2012 Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Spyder: Rear-Drive Gallardo Bows in L.A.

Next up in the never-ending proliferation of Lamborghini’s Gallardo lineup is the LP550-2 Spyder. (In just the past year, Lambo has introduced the Super Trofeo Stradale, the Spyder Performante, the rear-drive LP550-2, and the Bicolore and Tricolore.) The first rear-drive convertible from Lamborghini since the 1998 Diablo SV roadster, the LP550-2 Spyder is a rear-drive version of the LP560-4 ragtop for a bit less money: $211,995 (plus yet-undetermined gas-guzzler tax) versus $232,095.

The one-year-only LP550-2 Valentino Balboni coupe started this rear-drive-Gallardo business. Then, Lamborghini patted itself on the back for that idea by announcing that it would continue to sell rear-drive Gallardos without the Balboni name and exclusive details. Given Lambo’s recent fixation with the Gallardo, the appearance of the LP550-2 coupe at the L.A. auto show is little surprise. Its suspension has been uniquely tuned for the Spyder’s lower weight and the altered weight bias of the rear-drive configuration, a step that included allowing more body roll. In past testing, we’ve found the rear-drive versions of the Gallardo to actually be more prone to understeer than the AWDs, possibly as a safety countermeasure to the 542 hp directed only to the back. We’ll be happy to determine if this again is the case. Sales begin in March.

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Volkswagen eT! Concept Theorizes a New Way to Haul the Mail

Unless you lived in Germany in the 1960s or ’70s—where it was omnipresent—or happened to read our coverage of this year’s Concours d’LeMons, chances are you’ve never seen an example of the Volkswagen “Fridolin.” The small commercial vanlet, which was based on the original VW Beetle, was developed with and for the Deutsche Bundespost, the formerly government-run postal service. The Type 147 (its official designation; Fridolin was its colloquial name) was practical, cheap, and virtually indestructible. It was produced from 1964 until 1974, but soldiered on for a few more years until it was replaced in the postal fleet by Golfs and Transporters. Deutsche Post, which was privatized long ago, today relies on an even more diverse array of vehicles, including the Renault Kangoo.

1971 Volkswagen Type 147 Fridolin

VW has once again teamed up with Deutsche Post to develop a new mail van, but this one—the eT! concept—remains a one-off for now. The eT! was styled by the carmaker’s Potsdam design studio with input from the postal service and the Braunschweig University of Art. The list of desired traits for the delivery vehicle: compact size, pure-electric motivation, and the ability to drive semi-autonomously, with the latter two being “based on technologies available today,” says Jürgen Leohold, VW’s research guru.

To that end, the eT! boasts in-hub electric motors, and it will indeed follow voice commands to move itself. If the driver steps out of the vehicle, he can utter simple phrases to get the eT! to return to him or even follow alongside—like, say, on a mail route, where he’s walking up the street. The van can also be driven from the passenger side. All of this is an extension of current technology, including some that, for example, allows some modern cars to self-park flawlessly. We saw similar applications of the tech from supplier Valeo at this year’s Frankfurt auto show, and it’s not surprising that it’s already being showcased by a major automaker.

One of the best aspects of the eT!, of course, is its styling. It has a contemporary, angular look with a few soft edges, innovative lighting, and a basic but extremely clean interior. The eT!’s styling philosophy fits somewhere between VW’s Space Up! and Bulli concepts, and this van provides more insight into the ideas floating around at the firm’s design studios. We like the eT!, and we’d be happy to take it for a spin—both using the steering wheel and our voices.

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2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG: 415 HP, 5.5-Liter V-8, Glorious Soundtrack

Bless Mercedes-Benz. Bless that company a thousand times. The house that Gottlieb, Karl, and Wilhelm built may not be good at everything, but at the end of the day, it gets one important thing right: If you are going to build a high-performance car for public sale, then said car must sound bitchin'.

Meet the 2012 SLK55 AMG. It sounds excessively bitchin'. Actually, that descriptor might be too modest—this is a machine loud and raucous enough to wake the undersea dead. The naturally aspirated, 5.5-liter, 415-hp V-8 under the SLK's hood is the kind of powerplant that gives Detroit nightmares: torquey, smooth, and blessed with an exhaust note that makes the average V-8–powered American sled sound like a soprano eunuch. AMG calls this engine M152, a fact worth mentioning only because it helps distinguish this V-8 from another Mercedes V-8. The M152 is a variant of the M157, the twin-turbo, 5.5-liter eight recently rolled out as a replacement for AMG's aging, naturally aspirated 6.2-liter M156 V-8.

So Many Numbers, So Little Sense

Let's get this down for posterity: The M156 used to live in AMG 63 cars like the E63 and CL63. Most of those cars still wear "63" badging, a nod to the 1968–72 Mercedes 300SEL 6.3, despite the fact that they now are powered by the 5.5-liter M157. The M156 is still found in the C63 sedan, coupe, and new Black Series coupe; it also lives, albeit in slightly modified M159 form, in the SLS AMG. For the moment, the naturally aspirated, 5.5-liter M152 is found only in the SLK55.

Confused yet? All you really need to know is that Mercedes-Benz badging can't be trusted to accurately portray engine displacement—except in the case of the SLK55, one of the few cars whose number makes sense. Let's move on.

Like all AMG engines, the SLK55's powerplant specializes in torque. In addition to the aforementioned 415 hp, the 7200-rpm M152 cranks out a whopping 398 lb-ft of grunt, enough, we figure, to hurl the diminutive roadster to 60 mph in barely more than four seconds. The V-8 is oriented toward efficiency, at least as much as a 5.5-liter eight-pot can be; cylinder deactivation is standard, as are direct injection, variable valve timing, and a stop-start system. The cylinder-deactivation system, a first for AMG, can disable cylinders 2, 3, 5, and 8 by cutting spark and fuel and parking those cylinders' valves. The transition is noticeable only in the form of a slight change in exhaust note—it shifts from a rumbling burble to a boomier, less-complex tune—and an indicator light on the dash. The cylinders go to sleep under light load and only from 800 to 3600 rpm. Mercedes says they need as little as 30 milliseconds to relight, and the active cylinders still produce up to 170 lb-ft of torque. The system only functions when the transmission is set to efficiency mode or when the folding hardtop is up, leaving the top-down experience unsullied by practical concerns.

Mighty (Hefty) Mite

The SLK should weigh a whopping 3550 pounds—hundreds more than a Porsche Boxster or BMW Z4, both of which offer slightly nimbler handling and, in the case of the Boxster, gobs more steering feedback. This is as it should be. Mercedes isn't known for building pared-down, die-hard sports cars, and the brand's droptops have always seemed more suited to grand touring than corner carving. The 55 gets the usual pantheon of handling goodies (stiffer springs and dampers, variable-assist hydraulic steering gear, 18-inch aluminum wheels, and a pseudo torque-vectoring function for the brakes that uses rear-caliper pressure to help the car turn in), and it's happy sucking up winding pavement, but it's happier still carrying big speed over long distances. The standard seven-speed automatic shifts smoothly and quickly, blipping the throttle on downshifts, but the engine is so flexible that you tend to forget the gearbox is there. Gripes are limited to a noticeable amount of nose weight—for better or worse, V-8-engined SLKs have always felt bigger than they are when pushed—and a rear-suspension tune that produces a lot of head toss and the occasional sideways hop over rough pavement.

The SLK55's sports-car clothing and soundtrack can be misleading, but ultimately, this is a remarkably balanced fast touring car. Pricing hasn't been released, but figure on a sticker close to $69,000 when the model goes on sale in 2012. That's anything but cheap, but the noise—that beautiful, lavish noise—is worth every penny.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door roadster

PRICE AS TESTED: $69,000

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 333 cu in, 5461 cc
Power: 415 hp @ 6800 rpm
Torque: 398 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 95.7 in
Length: 163.2 in
Width: 71.5 in Height: 50.8 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 3550 lbPERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 4.1 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.1 sec
Top speed: 155–174 mph

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 19/27 mpg

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2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco Priced from $25,995, Slightly Undercuts Hybrid Competitors

November 22, 2011 at 4:49pm by Alexander Stoklosa

Chevrolet has announced that the 2013 Malibu Eco will start at $25,995—higher than most non-hybrid mid-size sedans, but lower than mid-size hybrid players such as the Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry. The Eco model will spearhead the new global 2013 Chevrolet Malibu’s launch in the U.S. in early 2012—the presumably cheaper gas-only model, powered by a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder, will arrive later.

The Eco’s middle-of-the-road pricing makes sense: it’s a mild hybrid system—essentially the same as Buick’s eAssist—but unlike Toyota’s hybrid system, the electric motor cannot power the car on its own. As a result, fuel-economy estimates are an unexceptional (in the hybrid context) 26 mpg in the city and 38 on the highway; higher than a conventional gas-powered sedan’s, but lower than its hybrid competitors. Furthermore, the Eco’s 2.4-liter four combined with its electric motor/generator is good for 182 hp—less than some competitors’ four-cylinders. For comparison, the 2012 Toyota Camry hybrid LE returns 43 and 39 mpg city/highway, packs 200 hp, and is priced from $26,660. That’s not a whole lot more money for markedly better city fuel economy and comparable highway thrift. On the other end of the spectrum, the $21,455 base 2012 Hyundai Sonata—with a six-speed automatic—makes 198 hp and gets 24 and 35 mpg city/highway. At the moment, it appears the Malibu Eco’s pricing may be slightly out of step with its capabilities, but we will reserve judgment until we drive a production model for ourselves.

Tags: Chevrolet, Chevrolet Malibu Eco |

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2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series Driven: The Terrible Teuton Triumphant

AMG’s Tobias Moers is one wicked mother, and his cars aren’t far behind. Moers is head of vehicle development for AMG. A classic German performance engineer—stern, compact build—he likes his machinery loud and sideways. Shortly after driving the new C63 AMG Black Series at its Laguna Seca press launch—nine hot laps only, and street driving verboten—your author walked up to Moers and asked him his official title. He stared back blankly, as if I had just told him my name was Big Bird. “I’ve had different titles,” Moers said, arms crossed. “Frankenstein was one of them.” No smile.

Witness the monster the doctor has birthed: Like all Black Series cars, the C63 Black is effectively a standard Mercedes—in this case a C63 coupe—sent to hell and back. The latter’s basic profile remains, but virtually all of the mechanical bits have been tweaked or replaced in the name of track velocity. Forged 19-inch, nine-inch-wide alloys sit inside fattened front fenders; the rear rollers live beneath gargantuan flares and are another half-inch wider. Front track is 1.6 inches greater than on a standard C63 and rear track blossoms by 3.1 inches. Stiffened springs, fatter anti-roll bars, and adjustable spring perches are mated to two-way adjustable dampers. Thanks in part to the lightweight wheels and the lack of a back seat—it’s available if you want it—curb weight drops by a claimed 235 pounds, to around 3700.

I’ll Show You Crazy . . .

Still, the truly insane bit lives under the hood. Like the ordinary C63, the Black Series uses a version of AMG’s mad M156 V-8, the same naturally aspirated, 6.2-liter piece that powers the SLS. It’s even closer to the SLS engine here than in its other applications, borrowing—as does the standard C63 with its optional Development Package—the Gullwing’s lighter crankshaft and forged pistons and connecting rods. With a new engine-control unit, it produces 510 hp at 6800 rpm, 59 more than the standard C63, 29 more than Development pack cars, and just 53 horses down on the SLS. The engine now redlines at 7200 rpm, a 400-rpm jump from the regular C63. Torque rises slightly, from 443 to 457 lb-ft, although peak grunt still arrives at 5000 rpm.

The whole mess sounds like a DTM racer that ate a few hundred Chevrolet small-blocks for breakfast. Mercedes says the 0-to-60-mph sprint is accomplished in 4.2 seconds, a claim we weren’t able to verify but are inclined to believe applies only to cars in which two cylinders are breathing all-natural Vermont maple syrup. The car leaves the line like a methed-up ape (Wait, no—3700 pounds? Make that a methed-up studio apartment), and we clocked a basic C63 coupe to 60 in just 3.7 seconds. Top speed is a claimed 186 mph, likely less when equipped with the optional rear wing.

The rest is predictable. In time-honored Mercedes-Benz fashion, there is no clutch pedal on offer, just Stuttgart’s seven-speed MCT automatic. (Twin-clutch ’boxes reportedly cannot handle the M156’s torque.) A slightly larger transmission cooler was installed because the regular C63 tends to go into gearbox limp mode when abused in hot weather. Brake rotors grow just over an inch front and rear. Thin-backed sport seats and red seat belts—the better, presumably, to hide the bloodstains from your vanquished enemies—are standard. The rear half shafts and limited-slip differential were swiped from the heavier E63, the diff given an external, fan-aided cooler.

. . . And You’ll Love It

Mercedes says the package can lap the Nürburgring in 7:43. It looks like undiluted mayhem, or maybe the result of a bad accident involving a race shop and Satan’s school bus. If you do not love it, have the nurse wake you up from your coma. In our short lapping session, the C63 did absolutely nothing wrong. Steering feel is better than any Mercedes in recent memory, hefty and with just the right amount of meaty, big-car feedback. The engine pulls like blazes, with torque everywhere and a righteous, gut-punching thunder-bark gushing from the pipes. The brake pedal is rock-solid, gaining only a hair of travel when the discs get hot.

The chassis is balanced but takes patience to stay ahead of—the Mercedes’ pork is always obvious, and you can induce understeer or oversteer by piling on steering or gobs of throttle at the wrong moment. Moers’s madman handiwork is evident even in the differential, which boasts a whopping 50 percent lock-up on deceleration. Stability during braking and turn-in is thus eye-opening; you can cram the C63 into corners with reckless abandon, DTM fantasies twitching through your toenails, your mistakes all but consequence-free. (Contrast this with the C63’s predecessor, the 2007–08 CLK63 Black Series, a raw behemoth that was both glorious and moderately homicidal at the limit. Fun stuff, right up until it kills you.)

All told, the refinement is the impressive bit—big cars aren’t supposed to be total pussycats when you honk on them. The only real complaint is the seven-speed automatic, which offers a seemingly telepathic Sport mode but reacts so slowly to paddle-shifter commands that you simply stop bothering and let the gearbox shift itself. A car this good should beg your involvement, even if it’s just with buttons.

Black Series models don’t sell in big numbers, but that’s kind of the point—the line, remember, was named after the American Express Centurion card, offered only to those who buy Gulfstreams by the dozen. The CLK63 moved just 399 units in America. The C63 Black is said to be mostly sold out, and Mercedes claims less than 100 will be available stateside, at an estimated price of around $125,000. Pity—this kind of insanity needs to be spread.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2- or 4-passenger, 2-door coupe

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $125,000

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 379 cu in, 6208 cc
Power: 510 hp @ 6800 rpm
Torque: 457 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm

TRANSMISSIONS: 7-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 108.9 in
Length: 185.3 in
Width: 71.9 in Height: 54.6 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 3800 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 3.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.0 sec
Top speed: 186 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 13/19 mpg

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Jeep Rules Out Diesel and SRT for Everything But Grand Cherokee, Nixes Hybrids Entirely

November 22, 2011 at 3:33pm by Justin Berkowitz

Diesel enthusiasts sprayed each other with crude oil in celebration last month when the CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, announced that the Grand Cherokee would offer a diesel engine in the U.S. by 2013. That excitement has reached its limits, however, as Jeep boss Mike Manley told us that no other U.S.-market Jeeps will be available with diesel power in the foreseeable future.

And at the other end of the efficiency/performance continuum, Manley said that the Grand Cherokee will continue to be the only Jeep product available in rorty, gas-snorting SRT trim.

What’s left for the rest of the range? Conventional gasoline engines. For the time being, hybrids are completely off the table for all Jeep products, Manley says. The company will improve its vehicles’ fuel economy with help from Fiat: MultiAir valve-lift technology already has been added to several Chrysler-engineered powerplants, and in other cases—possibly the next Liberty and the Patriot/Compass replacement, for example—Jeep likely will simply install engines plucked from its Italian sibling’s roster.

Tags: hybrids, Jeep, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Wrangler |

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2012 Audi A1 Sportback: Audi’s Smallest Grows Up

Watch the Audi A1. Initially slow sales have prompted many a sarcastic remark by the press and competition, but the Polo-derived subcompact is gaining momentum. While the most interesting versions—including an S1—are still some time away, the lineup is expanding with a derivative that will sell in much higher volumes than those mentioned above. Add two doors and the A1 becomes the A1 Sportback. Unlike the other Audi Sportbacks, A5 and A7, the elongated A1 looks almost exactly like the car on which it’s based.

That’s not to say it doesn’t look fresh. The rear window stands a bit more upright than on the regular A1, and the roof—as well as the roof rails and spoiler—can be painted in your choice of three contrasting colors. The roof rails alone, however, cannot be painted a contrasting color, as they can be on the A1. In the three-door, they form a perfect arch, but with the modified daylight opening of the five-door, Audi decided that having them alone contrast would look awkward. Audi created a unique multi-spoke wheel design for the Sportback, and it offers a special color—Samoa Orange, which debuted on the Q3—that isn’t available on the regular A1, but beyond that, the two look virtually identical.

The modified roofline makes for extra headroom in the rear, and this 6’4” writer can attest to the fact that it is spacious enough to be comfortable—as long as the front passengers are cooperative. The A1 comes standard with two rear seats, but a three-passenger bench is available at no cost. It seems theoretically possible to seat three in the rear, but don’t think we know many people who would enjoy being one of those three.

Like the regular A1—and the VW Polo, Škoda Fabia, and SEAT Ibiza, with which it shares its platform—the Sportback is one of the most agile, capable offerings in its class. The Sportback weighs just 50 pounds or so more than the three-door, so we don’t anticipate a discernible difference in the dynamics of the two. The engine lineup is identical: 1.2- and 1.4-liter gasoline engines with up to 185 hp and 1.6- and 2.0-liter diesels offering up to 143 hp. In 140-hp trim, the turbocharged 1.4-liter gas engine will offer cylinder deactivation, running on just two cylinders under low load. Color us interested.

The A1 Sportback commands a premium of €850, around $1000, over the regular A1. That’s not too much, considering the added flexibility and convenience. The rear doors also are useful in tight European cities, where the long doors of the three-door make ingress and egress more difficult. They should also come in handy when buyers are trying to place shopping bags on the rear seat without dislocating their shoulders.

There isn’t much competition for the Audi A1 Sportback. The Citroën DS3 is only available as a three-door, and the Mini only comes with five doors if you opt for the ungainly Countryman. We think the A1 Sportback will do well in Europe—and we wish Audi would decide to offer it here as well.

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Lexus Introduces 2013 GS250 for U.K., Won’t Bring to U.S.

November 21, 2011 at 3:25pm by Alexander Stoklosa

Lexus recently unveiled the 2013 GS sedan range, which here in the U.S. will include the GS350, GS350 F Sport, and GS450h hybrid. There’s now a fourth member of the GS lineup, the 250, that will go on sale in the U.K. Packing less displacement than other GS models, the 250 comes equipped similarly to the range-topping 450h.

The GS250 is powered by the 206-hp, 2.5-liter V-6 engine that also can be found under the hood of the U.S.-market IS250, where it makes 204 hp. The small V-6 is backed by the same six-speed automatic as is used in our GS350. Lexus claims the combination is powerful enough to propel the roughly 3700-pound sedan from 0 to 62 mph in 8.6 seconds and to a top speed of 142 mph. The GS250 may not be particularly quick, but it makes up for the shortcoming by offering the same features as the U.K.-market’s GS450h hybrid. And the GS450h has a lot of high-end kit: a 12.3-in multimedia screen, Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot monitor, and Lexus Night View are all on hand as standard.

So will we get the weaker GS250 here in the States? A Lexus representative assured us that there are no plans to bring the car to the U.S. market. For those of you in the U.K., however, expect the GS250 to hit dealerships in June.

Tags: Lexus, Lexus GS |

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2013 Porsche Panamera GTS Announced: Like a Panamera Turbo Without the Turbo

PATRICK M. HOEY AND THE MANUFACTURER

People who need to apex at max g while taking the kids to school will have another option next spring when Porsche brings forth the 2013 Panamera GTS. Basically a sportier version of the current Panamera 4S, the $110,875 GTS will be the third most expensive derivative of Porsche’s sedan, after the $137,675 Turbo and $174,175 Turbo S.

Introduced at the Los Angeles auto show, the naturally aspirated GTS pulls its suspension and brake components from the Turbo—including the blown car’s larger front rotors—while its free-breathing 4.8-liter V-8 gets a revised intake and stouter valve springs. Redline is up 400 rpm, to 7100, and peak horsepower climbs 30, to 430. The engine’s noises are enhanced using a “Sound Symposer” similar to that on the new 911, with an acoustic tube and vibrating membrane that transmits intake snarl to the cabin via the A-pillar.

Down low, the air suspension that is optional on base Panameras is included on the GTS, with firmer shock rates and a ride height that is dropped 0.4 inch. Both the standard 19-inch wheels and the optional 20s wear Michelin Pilot Sport summer rubber, and the rear wheels get 0.2-inch spacers to widen the track slightly.

Visually, the changes include a front bumper from the SportDesign package available on other Panameras (one of the 10 million options on all Porsches) and the deployable three-element, four-position rear spoiler from the Turbo. There’s also some extra black body trim, and a new arrest-me-now red called Carmine joins the palette. In a first for the Panamera, Porsche says it’ll paint the car any bespoke color you can think of.

Leather and Alcantara, the artificial mouse fur that is the universal code for sporty, are used throughout the interior. Sill plaques identify the model as a GTS, as does lettering embroidered on the seats. The Sport Chrono package is standard and adds a “Sport Plus” setting for suspension and powertrain settings, as well as a 5500-rpm clutch-drop launch-control function on the PDK seven-speed auto-manual transmission. You’ll want to try that after the crossing guard leaves the intersection.

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991 Variants, the Beginning: 2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet

The first volleys of what will soon become a crushing salvo have landed. Following the introduction of the 2012 911 at the Frankfurt auto show, Porsche is starting the rollout of the full 991 family with the Carrera and Carrera S Cabriolets.

Aside from the retractable fabric top, the cabriolet differs little from the 911 coupe. When raised, the softtop even mimics the hardtop’s roofline better than past 911 cabrios. To cut down on wind noise and help the cloth top maintain its shape, Porsche fitted a hard composite panel between the layers of cloth above the front seats. The new softtop may be somewhat sleeker, but the outgoing car’s bustle butt remains—there’s only so much room behind the passengers for the 911’s engine and a lowered roof.

Fraternal Twins

Mechanically, the Carrera and Carrera S cabriolets are identical to their roofed counterparts. That means the Carrera gets a 350-hp, 3.4-liter flat-six and the S a 400-hp 3.8-liter. In both cars, a seven-speed manual transmission is standard and Porsche’s seven-speed, dual-clutch PDK unit is optional. Porsche claims the Carrera cabrio can hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds on its way to a top speed of 177 mph, while the S drops that time to 4.1 seconds and can reach 187 mph. Both cars’ stated performance figures are just a hair or two off of those of the coupe, and we predict they’re somewhat conservative based on our first drive in a 2012 Carrera S coupe. When Porsche launched the coupe, it made a big deal about the car’s enhanced fuel efficiency. It did the same for the cabriolet, but official EPA numbers aren’t yet available; figure on 19 to 20 mpg in the city and close to 30 on the highway, the latter figure abetted by the newly available seven-speed manual transmission.

The topless 911 Carrera will start at $94,650 and the S at $108,950, increases of $3600 and $5000 over last year’s models. Furthermore, both base prices are $11,600 more than an equivalent hardtop’s. At least cabriolet fans won’t have to wait too much longer than coupe buyers to get their hands on the new car—it will hit dealerships in the spring, not long after the hardtop goes on sale in February. A plethora of 911 variants is sure to follow: Turbo, Turbo S, all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S, harder-core GT models, you name it. Brace yourself.

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