July 13, 1998: Porsche celebrates 50 years this week with a series of events planned for the factory and surrounding Stuttgart. Read all about it here.

June 7, 1998: Porsche's two factory teams win Le Mans in a 1-2 sweep! Two brand new 1998 911 GT1s took first and second in this 16th win for Porsche in the 24 hour endurance race; still by far the largest number of Le Mans wins for any car manufacturer.

June 1998: The new type 996 version of the 911 is unveiled in a coupe and cabriolet version. Lemans is the weekend of the 6th of June with a 1998 911 GT1 entry by Porsche.

January 4, 1997: The North American release of the Boxster! The new Porsche Boxster was officially unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show on January 4th of this year.

Summer, 1996: Porsche sweeps the top three overall positions in the 64th running of the Le Mans 24-hour race. A Porsche-powered IMSA WSC car took the number one spot, with two factory 911 GT1s coming in second and third, with the two 911 GT1s finishing 1-2 in the GT1 class. Two production 911 GT2s won first and second in the GT2 class as well. None of the cars suffered any serious problems during the entire 24-hour race - the most noteable being small body damage to one of the GT1 cars from a collision with a slower car on the course.

July 11, 1996: Porsche has just released more detailed information on the upcoming Boxster. They state that the Boxster's new 2.5-litre, centrally mounted, water-cooled, six-cylinder engine produces an impressive 204 (DIN) horsepower. It propels the car from 0 to 62mph (100 km/h) in just 6.9 seconds, with a top track speed of 149 mph (240 km/h). Available in either manual transmission or Tiptronic 3S2 automatic system. See the offical press release.

July 2, 1996: In a recent Road&Track article (Ampersand column, August 1996) speculative information was released on the 996 - the next and last generation of the 911. Included with the article was a spy photo of a test vehicle and an artist's rendition of the new water-cooled 911. Rumor has it that an 8 cylinder engine might be available, as well as a standard flat-6.

March 5, 1996: Porsche releases information and photos of the production model of the new Boxster. It will come initially with a 204 hp six-cylinder water-cooled engine in a mid-engine arrangement. Standard production of the new roadster will begin in early summer 1996, with the cars available in September of 1996. See the official press release.

January 31, 1996: Porsche may make a leap into automobile genres not previously explored by the designers at Stuttgart. Rumor has it that a sport-utility vehicle may be in the works, in cooperation with an as of yet unnamed European automobile manufacturer. Porsche would probably design and construct the drive-train and engine, where the other company would be responsible for the outer appearance. The concept car pictured here is from a project that was started quite a number of years ago to combine utility and performance. Perhaps with the phase-out of the 911 might come a whole new collection of automobiles available from Porsche along with the much anticipated Boxster.

January 3, 1996: After an eight-year absence, the Porsche factory returns to Le Mans with a mid-engine GT that takes on the McLaren F1. The 911 Gt 1 uses a stock-steel bodyshell, fiberglass body panels and is powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged version of Porsche's future, water-cooled flat-6 limited by regulations to 600 bhp. Best news: The racing GT 1 will spawn a near $600,000 road-going exotic while its platform will serve as the basis for the all-new (mid-engine?) 911 due 1997. Road&Track, February 1996

December 27, 1995: This week, Porsche Cars North America has five variations of the new 911 at the 54th Annual Washington D.C. International Auto Show (Dec. 26 - Jan. 2). Present are a white 911 Carrera Cabriolet, Arena Red Metallic Carrera 4S, Polar Silver Targa, Arena Red Metallic 911 Turbo, and an absolutely beautiful Iris Blue Metallic 911 Carrera. Pictures from the 54th D.C. Auto Show coming soon.

October 30, 1995: The new targa version of the 911 will be out for the 1996 model year (probably in in the early winter months of 1995), featuring a sliding glass roof. The turbo-look Carrera will also be out, featuring 911 Turbo style wheels, brakes, and suspension - as well as slight modifications to the body styling.

This year, IMSA's supercar series was added to the usual list of categories at the Chevrolet Race to the Clouds at Pike's Peak. Jeff Zwart, returning to defend his record, drove a box-stock 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo, and won High Performance Showroom Stock by a healthy 11 seconds. "All we did was add oil", said Jeff. "And wash the car - a lot, because the crew had nothing to fix."

Porsche has just been entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the result of a 100,000 km endurance test of the new Carrera 4. The Carrera 4 was driven in very different conditions for the ultimate test of the craftsmanship of the new four-wheel drive edition of the 993 family. The endurance test included:

• 24 hours of testing on the frozen McKenzie river at -35 degrees C, just north of the polar circle in Cananda.
• 24 hour run on the water-covered salt layer of the Bonneville Salt Lake in Utah, USA.
• 24 Alpine passes (in 24 hours).
• 2,000 km running at top speed on the Nardo race track in Italy, averaging 251.6 km/h (including pit stops).
• 24 hour test at the Weissach test track, simulating all kinds of road conditions, from potholes to dents and grooves in the road surface.

The 1996 911 Carrera will feature a 282 horsepower engine, a 12 hp improvement over the 1995 introduction of the Type 993 Porsche 911. Also featured in the new year's model will be optional 18 inch wheels, three new exterior colors, one new interior color, and a remote-entry system with immobilizer. The upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show will see the unveiling of two new versions of the 911 Carrera, one possibly being a sliding glass-top model related to the Targa-style roof of the Carrera 2 and 4 of 1994 (possibly called the Panorama). The other could possibly be a Turbo- look Carrera.