Porsche Cayman R1 by Delavilla

It's not often that we get to see French tuning houses take on German sports cars, so when we stumbled upon the Delavilla-prepped Porsche Cayman R1 it immediately captured our attention.

One of the lesser-known tuners from France, Delavilla was established in 2007 and focuses exclusively on Porsche models currently offering complete programs for the Cayman and the 911 coupes. The company says that it is also working on tunes for the Speedster, the Cayenne SUV and the Panamera saloon, with more details to be released at a later date.

Back to the Cayman-based R1, the coupe model was revealed at the 2011 Lyon International Motor Show last month and it proposes a comprehensive exterior makeover along with a choice of power upgrades.

The obvious exterior changes start with a wide bodykit that includes front and rear bumpers and fenders along with side panels, which add 120mm (4.7-inches) to the Cayman's overall width up front and 180mm (7.1-inches) on the rear.

The car also gets a bespoke set of quad tail pipes, LED daytime running lights and larger multispoke alloy wheels in the same color as the body.

Delavilla notes that it offers a great number of options ranging from scissor-style doors with a fingerprint recognition system to a transparent engine cover.

Inside, the French tuning house adds a pair of bucket seats along with Alcantara trim on the steering wheel and gear lever.

Buyers can choose from three different power kits that lift output to 340HP, 385HP and 420HP, though the most powerful option is only for those than plan to use the car on the track for racing.

Porsche New 911 Cabriolet with Lightweight Roof Structure

Well, that didn't take long, did it? Only a couple of months after unveiling the all-new 911 Coupe at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Porsche today revealed the Cabriolet version of its most famous model series.

As expected, Porsche opted for a soft top instead of the folding hard top utilized by some of the 911's rivals. However, the new hood does not use the multi-layered fabric structure of the previous 997 model but composite materials that are supported by a new magnesium frame, which is said to reduce its weight.

In addition, Porsche claims that the design allows the typical 911 roof line to be "retained in its entirety" on the Cabriolet model.

Under its aluminum-steel skin, the new 911 Cabriolet is identical to its fixed-roof sibling. It rides on a new platform with a longer wheelbase with power coming from the same flat-six engines in 350HP, 3.4-liter and 400HP, 3.8-liter flavors for the Carrera and Carrera S respectively, and a choice of manual or dual-clutch PDK transmissions, both with seven speeds.

The new 911 Cabriolet will be launched in Germany on March 3, 2012. Prices will start (in Germany) from €100,532 (US$136,040) for the Carrera and €114,931 (US$155,515) for the Carrera S, including taxes.

In the States, sales start in spring of 2012 with the 911 Carrera Cabriolet priced at US$97,300, and the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet at US$108,000.

In the UK, the 911 Carrera Cabriolet is priced from £79,947, and the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet from £89,740.

Porsche Releases First Action Video of New Panamera GTS

According to Porsche's own words, the sportiest model in the Panamera series is not the Turbo or the Turbo S as some of you may have thought, but he LA Auto Show-launched GTS, which the company claims, “is capable of cutting it on the circuit without sacrificing practicality”.

To prove its point, Porsche released a video of four test drivers, complete with racing overalls and helmets (and a Right Stuff-like shot) shoehorning themselves in the 430HP, all-wheel drive, PDK-equipped Panamera GTS and driving around the track.

Whether you like its looks or not, the Panamera GTS promises to be a true-blue sports saloon. You can check out in action in the video after the jump.

Porsche Panamera Turbo by Hamann-Style

If you ain't satisfied from Porsche's standard Panamera offerings nor its comprehensive customization program, the tuning specialists at Hamann have put their BMW tunes on the side to work on Stuttgart's sports saloon.

The result is named the Cyrano and it includes both styling and a selection of performance upgrades.

Starting with the exterior, Hamann developed a new wide-body aero package that transforms the looks (for the better or for the worse, we'll let you be the judge of that) of the Panamera.

It includes a wider front bumper with additional vents on both corners, a new hood with vents, widened front and rear fenders with –you guessed it- vents, side skirts with –come on, do we really need to tell you?- vents, a restyled rear bumper which much to our surprise, gets…additional vents, and finally, a large rear wing to eliminate the chance you will go airborne.

The Cyrano also gains smoked headlamps and tail lamps along with bespoke exhaust pipes and new 22-inch rims in tires size 265/30 up front and 305/25 at the back.

In addition, Hamann offers an electronic module for the air suspension that lowers the ride height by up to 30mm, while it is also developing an engine kit for the Turbo model that includes a new ECU and sports exhaust system, which will lift the V8's output by 80HP and 120Nm to 580HP and 820Nm (604.8 lb-ft) respectively.

As for the interior, Hamann's comprehensive program includes a full leather or Alcantara treatment in many available colors, an aluminum pedal set and bespoke trim accents.

Porsche Cayster GT670 by Hofele-Design

Next up on our motor show calendar is the largest tuning event in Europe, the 2011 Essen show in Germany, where Hofele-Design will introduce its own bespoke take on the Porsche Cayenne called the Cayster GT 670.

The package bundles a new aero body kit that includes wheel arch extensions, a rear apron with a diffuser, a front apron with a skid plate, side skirts, a roof spoiler and real carbon fiber trim bits for the body.

An electronic lowering module can drop the Cayenne's air suspension 40mm (~1.6-inches) but only at speeds of up to 80km/h (50mph), while Hofele-Design also offers a selection of alloy wheels, in diameters from 20 to 22 inches.

On the engine front, there are two available performance kits, one for the Cayenne Diesel that boosts the 3.0 TDI V6's output from 245PS and 550Nm to 315PS and 650Nm (479.4 lb-ft), and the other for the Cayenne S Hybrid that increases power from 380-horses to 481-horses and peak torque from 580 Nm to 737 Nm (543.6 lb-ft).

For the interior of the Cayenne, Hofele-Design offers bespoke leather upholstery and a set of carbon panels for the centre console, dashboard and door panels.

New Porsche Panamera GTS with AWD

The new Porsche Panamera GTS made its world debut today in Los Angeles. The latest addition to the Panamera family, which slots between the S/4S and Turbo models, is based on the all-wheel drive 4S adding more power, upgraded brakes and chassis along with plenty of styling tweaks inside and out.

Power comes from a mildly tuned version of the naturally-aspirated 4.8-liter V8 engine found in the S/4S that gains 30HP and 15 lb-ft pushing the total to 430-horses at 6,700 rpm and 384 lb. ft of peak torque.

The GTS comes fitted with the Sport Chrono package and Porsche's 7-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission as standard. The combination enables the Panamera GTS to complete the 0-60 mph [96 km/h] in 4.3 seconds and reach a top speed of 178mph [286 km/h].

To further improve handling, the Stuttgart firm's engineers added a lowered air suspension and the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system. Porsche says that with the suspension set at "Normal," the GTS sits an 10mm lower than any other Panamera model.

There are also five millimeter wheel spacers placed between the wheel and the wheel hubs that increase the rear axle track width, while the GTS rides on new 19-inch wheels shod in tires size 255/45 on the front and 285/40 on the rear axle. Optional 20-inch wheels are available with 255/40 tires on the front and 295/35 on the rear.

Other highlights include the Porsche Sound Symposer, which according to the company, "picks up the intake vibrations between the throttle valve and the air filter, transmitting them as engine sound via a membrane into the A-pillar".

On the outside, the Panamera GTS gains a new front bumper with larger air intake openings and a standard high-gloss black exterior package comprised of side window trim, decorative trim on the rear lid, the headlight washer unit cover, the rear diffuser and the side air outlet panels.

The same color also makes its appearance on the front fascia grills, black side skirts, black lower rear fascia the sport exhaust system’s matte black tailpipes.

The interior of the GTS is upgraded with leather and Alcantara trimmed sports seats in a choice of five colors, while Alcantara is also used on the door panels, console armrest, as well as the roofliner and the steering wheel.

There are also two bespoke optional interior packages for the Panamera GTS that combine a black interior with decorative stitching on the seats, foot mats, dashboard, door panels, center console armrest and doors, in Carmine Red or GT silver.