Porsche is an interesting brand study. Part of the strength of the brand is that new models are so rarely introduced. Truthfully, the venerable 911 line has undergone many changes over the last 45 years but there is no mistaking a 911. From whatever distance you may choose, a 2009 911 is as much a 911 as a ‘63 901. Indeed an entire brand built around a shape which has evolved, yet has not really changed as far as the eye can see.

As a result of this glacier slow evolution, new additions to the lineup are admired, feared, anticipated and loathed. Purists still whine above the merits of air versus water cooling, regardless of the obvious benefits of the latter. Imaging the fuss that many of them will put up at the thought of, gasp, a 4 door 911!

The media, both new and traditional, has been so full of tales and images of the upcoming Panamera that one can’t possibly know what to expect. Heavily camouflaged test mules have been seen around the globe attempting to hide a shape that could only be described as ugly as hell. Surely the folks at Porsche haven’t lost their minds: egads, imagine a 4 door 911 that is also ugly! There has been so much contemplation that we’ve actually not paid too much attention here in The Garage. To be honest, there was an overload of anticipation and not enough substance.

Finally, Porsche has revealed details of the new machine and thankfully the designers have left the ugly stick in the closet. What a gorgeous piece of work. With V6 or V8 power ranging from 300 to 500 horsepower and rear or all wheel drive, Porsche has ensured that this 4 seat GT will have the goods to take on anything the other high end sport sedans can offer. Buyers can choose between a six speed manual or Porsche’s 7 speed Double Clutch gearbox. With the production version only 9 months away, it won’t be too long before we can bring you our views of the real thing instead of iffy spy photos.

Read the official Porsche release and see more photos after the break
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It is my pleasure to introduce myself to The Garage. My name is Tom, and I am going to be helping Gary to give you the latest automotive news that matters to us, and to make sense of what that news “really” means to us enthusiasts. I’ll also be chipping in with some editorial pieces, or whatever else Gary would like to see here.

Gary and I share a passion for the automobile that some may consider an illness, but I think it is a gift. I’ve had the pleasure of growing up around great cars-I had two neighbors in my middle-class Connecticut town with vintage Ferrari’s (275GTB and a 275 GTS). Nothing like waking up on a Saturday to hear those V-12s roll around the cul-de-sac as they waited for their tranny’s to warm up!

As a writer, I have done new car reviews for the Suburban Express, a magazine serving the Mainline area of Philadelphia, PA, as well as automotive editorial pieces for the Westport News here in CT. I was also a member of the International Motoring Press Association.

My daily driver, and family-car is a 2007 Honda Civic Si (sorry, didn’t see a need for a minivan). My toy, pictured here, is my 1976 Porsche 911S Targa. This is my second Porsche, and I am a member of the Porsche Club of America.

I am excited to share my love of cars with everyone who loves the Garage, and I welcome all suggestions and criticisms. Let’s have some fun!

In today’s world, there aren’t too many manufacturers who see the value in building true race ready versions of their road cars. True, Dodge keeps on track with toys like the Challenger Super Stock and Ford has it’s FR500S, but there aren’t too many others. Beyond Porsche that is.

Porsche’s reputation has had a rock solid base in racing throughout the company’s history. There has almost always been full on race cars from the Porsche stable that are based on production cars and are available to the sporting consumer.

The latest in this line is the newest 911 variant: the GT3 Cup S. Based on the road going GT3 RS, the Cup S is a 3.6 liter, 440 horsepower race only car. If you have a spare 250,000 Euros lying around, you too can enter the Super Cup or Carrera Cup.

Complete press release and photos after the break
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The current Porsche 911, designated 997 has been in production for just over 3 years now and the car has become so popular that it has set a new production record. Number 100,000 was appropriately a Guards Red 911 Carrera S with manual gearbox.

Press release after the break
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Regular readers will remember the 996 you see above. Not only does this beast sport a killer camo suit, but it has a few tweaks that have carried it to a whopping 192 MPH. That’s a whole heck of a lot of go. Now this one off military assault equipment can be yours for only…

Well, it’s sort of for sale, but you might get further with the offer of an interesting piece of rural ontario land. That’s right, the right honorable Mr. Larratt would like to swap the Panzer for some land on which to build a yurt.

You can visit the listing on the Toronto Craigslist page or e-mail Shannon at glider at zentastic.com

ps…I would assume he’s washed the car since this

That has to be one of the funniest lines I’ve heard in a long time. It came from the wife of business man turned TV host Kevin O’Leary upon hearing that he had bought a 2004 Porsche 911 C4S.

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One of the problems with owning a unique ride is that it gets noticed. Shannon Larratt, he of the camouflage Porsche 911 seems to have more problems than most with being noticed. The poor guy opened his inbox earlier this week, only to find his pride and joy being violated. The message that came with the photos is pretty funny.

At least they weren’t on the HOOD!

This appears to be the first picture of a Panamera next to a 911. While there seems to be a few opinions that the poor quality image is a photoshop job, one thing is for certain. This thing is UGLY.

For more info on the picture, visit Eurocar Blog