Spotted!!

Was wondering about the couple of cars I've seen around town decked out with testing equipment. Looked like Porsches only the cabin was too long for 2 seaters. No markings on the cars and both in black. Got a closer look the other day and definately were the new 4-seater Porsches...

http://www.nordenautohaus.com/news.html

I don't know...look a bit odd. Kind of like a long, fat fastback. Reminded me a bit of the old 2+2 E-types as compared to the 2 seater E-types. At least the roofline from the windshield back.

i cant see much of a market for a 4dr porsche, seems if they can afford that they will move up to a MBZ.

Looks like a Hyundai Sonata ~

Not Afan at ALL.
I go the literature in the mail last week for a preview.

Why do people buy Porsches? Because they are everything a Mercedes or BMW isn't!

You would think they learned after trying the 928. The Porsche market has certain preferences and four doors and front-mounted engines are definitely not on their lists.

Porsche Panamera
Here's a video. http://issue.imotormag.co.uk/car-reviews-car-news-car-videos/1E4926d792b9c25012.cde/page/5

I can't say I was smitten. They are wide and low but odd too. Had Georgia plates. Not the regular Peach state plates but just ordinary plates that said Georgia.

I'll agree it looks like a Porsche from the front, and the other aspects tend to blend in to the woodwork, if you know what I mean: looks like almost every other car you'll see. Insofar as form follows function, just about every sedan made these days looks more or less the same, in other words: aerodynamic. Line 'em all up in a row, and what do you see: low sloping fronts, blended rears and smooth corners, more or less. I'm sure this car will be very nice, and will pitch in on the high end sedan market very well vs. the 5 and 7 Beemers, and all the rest. WAY out of my league $$-wise. It looks nice enough, and I might recognize it as a Posrche from a distance coming at me. But it is nothing like a Speedster, style-wise. [What else would you expect me to say?]

I dunno, maybe it has to grow on you. I kinda like it, if only for the E-Type Jag reference and I love them!

~WB

I'm with you Kelly. Not a real eye catcher for me. I had a chance to drive a new Mercedes AMG last week. 160k plus an additional $7,000 to remove the electronics to keep it under 186 mph and a gas guzzler tax. The seats tighten on your butt as G forces increase. 0-60 in about 3 sec. once the wheels stop hopping and the tires get a bite. A truly amazing machine. From the outside it looked like a nice 4 door sedan that your mother would drive. Nothing really special. Somewhat disappointing

Saw them again twice on the weekend. The black one is really very hard to tell that its a Porsche but there appears to be some 928 perhaps in the rear styling. Saw the blue one and it had the oddest looking rear spoiler extended...the structure holding the spoiler was full of holes like it was lightened or something like that.

If they're on the road today I'll be impressed....minus 36 right now. I should have clarified...on the road under their own power and not being towed.

Car and Driver magazine had a recent article on a fellow who makes "camoflage" for manufacturers cars just so they can be open road tested and not be recognized. Some designs were done just with static cling lines, shapes and colors to specifically confuse a camera lens. Others had "stuffing" under neath the canvas outwear to alter the shape. The easy ones were when he just grafted on a different fender or spoiler, right on top of the original. End result - he made a damn good living of making a car look like something it wasn't.

That could be what was on the black car....it had some kind of reflective buttons all over the side of the car in square patterns...

I shouldn't have commented on the cars being towed...my crappy Passat wouldn't start yesterday at minus 40. I walk to work anyway now that the wife retired, its only about 2.5 kms both way, but she was pissed that she couldn't go out shopping. Maybe I should hope for minus 40 all the time...her retirement may cost more than anticipated.

"my crappy Passat wouldn't start yesterday at minus 40"

Hell, I wouldn't start at -40, either!

Geez Brian.. -40 I wouldn't even go out let alone start a car! OMG... You guys ROCK overthere with those temps Sir.. At 65 it's time for a jacket and gloves in So Cali. LOL...

Speedster "D"

Well, I stand corrected!

Minus 37 today and I'm walking the 2.5 kms to work (Passat doesn't start again) and one of those 4 seater Porsches passes by under its own power. By the looks of the frost on the car its quite evident that it was stored outside overnight and not in a heated garage. Impressive!

Brian -

I can't pretend to know anything about living in cold weather as yours, but would an 'engine block heater' be applicable (the ones that plug into a wall outlet/receptacle)?

Yep. But VW does not provide a suitable spot to insert a block heater .. they usually go into what I think is called a frost plug? VW claims that one is not needed on their cars.

So I have two oil pan heaters glued on to the oil pan with high temp silicone. But that's only part of the problem...

The other is that when it gets to about minus 25 the ignition won't work. You turn the key and all the idiot lights and stuff come on but when you turn it the rest of the way...no starter. Let the key come back slowly and something seems to make contact and if you catch it and stop at the right place you'll get the starter to turn over. At minus 30 even that won;t work. Its like the contacts don;t make contact when it cold. Weird and wonderful things happen to all sorts of things when it gets real cold.

I've only got to put up with this car for another 3 weeks as I'm driving out of here after Christmas (weather, car and ice road permitting) to Edmonton and I've made a deal to trade it in on a Mercedes E320W 4-matic wagon that is winter prepped for our ocniditions.

Years ago I bought a block heater for a VW Beetle that had a round element that fastened to the oil drain plate.

Brian - I can just picture you cruising the frozen tundra in a styling comfy MB 4Matic!

As soon as he gets that artic-mobile, he'll get transferred to Florida. It's bound to happen.

I took my other Mercedes out caribou hunting once. Got two of them and put them in the trunk...with a tarp under of course. Had to tie the hood down with bungie cords....couple of legs were sticking out. Never thought of it at the time but should have taken pictures.

Don't go hunting anymore, too much work since they passed a law that you couldn't shoot them from the highway. Got to go about 1 1/2 kms off the highway and the Benz won't go there.

And yep, done the oil pan heater thing. Actually got a magnetic one that I used to use on the Benz when it was real cold. Oil pan on the VW is aluminum. Problem is that they will cook you oil and create sludge and particles if left on too long or if too hot.

I work for the Government here so no offices in Florida I'm afraid. I'd likely get transferred to Tuktoyaktuk or some other God foresaken place.