All posts by Francis Mitterrand

Auctions

1963 Porsche 356B Coupe is up for auction

In the early 1930s, Ferdinand Porsche founded a company that offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but not cars under his own name. The end of World War II marked a turning point in the automotive industry and a new beginning for most manufacturers. Three years later, Porsche began production of its first production car, which was produced until 1965 in four versions. Between 1962 Porsche produced the 356 B model with the T6 body type, and one is currently being auctioned. It’s a 1963 Porsche 356B Coupe with a Karmann body.

This Porsche 356B Coupe is powered by a stock 2.1L flat-four engine paired with a four-speed manual transmission that sends power to the rear wheels. Under the current owner, the engine was rebuilt which included the installation of ported cylinder heads with larger valves as well as LN Engineering Nickies cylinders, JE pistons, Carrillo connecting rods, a SCAT 82mm forged crankshaft, a full-flow oil filter, a 123Ignition distributor, and twin Weber carburetors.

The car is finished in Smyrna Green, properly maintained and in good condition. It is equipped with GT-style bumper trim, headlight guards, fog lights, LED taillights, a left mirror, twin engine grilles, dual exhaust outlets, Wilwood discs with four-piston calipers up front and drum brakes out back, and Koni shocks, while rocker trim and horn grilles have been removed. It is mounted on 16″ alloy wheels wrapped in Yokohama Avid Ascend tires.

Inside, the bucket seats are trimmed in gray leather, which also covers the door panels, while the upper part of the dashboard is covered in green leather. There are also color-coordinated squareweave carpets. In front of the driver are a wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel and a five-digit odometer showing 31,851 miles (total mileage unknown). Additional equipment includes a VDO clock, a Porsche-branded radio blanking plate, and an amplifier with an auxiliary output, while the rear seats have been removed.

The car comes with a tool kit, a copy of the Kardex, a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity, and a Pennsylvania title in the seller’s name.

The auction ends on November 24 and the highest bid at the time of writing was USD $95,000.

Source: Bring a Trailer

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1963 Porsche 356B Coupe is up for auction
News

2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R

The start of the new endurance racing season is approaching and all the teams are heavily preparing for the competition, including Chevrolet whose new Corvette Z06 GT3.R will make its debut at the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The car will be powered by a 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft DOHC V-8 engine that will develop up to 600 hp (447 kW), and this engine shares more than 70 percent of its parts with the production Z06 engine.

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will compete in the new LMGT3 class, the successor to the LM GTE class that was held for the last time this year. Chevrolet will produce two Corvettes in the livery of the Pratt Miller Motorsport team that will compete in the North American IMSA Championship.

Manufacturer has announced that after more than 20 years, it will no longer perform under the name Corvette Racing. It will be interesting to see if Corvette, in a clash with the world’s biggest supercar manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, BMW, Lamborghini, McLaren, will repeat the success from this season when Corvette Racing won the trophy for LMGTE Am teams.

Source: Chevrolet

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News

Renault will launch five new cars in the next 8 years

Renault has announced that by 2031 it will launch seven new electric cars. It’s part of a long-term electrification plan, and the cars will be manufactured at the newly established electric vehicle and software company, Ampere.

It all started two years ago when Renault presented the all-electric Megane E-Tech, and soon the new fifth generation Renault Scenic E-Tech, the new Renault 5 EV and 4 EV, and the Renault Twingo EV will arrive on the market. The remaining two cars will be replacements for the Megane E-Tech and Scenic E-Tech. Currently, Renault’s factories have a production capacity of 400,000 vehicles per year, with the goal of increasing it to 620,000 vehicles per year by 2028. The goal is to reach 300,000 sold electric vehicles by 2025, and one million by 2031.

All cars will be built on new platforms, AmpR Small (CMF-BEV) and AmpR Medium (CMF-EV), and will be from the A, B and C segments. Expectations at Renault are high, primarily because research shows that subcompact and compact cars will represent 3/4 of the electric vehicle market by the end of the decade.

Also, the long-term goal of Renault’s recovery plan is to reduce production costs by 40% in the next five years, and the plan also foresees a reduction in battery production costs by 50%, electric motors by 25%, and lower platform production costs as well. Body production costs will be lower by 15%, and logistics costs by as much as 50 percent. In this way, Renault wants to achieve equality between electric models and those with ICE by the end of 2028.

Source: Renault