When other automakers start increasing their stock in another company, you have to just await what will happen next. Buyouts aren’t far-off when these kinds of reports go around.

Porsche has recently increased their stake in Volkswagen from 31% to 35%. The move made Volkswagen a subsidiary of Porsche Automobil Holding. What’s even more interesting is that later this year, Porsche will be raising its stakes to more than 50%.

With that move, Porsche will then have absolute majority over Volkswagen and that is quite interesting. Volkswagen with a new major stakeholder would mean a lot of possibilities of the motoring world. These are Germans we’re talking about and engineering-wise, a Porsche-controlled VW might mean a lot of interesting stuff.

We have to apologize for sporadic and late posting of news here on AutoJab. We’re currently working some other efforts over at our home - Bloggy Network. Rest assured, consistent updates will be back ASAP.

Now, I just can’t let this newsbit pass since it’s about one of my favorite cars as of late - Godzilla with four wheels - the Nissan GT-R. And it’s getting some flak from Porsche with the German automaker claiming that Nissan cheated when they set the GT-R’s then-record-breaking lap time around the Nurburgring.

Porsche engineers have been running tests with the 911 around the ‘Ring and claim that they couldn’t get within 25 seconds of the GT-R’s 7:29 lap time. For them, that kind of time is impossible if it was a regular production car and that Nissan probably used a different set of tires.

Well, let’s get the facts straight. Porsche purchased a US-spec Nissan GT-R and raced them against the standard GT2 and a 911 Turbo. At the hands of Walter Rohrl one of their engineers, the Porsche cars beat the living hell out of the Japanese supercar.

Maybe, the GT-R is really just built for the Japanese. They set the lap time with ex-F1 Toshio Suzuki behind the wheel. Or maybe the GT-R just hates German drivers. But come on, in the hands of the Stig, the Porsche 911 Turbo clocked in 1.31.0 around the Top Gear test track and the GT-R clocked in at 1.19.7.

Then again, this just builds up the controversy whether Nissan was really tuning their test cars for better performance over the production ones.

And yet another round of teasers from automakers, this time from Porsche with their upcoming four-door, four-seater sedan - the Porsche Panamera. Porsche released an official teaser image that showcases the front of the car.

If there’s a Porsche Frankenstein’s monster it’d be the Panamera which, based on the front alone, borrows heavily from the existing cars in Porsche’s fleet (911, Cayenne, Cayman). Unlike the 911, the Panamera will have its engine up front, the power from which will be directed to the rear wheels.

Speculation has it that the engine range will be drawn from the Cayenne’s current 3.6L V6 and 4.5L V8 engines. In return, the Panamera’s platform will also serve as the basis to the next-gen Cayenne. Makes you think if Porsche is minimizing their development costs by reusing technologies across the fleet.

The Panamera has its own microsite which can be visited here. Expect more details to surface by next month.

Source: Porsche

Porsche is surely to be feeling the impact of the recent influx of practical supercar alternatives like the Audi R8 and the Nissan GT-R that the appeal of the original practical supercar, the Porsche 911, has waned a bit.

However, as with any model that has gained a clear share of the market, they only need to bring in some more developments to give the classic product a new and probably better twist. And that’s what they are saying the 2011 Porsche 911 will have.

Porsche R&D head Wolfgang Durheimer says the car will be “sexier” than the previous models. While the contours would largely stay the same, the new 911 will feature some tweaking to its image. The front fascia will be slightly altered to address new pedestrian safety laws and the rear will also get some reshaping to improve aerodynamics. And to bring the 911 into the 21st century, the side mirrors will be replaced by cameras.

These are just part of what’s planned for the 911. Some other possible upgrades will be with the materials to be used, improved electronic systems, and possibly more upgrades to improve performance.

Porsche has made impressive developments overcoming the supposed basic flaw of the 911 (having the engine at the back). It’d be interesting to see how things would play out in the future.

Porsche is slapping on their direct fuel injection (DFI) technology to their fleet. After fiddling with the Cayenne and the 911, the RS will be getting some DFI goodness as well. It’s one of the benefits of having racing pedigree - they get to develop some really cool technology.

The Porsche RS Spyder, with the DFI, will get boosts in power and fuel efficiency. The old engine dishes out 476 horses, the DFI one will get 27 more. A real bonus since with the class where the RS competes, the car just needs every juice it can get.

It’s nice to see some motorsport-caliber tech filter down to their consumer line. Not that Porsches are readily available to most consumers but hey, when you can get the good stuff, why shouldn’t you?

Source: Porsche

The new 2009 911 Carrera frops the “old” Tiptronic system in favor of the new PDK seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox. Ever wonder how come it shifts 60% faster than the old one? Here’s a video showing us how it works.

Via: Autoblog

Next year’s Detroit Motor Show might lack some attraction with automakers deciding to skip it. Joining Porsche’s decision to skip the show is Suzuki citing the lack of space as their reason. Immediately this raises the question as to the quality of the Cobo Center as a motor show venue. If even Suzuki feels that the space they’re given, then there’s something wrong there.

Suzuki was supposed to unleash the Kizashi 3 (which is supposed to hit the market in late 2009) in next year’s show. So we’ll just have to wait for another venue for that.

Remember last year when Porsche announced that they will be skipping the Detroit show last January? While it wasn’t a space issue, Porsche was clear to announce that participating in trade shows wasn’t really their way of marketing to the US and Canada.

Well, you can say that Suzuki isn’t at the same level with Porsche but if you have two automakers opting to skip out in what is supposed to be one of the country’s top show, then organizers should start worrying.

The wonders of tuning. No wonder these tuning houses still thrive despite all the calls for smaller displacement cars that would save the world from total annihilation. And how about getting a Porsche 911 and tuning it even more. Now, while the 911 isn’t exactly Veyron-esque, you would just have to agree that it’s a damn decent supercar especially since it’s one car that you can readily drive any day.

On the hands of tuning house Gemballa though, the 911 can be turned into a force of nature. Enter, the Gemballa Avalanche 600 GT2 EVO. As if by magic, slapping on the Gemballa power kit on a 911 boosted its horses to 600 bhp and it now boasts of 840 Nm of torque. Now those numbers propel the car from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.5 seconds and a top speed of nearly 200 mph. Not too shabby at all.

To improve handling, the car is fitted wit 20-inch wheels, a coilover suspension and a powerful braking system. The gearbox also has options for a day in the track. As for more bells and whistles, the car also sports a luxurious interior trim and a special paint finish.

Source: Gemballa

Prepare yourself folks. Here’s another badge beef issue. Porsche is taking issue with Audi’s use of the RS badge. Mind you that Porsche and Audi are “siblings” under the Volkswagen group. (Porsche holds a 20% stake in W.)

In the last Detroit Auto Show last January, we saw a tuned Audi TT-S and that S meant that you should be expecting something with it that makes it better than just a TT. Now that Audi is preparing something more powerful with a decision to slap on a RS designation, Porsche raises a red flag.

According to Porsche, the use of the RS badge is for their exclusive use only until the end of whatever runs they have say, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. They argue that Audi can only use the RS if used as a prefix with a numeric designation as with the case of RS.

Pretty petty or some marketing and branding honchos in both companies having some real issues. A bit of sibling rivalry? Perhaps. That Audi R8 should be giving the 911 a good run for its money. Just a thought.

Source: Winding Road

Porsche wouldn’t be as slap-on happy as their “sister” company Audi (with the VW group’s close relations with Porsche). With the much-hyped 6.0L V12 TDI engine slapped on a few Audi vehicles (the R8 and the Q7), news ran abound about whether Porsche will also be using the engine in the Porsche Cayenne. Sadly, it will not be so. We just all have to let go of the thoughts of having the massive engine slapped on to a lighter SUV.

The diesel version of the Cayenne will be launched with a much smaller 3.2L twin-turbo V6 (which is also borrowed from Audi) with main reasons being fuel economy (though the V12 TDI is a sipper, actually), emissions, and all the other reasons they can think of to justify the move. Still the V6 is said to still produce a decent enough 300 horses.

Well, probably the Volkswagen group thought of it as overkill. Quite right too, since a whole lot of cars with different badges sporting one engine doesn’t look too good for their fleet. I just think that Porsche should be making their own engines for their own cars. Where’s the novelty in getting a Porsche when you know deep inside, it’s an Audi.