Following an online leak a couple of weeks ago Porsche took the wraps off the limited edition Cayman S Sport that will be produced in just 700 units. Based on the Cayman S, the Sport’s 3.4-liter boxer engine gains an extra 8 HP developing a total of 303 HP. Moreover, the Cayman S Sport comes equipped with the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system as standard along with a 10mm lower suspension and 5mm spacers beneath the new 19-inch SportDesign wheels.

On the outside Porsche was inspired from the 911 GT3 as the Cayman S Sport comes as standard in the GT3 colours Orange and Green combined with side decals and black rims, exterior mirrors and air intake grids. Further colours available are Black, Indian Red, Speed Yellow and Carrara White, as well as Arctic Silver Metallic.

Inside the Sport features an all-black interior with sport seats and alcantara finish on the gearshift lever, the handbrake, and the rim of the GT3 steering wheel. As with all Porsche special edition versions, the Sport bears the production number on a placard on the glove box.

The Cayman S Sport will be available from September with prices in Germany set at €69,942 which includes 19 per cent VAT and national specifications.

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While we’re still waiting for Porsche to officially reveal the more powerful Cayman S Sport, the German tuning firm “Inden Design” presented a new sports kit for the Cayman S model. Thanks to a new exhaust system, the Cayman S 3.4-liter boxer engine’s output is raised by 19Hp delivering a total of 314 Hp. According to Inden Design, the flaps of the exhaust systems are operated together with a control unit. A small microprocessor, which is freely programmable, is embedded in this system. The sports kit also includes new H&R height adjustable coil overs and a set of bespoke 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 235/35 R19 rubber on the front and 305/25 R19 at the rear.

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The covers are off the revised glass-roofed Porsche 911 Targa that will make its way into the market this autumn. As with the rest of the facelifted 911 range, the most important news is under the bonnet as the Targa, which is only available with four-wheel-drive, gets two new power units with direct fuel injection. More specifically, the Targa 4 is powered by a 3.6-litre flat-six developing 345 Hp (+20 Hp) giving the car a top speed of 284 km/h while the 911 Targa 4S gets a 3.8-litre unit developing 385 Hp (+30 Hp) that can accelerate it on to a top speed of 297 km/h.

Like the rest of the revised 911s, the new Targa 4 and 4S are available for the first time with Porsche’s new 7-speed double-clutch gearbox. With the dual-clutch gearbox the 3.6-litre Targa 4 accelerates to 62mph (100km/h) in exactly 5.0 secs (manual: 5.2 secs) while the Targa 4S, in 4.7 secs (manual 4.9 secs). Continued

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 The Focus we’ve all been waiting for since the launch of the second generation model in 2005 made its first public appearance at this week’s British Motor Show in London. Equipped with a 300Hp 2.5-liter turbocharged 5-cylinder engine, the Focus RS will be able to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 6.0 sec. Even though Ford maintained the front wheel drive setup of the less powerful Focus ST, the company says that the RS is able to target a class-leading balance of traction, handling and performance. Read all the details on the Focus RS here of follow the jump to see live images of Ford’s lime-green monster at the London show

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As oil wealth has suddenly taken root in Russia in the last couple of years, the Moscow International Auto Show has suddenly become an event that automakers are paying attention to. With that in mind, Mazda will stage the world premiere of its latest concept in the Russian capitol next month. The Kazamai is the latest in a series of concepts that feature the “Nagare” (or “flow”) design theme, and is intended to demonstrate what Mazda calls “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom.” Mazda hasn’t released many details yet, but the Kazamai does seem to point in the right direction for a small crossover. Power will reportedly come from a new-generation direct-injection engine. The body structure will follow the pattern set by recent production modes such as the Mazda2 and Mazda6, with reduced weight and aerodynamic lines. More next month as we get closer to the show

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Motoring around Santa Monica with Dougger Anderson is like taking a drive with Angelina Jolie or George Clooney, except it’s the car, not the passengers, that has the celebrity status.

“Hey, how you doing?” chimes Anderson as he waves “hang loose” to a guy snapping a cellphone shot of the pristine maize-colored Ford Woody Wagon — one of the quintessential old-school “cheap” beach cars with wood paneling that were perfect for hauling surfboards and buddies — as it idles at a red light.

“What year is it?” hollers another fellow along Ocean Boulevard.

“It was built in 1946, the same year I was,” Anderson shouts back with a grin.

Despite the bumpy outing, the grind of the stick shift and the lack of power brakes and steering, the Woody ride is more than just a grown man showing off his expensive toy.

“It reminds me of what being in Southern California is all about,” says Anderson, who surfed his youth away at Dana Point. “It represents the carefree beach days, the smell of Coppertone, the Beach Boys. I bought it for the joy of the image it projects. It just makes everyone happy.”

Anderson joins owners of a dozen other Woodies — along with 45 other vintage cars, including an extremely rare 1902 Autocar Tonneau convertible — at the Gilmore Heritage Auto Show this Saturday at the Farmers Market in Los Angeles. The “Knock on Wood” exhibition, a smorgasbord of classic surf cars, features wood-sided wagons from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s.

Another one-of-a-kind car on display is a “camperized” 1946 Mercury Marmon-Herrington Woody. Current owner Dave Holmes of Santa Monica was so enamored of the adventurous and classy vehicle that he sold two vintage cars — a 1942 Ford Woody and a 1959 Corvette — to buy it.

“I like stuff that’s unique, and this car is like driving around in a museum,” Holmes says. His Woody was first owned by Donald Bleitz, a preeminent Southern California ornithological photographer.

Traveling the Southwest to photograph local birds from the mountains to the deserts, Bleitz transformed his simple car into a practical overnighter: The back seats were removed and a folding aluminum cot was stowed on the interior roof. An extra gas tank was installed along with a stainless steel, cork-insulated ice chest for film and food. A dashboard button dispensed drinking water from a supplementary water tank. And the roof rack, which doubled as a photo shoot platform, was modified with extra ribs; folding metal steps were added on the rear.

Holmes encourages car-show visitors to view each vehicle as a time capsule. “They couldn’t help but make things stylish back then,” the retired schoolteacher says. “Every old car has something you don’t see in today’s cars: authenticity and flair.”

WHERE: Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St., L.A. WHEN: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday PRICE: Free INFO: (323) 933-9211

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The 3rd Annual Los Angeles Concours d’Elegance took place on Sunday, June 1, once again bringing classic cars and exotics together in the shadow of the Rose Bowl. Held annually in Pasadena, California to benefit the Assistance League of Southern California, this young concours is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the better ones on the circuit. Not surprising considering the fact that there are tons of championship quality machines in the area, both from private collections and top-notch museums like the Nethercutt and Petersen. Close to 300 cars were displayed in 40 categories ranging from horseless carriages to 1990 and newer Ferraris. Along with thousands of spectators, we were on hand with cameras clickin’, capturing some of the day for all of you who couldn’t be there.

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Hard to say what was cooler Saturday at the Still Saving Lives Car Show - a vintage ‘55 Chevy LAPD cruiser, a $1 million Ferrari Enzo or 100 other cherry sleds.

And it was hard to determine which bozo traffic behavior visitors deemed most unsafe.

“For me, it’s cell phones, (or) people shaving and putting on makeup,” said Los Angeles motor Officer Terry Turner of Valley Traffic Division. “With cell phones, drivers are not paying attention.”

The fifth annual show, presented by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Valley Traffic Advisory Council, drew more than 115 thumbs-up autos at Hansen Dam.

With its cars, live music, food booths and parachute car safety demonstrations, the Valley Traffic Advisory Council hoped to raise $20,000 for safety education.

And safety-conscious police and firefighters hoped to divulge the whys and wherefores of motoring safely.

“Seat belts and speeding - that’s No. 1,” said Los Angeles motor Officer Steve Carbajal. “Cars are now so fast and quiet, people feel comfortable exceeding the speed limit.”

For Los Angeles firefighter Greg Hoon, it’s drivers who fail to pull over to the curb during the approach of a screaming fire engine.

For at least one city Public Works street inspector, it is the condition of the roads themselves.

“Our city really needs to do a better job of maintaining all these potholes,” said Stuart Horwitz, an investigator with

Street Services. “And the freeways, too.”There’s a big chunk of concrete missing on the 405 near Burbank Boulevard that they haven’t fixed - it’s been four weeks.”

Whether it was getting cut off in traffic, seeing little use of left-turn signals, or encountering parents who let their kids play in the streets, people were peeved.

But when it came to some of the hottest iron in Los Angeles, they were all smiles.

“It’s the sweetest thing here,” said Horwitz, 61, of his immaculate ‘55 Bel Air LAPD cruiser with “PUL OVRR” plates, which he spent 1,500 hours restoring with his son, Dan. “This thing cranks, let me tell you.”

Then there was the blue-and-white ‘61 Chevy Impala with the faux knockoff hubs and air suspension that Efron Banuelos bought when he was 15.

“Every red light, you get pulled over, `Nice car, howdy doody,”‘ said Banuelos, 34, of San Fernando. “Makes you go home with a smile.”

Or the plastic red wagon towed by Rick Gerrity with his twin grandsons, Ethan and Rollin Gibson, bracing for speed.

“Give them the trophy,” joked Gerrity, 73, of Burbank. “It’s a ‘39 Ford convertible with a full race-car engine.”

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The alarms were sounding this week all around Mackinac Island during the Detroit Chamber of Commerce Leadership Conference.

We heard alarms about future energy needs while ignoring the exorbitant costs to consumers of the alternative fuel ideas being promoted and the plentiful energy supply that exists.

We heard alarms about the state’s health care costs and proposed future changes even while we enjoy the best medical care system on earth.

But the most serious alarm, which requires urgent attention, was sounded over the continuing inaction of state and local officials, a dereliction of duty that has led Detroit to the precipice of losing one of its most important events — the North American International Auto Show.

Executives of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association — who have built the auto show into a critical economic component of Metro Detroit — have, for the first time, begun discussing the possibility of abandoning their home base as the site of their highly desirable show.

For more than five years, officials have debated one plan or another, at proposed costs ranging from $90 million to $900 million, for a needed expansion of ancient Cobo Center, home of the auto show. The discussion has revealed a rare unanimity in Michigan, with widespread agreement over the expansion’s necessity, but widespread disagreement over the exact plan and financing of the project.

Meantime, the vultures have been circling.

As Detroit and Michigan have dawdled, other auto shows have been angling for advantage over the esteemed Detroit show and nibbling meat from its bones.

At the recent Beijing Auto Show this year, officials of the competing Chicago Auto Show “followed us around in meetings with manufacturers,” says Doug Fox, the senior co-chairman of the 2009 NAIAS.

“They (Chicago officials) told the Chineses manufacturers that we were putting them in the basement at Cobo while they were positioning them next to General Motors and the other major brands on the same floor,” Fox bemoaned.

And the competition to Detroit is gaining ground.

Detroit has seen the defection of manufacturers like Porsche from its show. It has seen the number of new car launches and major press announcements decline in recent years.

The Detroit auto dealer leadership is now openly discussing alternatives.

“The show is a commodity that can be traded,” Fox says.

Fox and his junior co-chair, Joe Serra, have introduced two bombshell possibilities in the absence of quick movement on a definitive Cobo plan by this fall.

Under the first plan, the Detroit auto dealers would take the NAIAS banner and, on a rotating basis, place it over the auto shows in other cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York — which has already begun to bill its show as international.

Under the more severe, plan, the dealers would permanently sell its International Auto Show franchise to one of its competitors and reduce the Detroit show to a much smaller, regional event.

Serra, who says the Detroit area dealers’ goal remains “to stay in Detroit,” nevertheless warns that time for action is quickly expiring. His group’s understandable frustration is reaching a breaking point.

The dealers have watched while Michigan and Metro Detroit officials have bent over backwards, finding comity and resources to land occasional major sporting events like the Super Bowl, the Detroit Grand Prix and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

But these same politicos have been incapable of satisfying the needs of the area’s biggest regular draw in the NAIAS, which accounts for $600 million in annual economic activity, not to mention 16,000 jobs and $6 million in charitable contributions.

One would think that a state that quickly adopted a plan to hand out $140 million in cash incentives to the Hollywood movie industry would act with similar alacrity to develop a funding plan benefiting Detroit’s outmoded convention center and its most important client.

The Cobo project demands similar swift and immediate action.

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Iran Khodro Co. (IKC), Iran’s leading carmaker, is among the 27 world carmakers participating in Kiev’s Automotive Show 2008.

The company is showcasing its latest model of Samand, named Soren, in the exhibition, which is currently being held in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

Samand gets a new facelift under the name of Soren. The new model is equipped with the world’s latest technologies in the field, including an electronic warning system, the air bag with a host of other safety features, advanced safety belts with protection devices and telescopic steering wheels.

The safety equipment installed in Samand’s Soren model is expected to reduce lethal collision injuries by up to 25 percent.

At the event’s opening ceremony, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Ukraine visited Iran-made vehicles presented in the exhibition.

Given the high quality of Samand automobiles and their safety as well as their after-sale services, they have struck a chord with the Ukrainian drivers, IRIB News reported the IKC sales representative at the exhibition as saying.

The Kiev Automotive Show, which is to run from May 26 to June 1, has established itself firmly in the fair calendar of the region and is set to remain the most important fair for the Ukrainian market in the future.

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