Porsche leaves WEC, DB11 vs 911 and driving 200mph

Plus a pickup truck called a Poer. No, seriously...

By Cam Tait / Tuesday, 14 October 2025 / Loading comments

Whoever came up with the idea to call Great Wall Motors’ new pickup truck the ‘Poer’ is a genius, because it’s the sole reason why it kicks off today’s episode of The Gassing Station podcast. Well, that and John’s been driving it, and for what it’s worth, he was actually quite fond of it. But, come on, Poer? Apparently, it’s meant to sound like ‘power’ when said in a very specific and unnatural way, though perhaps this was the plan all along: give the car a silly name and it’ll be guaranteed to feature on silly podcasts like our very own. Bravo GMW.

Funny car name aside, our first topic of the week is Porsche’s exit from the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar class for 2026. The firm’s exit as a factory squad is a blow to the WEC, not least because the drivers of its No. 6 car are the reigning champions, but also for the marque’s early backing of the popular Hypercar ruleset. The good news is the company could still race at Le Mans next year having just wrapped up the IMSA (that’s America’s version of the WEC) championship at last weekend’s Petit Le Mans, which lands the squad a ticket to the 24 Hour grid. But it’ll need at least two customer 963s on the grid in next year’s WEC to be eligible to race, and so far it has just one competing with long-time partner Proton Competition. Could we be in for another absence of Porsche in top-class sports car racing?

After boring John (and anyone who has no interest in motor racing) about why Le Mans is the greatest race in the world, it was time to tackle another buying challenge. This week it comes from PHer Mr Micawber, who’s choosing between an Aston Martin DB11 V8 and a Porsche 911 991/992 with a budget of £70,000 to £90,000. John followed the brief to a tee and put forward this 991.1 50th Anniversary Edition for £79,991, while this tastefully-specced DB11 V8 came a close runner-up. I, however, thought I’d offer some alternatives, including this 2011 Ferrari FF and a BMW M8 Competition that was almost identical in spec to the DB11. But I settled on an M2 CS instead, purely for the fact that it’ll arguably feel the most special to drive of the lot - minus the Ferrari. So who did it best? You can either let us know below, or head into the topic here and submit your own picks.

While you’re in the forums, you may want to give jimmyandthemagic’s topic on hitting 200mph on the autobahn a look over. We’ve all tried going as fast as we can on the derestricted bits of the ‘bahn, but there’s some great advice in the topic on how to do it safely. John and I thought we’d share some of our experiences too, and why it’s never a good idea to head onto the autobahn with a target speed in mind. All that and more on this week’s episode of The Gassing Station.

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