Saturday 14th March 2015

The PistonHeads Motoring Week

That new Porsche tested and much more from another seven days on PH

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It was only last week that the Porsche Cayman GT4 was being admired by Geneva showgoers and now it's being launched at Portimao. As you might have predicted, it's rather good. But, thankfully, not perfect!

There's been a lot more to discuss on PH this week though. A new AMG Mercedes has been driven, there's more from PHTV and the small matter of a V12 Ferrari test too. See it all here!

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Spoiler alert!

GT more
But where else to start but the Cayman GT4? Having seen it in the metal at Geneva and then pored over the figures early in the week, there was nothing left to do but drive it. It didn't disappoint!

Availability will be a big concern for many prospective GT4 buyers, demand for the ultimate Cayman far outweighing supply. However, with another Boxster Spyder confirmed, all is not lost for those who want a track-biased mid-engined Porsche. Will it be as focused as the Cayman? To be announced later in the year!

It says something when a V12 Ferrari test ranks third in comments of the week's reviews. But the PH revisiting of the FF (once more for old time's sake, before the turbos come) attracted fewer comments than both the Porsche and Toyota GT86 Aero. Having said that, most of the comments for the Toyota were pointing out how daft the spoiler was...

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Ultimate Dad's car?

Real Estate
Fast estates in any form are always well received on PistonHeads. So it was pleasing to report the Mercedes CLA45 Shooting Brake delivers all of the thrills we've come to expect from that family of cars with some added practicality.

But for those who find the Mercedes a little slow, or overly stylised perhaps, this Nissan Stagea is the perfect alternative. Big, boxy and utterly unpretentious, it also features a 500hp RB26 Skyline engine in it. Trips to the dump will never be the same again...

And while it won't be especially fast, a Granada Ghia X estate was a welcome blast from the past early in the week. It was one of many interesting lots at the recent Historics at Brooklands auction.

There's more from the news too. For the rich the first images of the Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet emerged, for the very rich there are more details on the McLaren Sports Series and for the obscenely wealthy PH has been comparing the hypercar driving programmes.

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Oi VW, where's the replacement?

Team PH Speaks
The third episode of PHTV went live this week, with new video from the Mercedes-AMG C63 launch and Mission Motorsport's Goodwood track day. New episodes will be available every Wednesday from now on - stay tuned!

A pair of blogs have prompted a great response this week too. Dan has been contemplating the future of stickers on RS Porsches (nothing but the big issues on PH) and Matt is missing the junior hot hatch.

As for the PH regular features, we've had a new GTI for Shed Of The Week, that GT86 in Pic Of The Week and a Lotus Exige Cup as a Spotted. For those who missed out on a Cayman perhaps.

Another busy few days then, with plenty more packed weeks to follow. There are more Sunday events imminent too, beginning with the PH F1 Wake Up this weekend. See you there!

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Coming soon:

• Ford Escort RS2000: PH Heroes
• Mercedes C63 AMG buying guide
• Porsche Boxster market watch
• Range Rover Sport SVR driven
• Zenos E10 S on road and track

 

[agent biscuit]

just a note to those writing these rave reviews ….i know most of us would love a porsche and prob cant afford one and this is not knockin the reviews of cars we cant afford but from my experience of porsche they like there limited number cars to be approved by the press and then try buying one…the dealers are always arrogant c**ts and when i mentioned i wanted a 991 GT3 he asked me what car i had and i replied a nice vw van at which point he then treated me like something he had stepped on in the park! also they sell the limited cars to their mates like dealers whom then place them up for sale at vastly increased prices and then spend years tucked up in a garage receiving no abuse and lots of polishing…even deposits left for years and letters of intent really are a waste of time when the trade in in control of the supply of these cars …the cars are works of art and superbly engineered (most of the time ) but the sales of the GT3 and no doubt the gt will be and are filtered heavily by the dealerships imo ….rant over!!