celebration of 10 years of BMW M3 CSL Sean Carson enjoyed an extensive and revealing chat with two of the guys involved in building it, discovering how the lessons learned influence the latest crop of M cars.
- All the action from Le Mans
- Nissan 370Z NISMO driven
- Facelifted Porsche Panamera
- The truth about Garlick's headgear