Auto News 5

Leipzig, Germany. It is raining cats and dogs from the pewter skies that brush Porsche’s test track adjoining the marque’s second assembly site. Tension, excitement, uncertainty, and suspense describe the atmosphere in the pit lane. A squadron of Porsche engineers, test drivers, and helpers is mingling with eighteen journalists who gather around two cars: one battered series-one mule and one almost production-ready prototype -- a hand-built, matte-black Weissach edition model worth around 3 million euros (production cars with the Weissach package will start at $929,000; base 918 Spyders start at $845,000). Towering above the crowd is the lanky posture of Walter Röhrl, an icon in his own right. “Anyone ready for a ride?” he asks. Sure. Walter’s race taxi is a white Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 fitted with a roll cage and semi-slicks. The hoarse and hairy howler hates wet weather: power oversteer, lift-off oversteer, aquaplaning-induced no-more-steer. After only one lap, we’re back in the paddock. First, they close the bus stop chicane (inspired by Spa), and then the Corkscrew (inspired by Laguna Seca) is coned off. Go or no go? Just before lunch, the chiefs give us the thumbs up. At last, the countdown is running.