The Spyder variant of the Porsche Boxster is always the rawest of the company’s roadsters. Stripped down to the bare essentials, with a tent-like manual top (for weight savings) and a 375-horse engine (the most powerful ever fitted to a Boxster), it’s built to shred. And rumor has it Porsche will make an even more hardcore variant: A Spyder GT4 to go alongside the razor-sharp new Cayman GT4. – This bit
– In a world where eight-speed automatics are common, nine-speeds are available, and 10-speed transmissions are in the works, Ford’s application for a patent on an 11-speed automatic transmission has an air of inevitability about it. – Unlike Ford’s 10-speed automatic, which is being jointly developed with General Motors, the 11-speed appears to be a Ford-only effort. The application indicates a design that uses planetary gearsets, which are not used
– Ferdinand Piëch is an automotive titan. The grandson of Ferdinand Porsche helped to shape Porsche and Audi, and his vision and drive created the Volkswagen Group juggernaut, a company jockeying with Toyota and General Motors to be the world’s largest—and one possibly superior to either in technological prowess. His congenial partner and most prominent disciple, Martin Winterkorn, has worked at his side for decades, and he was expected to
– National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Mark Rosekind (shown above) is calling for a summit with car-company CEOs this summer to discuss how manufacturers handle safety defects and recalls. After a record number of cars were recalled in 2014, it’s probably a good idea for carmakers and the safety agency to get on the same page. – Automotive News reports that Rosekind wants to encourage more proactive handling of safety
– In the war of light versus darkness, automakers long ago abandoned good ol’ fashioned halogen lamps for fancier peepers. Recently, Audi and BMW got in a little tiff over who could introduce laser headlights to the market first, while separately, Audi’s matrix LED tech continues to blow us away—even if it’s not yet allowed in the U.S. Now, BMW is going in a slightly different direction and introducing organic LED
