Four years later and the second generation Cayenne receives the GTS treatment – offering a more powerful V8 engine – now 414bhp, tauter chassis with lower ride height.

Whilst the Cayenne GTS sits between the Cayenne S and the Cayenne Turbo, it has its own special character – more agile, more vocal and more instantly engaging than its siblings.

Beneath the bonnet lies an uprated 4.8-litre V8 engine, with 414bhp, as before based on the Cayenne S powerplant. An eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission with integrated auto start/stop function conveys power to all four wheels, which has been tuned to deliver a more sporting response.

The Cayenne GTS sprints from a standing start to 62mph in 5.7 seconds, reaching 100 mph in 13.3 seconds – quick enough to worry many a sports saloon. Top speed is 162mph, with a combined fuel consumption of 26.4mpg.

The GTS’ suspension is fitted with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) as standard, while the body is lowered by 24mm relative to the Cayenne S. As a result, the GTS handles with its predecessor’s trademark composure and agility.

As before the Cayenne GTS adopts many of the styling features of the Cayenne Turbo, including its front-end styling, window surrounds and trims in a high-gloss black finish, prominent side skirts and wider wheel arches plus a distinctive roof spoiler with twin-wing profile.

From behind the wheel, the GTS offers a more sporting ambience than other models in the range, courtesy of its leather and Alcantara trim (on door cards and seats) and eight-way adjustable front sports seats. Further standard features include a SportDesign steering wheel with paddle-shift controls, sports exhaust system and Bi-Xenon headlights.

Making its debut at the Beijing Motor Show on April 23, the Cayenne GTS goes on sale in the UK in July 2012, priced from £67,147. As with other new Porsches, customers will be able to explore the full potential of their GTS at a complimentary driving course at the Porsche Experience Centre, Silverstone.

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Here’s the official Porsche statement in full.

Matthias Müller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG, paid tribute to Ferdinand Alexander Porsche’s services to the sports car manufacturer: “We mourn the death of our partner, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. As the creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture in our company that has shaped our sports cars to this very day. His philosophy of good design is a legacy to us that we will honour for all time.”

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was born on 11 December 1935 in Stuttgart and was the eldest son of Dorothea and Ferry Porsche. Even his childhood was dominated by automobiles, he spent much time in the construction areas and development workshops of his grandfather Ferdinand Porsche.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche: 1935 – 2012 (Aged 76)

In 1943 the family moved, along with the Porsche brand, to Austria, where he attended the school in Zell am See. After returning to Stuttgart in 1950, he attended the Free Waldorf School. After leaving school, he enrolled at the prestigious College of Design in Ulm.

In 1958, F.A. Porsche, as he was called by his colleagues, started in the design office of the former Dr. Ing hc F. Porsche KG. His great artistic talent was soon demonstrated, as he modelled the first plasticine model of a successor to the 356 series.

In 1962 he became head of the Porsche Design Studio and a year later made a worldwide sensation with the Porsche 901 (or 911). F.A. Porsche created a sports car icon, as the timeless and classic design continues to live on the seventh generation 911 model today. F.A. Porsche also designed other iconic models – among his most famous designs include the Formula 1 race car type 804 and the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, which today is considered one of the most beautiful racing cars ever.

When Porsche KG was made into a limited company in 1971/72, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, along with all other family members retired from the business operations of the company.

In 1972 he founded the “Porsche Design Studio” in Stuttgart, the headquarters relocated in 1974 to Zell am See in Austria. In the following decades, he designed a number of classic men’s accessories such as watches, eyewear and writing instruments under the brand name “Porsche Design” gaining worldwide notoriety.

In parallel, he designed with his team under the brand “Design by FA Porsche” a variety of industrial products, household appliances and consumer goods for internationally known clients. F.A. Porsche enjoyed a reputation as a designer, to be a functionalist.

A strong and clear line is typical of all product designs that have emerged from his design studio. “Design must be functional, and functionality must be translated into visual aesthetics, without gimmicks that have to be explained,” was the credo for his design work. F.A. Porsche: “A formally coherent product needs no embellishment, it should be increased by a mere formality.”

The form should be presented to understand and not distract from the product and its function. “Good design should be honest,” was his conviction.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche received numerous honours and awards both for his work as a car designer as well as for individual designs. The “Comité International de Promotion et de Prestige” was honoured to him in 1968 for outstanding aesthetic design of the Porsche 911, while he was chosen as the Industrie Forum Design Hannover (iF) 1992 “award winners”. He earned the title of professor from the Austrian Federal President in 1999.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was a Porsche AG shareholder and board member. From 1990 to 1993, F.A. Porsche held the role of supervisory board chairman and thus had large share of the economic turnaround of Porsche AG. In 2005 he handed over his mandate to his son Ferdinand Oliver and took the position of honorary chairman of the supervisory board.

An official memorial service will be held in Stuttgart at a later date.

Speaking at the New York auto show Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director, Jaguar Cars, confirmed: “We showed the C-X16 concept in September 2011, and the reaction to it has been so positive that we’ve accelerated our development of an all-new Jaguar sports car.

“That car will be called the F-Type, and it will be unveiled in production form later this year. The core appeal of Jaguar’s cars is their sporting heart, and that heart will beat stronger than ever before in the F-Type.

“Its development is a vivid representation of the confidence and ambition of the Jaguar brand, and the desire amongst our engineers and design team to produce a world-leader in a market segment that we have been absent from for too long. But no longer – the F-Type is coming.”

Utilising Jaguar’s industry-leading knowledge of all-aluminium construction, the F-Type will launch as a convertible, and a strict two-seater with the focus uncompromisingly on delivering driver reward.

A range of petrol engines will be available – including a new powerplant family – which Jaguar promises will deliver stunning sports car performance.

Today also marks the point that the F-Type’s rigorous development schedule moves to final on-road testing, with engineering prototypes now leaving Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant – the same plant at which the production cars will be built.

Ian Hoban, Jaguar’s Vehicle Line Director said: “The engineering development of the F-Type has focused on delivering a heightened level of dynamic driving reward. We are excited about our progress to date and are looking forward to soon being able to demonstrate what we have achieved.”

Jaguar C-X16 Concept

Ian Callum, Director of Design, said: “A true sports car needs to be pure in both its purpose and its form; to have the opportunity to produce such a car for Jaguar has been a privilege both for myself and for my team.

The C-type, D-type and E-type Jaguars were all sports cars that held true to this principle in their era, and the F-Type will hold true to that same principle in its time, a time that is soon to arrive.”

Jaguar’s new two-seater will likely cost between £55,000 to £70,000, positioned below the XK in the company’s line-up. The F-Type’s engine range will start with a 250bhp 3.0-litre V6, progressing up to a supercharged R version with close to 400bhp.

Full details of the F-Type’s specification and model range will be announced later this year, before going on sale in mid 2013.

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But it looks completely out of place sandwiched between a Ford Edge and Toyota Minivan in this car park underneath the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Amelia Island, Florida.

Car & Driver magazine tweeted a picture from the New York Auto Show this morning, showing the same car in a more appropriate setting.

As one of the grandees of motor racing history, it looks so small and ‘insignificant’ as it waits to be displayed at the 2012 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

Borrowed from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, this particular car was entered in Le Mans by the Salzburg team driven by Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens Jr. and set pole with an average speed of 242 kph.

What makes the photo so intriguing is the juxtaposition of race car, which screams pure unadulterated speed, adjacent to the very antithesis of performance – the Crossover and People Carrier.

* * *

As is true of the next picture.

Seeing a Ferrari parked next to such ordinary vehicles in Maranello is not particularly noteworthy, but when it’s a Scuderia Ferrari Formula One car, the contrast could not be greater.

The images were tweeted on the team’s official @InsideFerrari account following Fernando Alonso’s win in Malaysia, catching the team in a particularly ‘playful’ mood..

Photo credits: Porsche, Car & Driver, Ferrari

“The Macan combines all sports car characteristics with the benefits of an SUV and is a genuine Porsche”, said Bernhard Maier, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG.

“The name of a new Porsche has to fit with the brand, sound good in very many languages and dialects and evoke positive associations.”

As a new addition to the Porsche model range, the Macan is a key pillar of the company’s Strategy 2018, by which the sports car manufacturer wishes to expand its model portfolio. Based upon the underpinnings of Audi’s Q5, the Macan will be considerably more dynamic and be priced to minimise overlap between both models.

The Macan combines all sports car characteristics with the benefits of an SUV and is a genuine Porsche.

Porsche intends the Macan to emulate the success of the Cayenne, but appeal to those buyers who prefer a smaller for urban-friendly SUV, whilst enjoying the added benefits of a lower centre of gravity, less weight and greater agility.

The new car will begin production at the Porsche factory in Leipzig, Saxony, in 2013. The site is currently being expanded into a fully-fledged production plant including body assembly line and paint shop; with 500 million euro of investment and is one of the biggest building projects in the corporate history of Porsche. In the medium-term, the sports car manufacturer will be creating more than 1,000 new jobs.

“Porsche names have an indelible connection with the corresponding model and its characteristics: the name Boxster describes the combination of ‘boxer’ engine and ‘roadster’, Cayenne stands for sharpness, the Cayman is snappy and agile and a Panamera is more than a Gran Turismo, capable also of winning the Carrera Panamericana long-distance race”, said a Porsche spokesperson.

According to BMW, the £93,795 M6 competes against the £97,000 Jaguar XKR-S Coupé, £92,410 Maserati Gran Turismo S and £91,950 Aston Martin Vantage Coupé, but we could equally include the £106,820.00 Mercedes SL 63 AMG and £108,090 Audi R8 V10 Coupé.

But in my mind its closest rival has always been the M5. Fitted with an identical 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine and powertrain, both models essentially achieve the same task, with equal aplomb and self-assured swagger. So why would anyone pay a £20,755 premium over the £73,040 M5?

What does the M6 offer compared to the M5?

Perhaps the best way to answer this question, until we actually drive both cars, is by looking at their specifications. As already mentioned, the M6 comes with the same 552 bhp 680 Nm (502 lb-ft) 4.4-litre V8 engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology, seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic and Active M Differential with fully variable distribution of drive between the rear wheels.

The Coupe will accelerate from 0–62 mph in 4.2 seconds, whilst the M6 Convertible needs a further 0.1 seconds (4.3 seconds) for the same increment (The M5 takes 4.4 seconds). Their 0–124 mph times are 12.6 and 13.1 seconds respectively (M5: 13.0 seconds), whilst both cars are credited with an electronically governed top speed of 155 mph, or 189 mph when fitted with the M Driver’s Package.

So, just from looking at the on-paper figures we can see that the M6 is lighter, shorter, lower and wider than the M5, with a quicker steering to take advantage of its shorter wheelbase.

Sounds good so far, but is that enough to justify its place as BMW’s top performance model?

The M styling cues and features

As you would expect, the new M6 is suitably attired with all the familiar M styling cues; a newly designed M kidney grille bearing an awkwardly positioned “M6″ badge, hallmark M gills with integrated direction indicator bars, flared front wheel arches and the customary M twin exhausts positioned each side of the rear diffuser.

It’s clearly a much more aggressive car than the standard 6 Series, which goes some way in justifying the £22,000 premium over the 401 bhp 650i M Sport.

The M6 Convertible inherits the high-quality soft-top from the standard 6 Series, boasting its distinctive “fin” architecture, but the most notable difference between M6 Coupe and Convertible – apart from the extra £5,200 – is the additional 140 kg that its 552 bhp engine has to carry.

Performance, although reduced, is still bahn-stormingly quick, whilst fuel economy is knocked back a bit from the M6 Coupe’s 28.5 mpg to 27.4 mpg in the Convertible, but still an impressive 30 per cent improvement over the previous 5.0-litre V10-engined M6.

I understand why BMW chose to serve the convertible market, but I can’t help feel disappointed at the compromise it imposes on the dynamics and performance of BMW’s top M car.

What else is there to know?

The carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) roof, introduced on its predecessor (codenamed E63), continues, but this time featuring a striking double-bubble contour that perfectly showcases the technical advances made by BMW’s Landshut production facility.

Other influences from BMW’s lightweight design strategy include aluminium for the doors and bonnet, thermoplastic for the front side panels and glass-fibre composite (SMC) for their boot lids (and roof cover in the case of the M6 Convertible).

For the first time on an M car, BMW are offering M carbon-ceramic brakes, further reducing un-sprung weight and providing fade-free performance even under heavy loads.

The diameter of the inner-vented and perforated brake disks increase by 10mm at the front to 410 mm, whilst the rears remain at 396 mm. The six-piston fixed-callipers are painted a special gold-coloured finish complete with M logo, replacing the standard dark blue metallic callipers used on steel discs.

The carbon-ceramic brakes are provided in conjunction with 20″ M light-alloy wheels and are made from a new type of carbon-fibre compound ceramic, but its not just stopping power that improves – a total of 19.4 kg is saved from the M6′s unsprung weight, further improving the M6′s ride quality and agility.

Technology

The biggest downside of being a near £100k car is that most customers expect every toy and gadget available in BMW’s armoury. That’s great for cruising on the motorway or in traffic, but not so good for a b-road blast or (heavens forbid) a gentle track-day dalliance.

But if gadgets ‘are’ your thing, you’ll not be disappointed with what you find in the new M6.

Adaptive LED Headlights are fitted as standard, as are an extensive range of BMW ConnectedDrive features including BMW Head-Up Display with M-specific information, High Beam Assistant, BMW Night Vision with pedestrian recognition, Lane Change Warning, Lane Departure Warning, rear-view camera, Surround View, Speed Limit Info, internet access, extended integration of smartphones and music players, Real-Time Traffic Information and apps for receiving web radio and using Facebook and Twitter.

To this already extensive list you can add; Comfort Access, active seats, heated steering wheel, doors with Soft Close Automatic function, Navigation system Professional and Bang & Olufsen High-End Surround Sound System with 16 loudspeakers in the M6 Coupe (12 speakers in the Convertible).

The M styling cues continue inside the M6 and include a newly developed M double-spoke leather steering wheel; M gear selector and car set-up controls on the centre console; exclusive M sports seats with integrated belt system (optional: M multifunction seats); Merino leather upholstery with extended features; exclusive carbon-fibre interior trim strips; illuminated door sill finishers with “M6″ lettering; M-specific instrument cluster with black-panel technology; 2-zone automatic climate control with extended features and special ambient lighting.

Customers can choose from 1 non-metallic and 8 metallic shades for the exterior paintwork (including four exclusive M finishes), while the Convertible’s soft-top is available in Black and Beige, or Anthracite Silver effect as an option.

At £93,795 for the M6 Coupe and £98,995 for the Convertible, both cars will go on sale in the UK from 15 September 2012 after making their world premiere at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.

So, do all these features justify its £20k premium over the M5? Probably not. But then neither is the M6 just a 2-door coupe version of the M5. There’s all the extra style and image that only a coupe can offer, plus of course the inevitable peer association with Aston Martin’s Vantage.

It’s interesting to note Porsche’s 911 is no longer used for comparison, which is probably a reasonable move, given that it is 400kg+ lighter than the M6, but then maybe that’s where BMW are aiming for with the next M3..

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So, at last the silhouette of the soft top matches that of the coupe, and Porsche have achieved this without resorting to one of those silly folding hard-top devices which double the weight of the car.

The Cabriolet’s new roof mechanism features an innovative, intelligent lightweight design to reduce weight (I do wish the Germans would stop using the word ‘intelligent’ in their product titles, as if implying that other car makers aren’t), including the use of magnesium in the hood frame.

There are no details as yet on the weight penalty, but usually Porsche manage to keep the Cabriolet within 40-50 kg of its sibling, with a lower centre of gravity due to most of that weight being added when strengthening the body frame. As is the case with the Coupe model, the new 911 Cabriolet is significantly lighter overall than its predecessor.

Combined with lower weight, the new 911 Cabriolet models share the longer wheelbase, wider front track and the new electro-mechanical power steering of their Coupe siblings, ensuring the open-roofed models offer the same sporting driving characteristics, greater precision and agility compared to the previous 997 variant.

Likewise, front and rear overhangs are shorter, maintaining the compact footprint that has been a longstanding 911 attribute. In addition, there are further standard or optional active control systems available that further enhance the driving dynamics.

The same charismatic line-up of rear-mounted, flat-six engines are on offer in the Cabriolet as were introduced in the Coupe a few months ago. The entry-level Carrera Cabriolet features a 3.4-litre engine generating 345 bhp, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed manual transmission.

The Carrera S Cabriolet offers a 3.8-litre engine developing 394 bhp, also coupled to a seven-speed manual transmission as standard. The 991′s outstanding fuel efficiency is carried forwards into the Cabriolet, with both models returning over 28.0 mpg (combined).

Porsche’s seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) double-clutch transmission is available as an option, delivering even lower fuel consumption and shorter acceleration times.

The 911 Carrera Cabriolet models go on sale in the UK on March 3 2012, priced from £79,947 for the base 3.4-litre model and from £89,740 for the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet.

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The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) is the main battleground of GT racing and as the 2011 series reached its conclusion, the highest placed RSR of Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long was only in 4th place, more than 50 points behind the championship winning M3 GT.

Unsurprisingly, Porsche have felt the need to do something about this state of affairs, hence the new, wider and more expensive 2012 GT3 RSR.

Most striking at first glance are the changes to the body: the width of the new GT3 RSR has grown by 48 millimetres. Built to conform to the A.C.O. “LM” GTE regulations, the 911 represents the crowning pinnacle of a range of successful customer sport race cars that are based on the 997 type 911 GT3 RS street road car.

Powering the new 911 GT3 RSR is a more efficient 4.0-litre six-cylinder boxer engine with a mandatory air-restrictor, generating 453 bhp (338 kW) and putting its power down through 310 mm wide rear wheels. The diameter of the front wheels has increased by 30 mm and the Porsche sequential six-speed gearbox is operated via paddle shifts on the steering wheel.

The nose and rear panels are adapted to the flared front and rear wheel arches, as are the door sill and the wheel arch coverings. The aerodynamic concept is complemented by a new ducting of the intake air. There are openings in the rear side sections, similar to those used in the 911 turbo and 911 GT2 RS, which replace the air scoop on the engine hood.

The new 911 GT3 RSR can be raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans Series, the American Le Mans Series as well as the International GT Open and in other series and races around the world.

“Our customer teams can expect a technically mature, high performance race car with which they will be highly competitive at international long distance races,” assures Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “Our test programme on various international race tracks is currently running at full speed. We are very pleased with the car’s performance and driveability.”

They say that if you have to ask the price then you probably can’t afford it, so perhaps we shouldn’t tell you that a 2012 911 GT3 RSR will set you back no less than 498,000 Euros (plus VAT). If that fails to dissuade you, then you’ll be pleased to hear that deliveries to customer race teams will begin in January 2012.

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You would do exactly what I did a few months ago – get your skinny behind into the nearest bucket seat and start evaluating as many car/tyre combos as you could fit into the day.

We were spoilt for choice. Literally.

The track; Circuit Estoril in Portugal. Our hosts; Michelin. The tyres; Michelin’s Pilot Sport Cup, Pilot Super Sports, PS2 and Pilot racing slicks.

And the cars? How about, every major Porsche 997 variant, Audi’s V8 and V10 R8, Audi TTRS, BMW M3, Ferrari’s 458 Italia, KTM X-Bow, Nissan GT-R, Gumpert Apollo.. You get the picture.

From track to street

Back-to-back testing provided the opportunity to evaluate the different characteristics of the tyres and how the technologies developed for the track have been passed on to the road.

Our main focus of the day was to learn about the relationship between Michelin’s race tyres and those which you or I can buy for our road cars.

I’ve been a customer for many years and yet I hadn’t realised just how seriously Michelin takes its racing. Rather than being a platform to show off their brand, racing is at the core of the company’s research and development programme, working closely with partners such as Porsche, Audi, Citroen and BMW.

Michelin treat all racing teams in a fair and equal way, collecting data, mixing it together and then advising teams on the most appropriate tyre choice, without actually sharing any identifiable data from a specific team.

But it’s not just global car manufacturers that Michelin works closely with, the tuning industry provides an important source of insight, blurring the boundary between road tyres and those best suited for the latest Nurburgring lap record.

We’re told that Michelin are the biggest spender within their industry on R&D, committing over 500 million Euros to the task of keeping their tyres at the very top.

So committed to the purpose of racing as their primary means of R&D, that the company says it has no plans to compete against Pirelli to supply tyres to Formula 1. Competing against other tyre makers is at the core of Michelin’s philosophy, and it believes that achieving high-performance over distance with consistent performance is better earned through competition.

Michelin’s Pilot Super Sport

Before travelling down to Estoril, we asked what you’d like to know more about and in fact during the day I was in constant contact with you via Twitter.

The most common question concerned Michelin’s latest high-performance tyre, the Pilot Super Sport, which will eventually supersede the well-respected PS2, which we got to compare it against out on track.

If you’re familiar with Michelin’s established track-day tyre, the Pilot Sport Cup+, then you’ll be aware of its benefits but also some of its disadvantages.

Cup tyres behave in a pseudo-slick-tyre way, benefiting from some heat-cycling before hard use and providing chewing-gum levels of grip and consistency at the limit.

Inside the 458 Italia during a fast lap of Estoril circuit. You can see how well suited the Pilot Super Sport is to such treatment.

The downside is, they don’t last very long – not if you’re used to the lifespan of a typical high-performance road tyre – and they’re ultra-tricky to drive on in the wet or when temperatures drop below 7 degrees C.

I’ve worn through a set of new £1,000+ Pilot Sport Cups in just a single weekend, which can bring a tear to the eye of even the most hardened track-day junkie.

Swap a set of Cup tyres for the more conventional PS2s and on track you’ll wonder where all the fun has gone. At the limit, the PS2s squeal like pig, give up their grip more abruptly and are more likely to lock-up under braking for slower corners.

As road tyres go, they’re one of the best, but out on track it was quickly evident how ill-suited they are to the task of consistent high-speed lapping.

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on a similarly fast lap of Estoril circuit. This time the GT3 Cup is wearing a set of Pilot Slicks.

The new Pilot Super Sports represent a ‘step change’ in the capabilities of road-based performance tyres – equivalent to the alchemist’s trick of turning lead into gold. They’re a road tyre, but not as we have previously defined the breed.

On track they behave similarly to the Cup tyres, plenty of grip and consistency and none of the squealing so evident in the PS2s, whilst on the road they feel docile, reassuring and a fitting replacement for the PS2.

Whilst they’re not quite as quick on track as the Cups, they offer the same consistency which enables you to concentrate on trimming your lines and carrying more speed, without concerning yourself with the performance drop-off of an overheating road tyre.

The Super Sports are more stable under heavy braking, with less understeer a more positive steering response and a wonderfully wide slip-angle to play within on the limit.

Ferrari 458 Italia on Michelin Pilot Super Sports. These tyres were tortured for ‘research purposes’ shortly after this photograph..

If it’s credentials weren’t already solid enough, Pilot Super Sports last ‘twice’ as long as PS2s out on track, with around the same lifespan on the road.

When fitted to our Porsche 911 and Audi R8 test mules, the differences out on track were immediately apparent. Whilst nothing can match the purity, grip and response of Michelin’s racing slicks, we all agreed that the tyre we would choose to smuggle into our hand luggage for the return flight home, would be the Super Sport.

The two-wheel drive MTM Audi R8, awaiting a fresh set of rubber.

If there’s a downside of such a tyre innovation, it’s the question of whether owners are able to fit them to their latest purchase. Although Michelin has worked with manufacturers such as Porsche, BMW M and Ferrari in developing the Pilot Super Sport, Porsche in particular must put the tyre through their own homologation processes before approving the tyre for fitment to their range of cars.

This N-rated classification, which you will find on the sidewalls of all Porsche approved tyres, is the result of their independent testing for dry handling and braking, wet handling, hydroplaning, rolling circumference, high-speed running, wear, rolling resistance, noise and comfort – all of which is then optimised to deliver the desired levels of Porsche-ness.

Whilst the Pilot Super Sports felt ideally suited to the 997′s we drove around the dry Estoril track, they must also suit other road conditions and the abilities of a wide range of drivers, so frustrating as it might seem, the Pilot Super Sports are unlikely to be homologated for Porsche cars until late Summer 2012 at the earliest.

Porsche’s 911 and Michelin’s Pilot Super Sport – a marriage made in heaven. But unfortunately you can’t chose them on your Porsche yet, until they are officially homologated. Big shame.

The consequence of fitting a non N-rated tyre to your Porsche is purely one of insurance, both when claiming on Porsche’s warranty and if the worst happens and you’re involved in a road accident. It’s a grey-ish area and one which I have frequently crossed with the Porsche’s I’ve owned myself, but it’s a risk you should be aware of should you decide to take the plunge early.

Fear not though, if you really must wear the latest and greatest footwear on your Porsche, then we’re reliably informed Porsche’s new 991 model will be available with them as an OEM fitment when shipments begin.

Interestingly, we learned from our time with Michelin that even though the Pilot Super Sport is normally quicker than PS2 and Cup+ is generally quicker than both on track, this is not always the situation for every car.

For instance, the Michelin PS3 is a better tyre on the KTM X-Bow than the Super Sport, and Michelin often advise a less sporty tyre for its tuner customers, depending on the unique dynamics and balance of their cars.

So, bear that in mind the next time you go tyre shopping – the widest and stickiest aren’t necessarily the fastest – and with very few exceptions, you can’t go far wrong with Michelin’s latest Pilot Super Sport.

BMW Motorsport Director, Jens Marquardt, was at the unveiling of the M3 DTM and commented, “The car’s aerodynamics were developed in close collaboration with the engineers from series production. The BMW Group boasts impressive resources in this field and the wind tunnels are ultra-modern. This – and the Title Partner BMW M Performance Accessories – shows that the entire company is behind the 2012 DTM project and is working hard towards it.”

“Old-school DTM fans will recognise from the typical BMW M stripes that the appearance is based on the original BMW M3 cars from the ‘old DTM’. We are very proud of this design. It is both traditional and modern in equal measures. It shows our roots, but in a contemporary style,”

BMW’s have entered three DTM works teams for 2012 – BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG. Factory drivers Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx have already been confirmed for the series, with Jörg Müller and Dirk Werner likely to join them. Young drivers René Rast, Jean-Karl Vernay and Richie Stanaway joined testing at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz recently, hoping to earn themselves a place on the squad.

BMW’s 2012 M3 DTM testing at EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

Mercedes and Audi will joining BMW this weekend, performing demonstration laps of the Hockenheimring with their new 2012 cars.

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