Porsche 911 GTS Club Coupe 2015

The first official Porsche Club of America meeting was organized by founding member and commercial artist Bill Sholar in September of 1955 in Washington D.C. Unofficially called “the gripe group,” the club agreed to have its first official meeting at a local spot called Blackie’s House of Beef. 

Thirteen prospective members rolled into Blackie’s parking lot, but one was asked to leave because he was driving a Volkswagen. 

Fast-forward 60 years, and the PCA now has 140 local regions in the U.S and Canada and boasts well over 100,000 members, making it the largest single-make car club in the entire world. 

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by Porsche, and in recognition of the PCA’s continuing loyalty, Porsche has introduced the extremely blue 911 GTS Club Coupe at its brand new U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

It’s the spiritual successor to the 997-based 911 Club Coupe introduced back in 2005 to honor the club’s 50th anniversary, but this time it’s based on the swifter, sportier Carrera GTS. It uses the same 430-horsepower engine as the Carrera GTS, but has several visual upgrades, some more obvious than others, which I’ll get to shortly.

Only 60 examples of this very special GTS Club Coupe will be built and all are destined for North American shores. 

PCA members will have first dibs to buy 59 of them through a lottery, while the remaining example will be given away to one lucky PCA member in a contest, the details of which are forthcoming.

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Jaguar XF R-Sport Black 2015

With the expected arrival of the new XF at the New York International Auto Show in April 2015, Jaguar is throwing a few extra odds and ends at the current range of vehicles, creating a new derivative labeled the XF R-Sport Black in the process. 

The British automaker wants you think you’re getting excellent value for your money, stating the R-Sport Black “offers an additional £8,770 ($13,322 as of 1/22/2015) worth of value over standardR-Sport models for just a £2,100 ($3,190) increase to its On-the-Road price.” 

However, is it really worth ignoring the new XF to spend more on a soon-to-be outdated vehicle packing a bit more standard equipment?

Creating specialized, last-minute spinoffs of a model slated for the dustbin is standard operating procedure in the car world, and given the XF’s popularity over the last year, the announcement of the R-Sport Black shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

In addition to the new variant, Jaguar is also adding new specifications to the Luxury, R-Sport, Portfolio, Diesel S Portfolio, XFR, and XFR-S models, with some even gaining slight price hikes as a result (including the R-Sport). Clearly, JLR is confident that interest in the XF line will stay strong. In fact, the XF recorded its best year of sales in 2014, which makes the new R-Sport Black a likely candidate for success.

The R-Sport Black is available in either a saloon four-door or Sportbrake body style. Upgrades include new exterior features and interior accouterments, but sadly, the drivetrain has remained unaltered. 

Still, the R-Sport Black doesn’t represent a major cost increase over the standard R-Sport model, especially when you consider the minor price adjustment seen with this most recent refresh.

But the question remains- is it worth the money?

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