(Porsche images)
Porsche is launching the most powerful version yet of its mid-engine roadster: the new Porsche 718 Spyder RS. For the first time, the high-revving naturally aspirated engine from the 911 GT3 will power an open-top, mid-engine Porsche sports car. The exceptionally light and pure soft top of the 718 Spyder RS makes the highly evocative sound of the engine an even more compelling experience. The effect is further heightened by a standard lightweight stainless steel sport exhaust system and the distinctive combustion air inlets on the sides behind the headrests. Like every modern RS model, the new 718 Spyder RS is available exclusively with the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung transmission (PDK). Gearshift paddles mounted on the steering wheel allow drivers to keep their hands on the wheel even when shifting gears manually. Alternatively, the driver can shift using the ergonomically designed selector lever on the center console. 
The powertrain of the new 718 Spyder RS is identical to that of the 718 Cayman GT4 RS coupe. The four-liter six-cylinder boxer engine revs to 9,000 rpm and generates up to 493HP and 331 lb.-ft. of torque. Combined with a short-ratio seven-speed PDK transmission, the 0-60 mph time is 3.2 seconds. Compared to the previous 414HP 718 Spyder without the ‘RS’ designation, the 718 Spyder RS boasts an additional 79 hp, and accelerates to 60 mph 0.5 seconds quicker toward a top track speed of 191 mph. In addition to the more powerful engine, the Spyder RS weighs 59 pounds less than the 2023 Porsche 718 Spyder with optional PDK. The entire top weighs slightly more than 40 lbs. This special design is a savings of more than 16 lbs. compared to the 718 Spyder and more than 36 lbs. versus the 718 Boxster.
The chassis of the 718 Spyder RS uses a combination of components from the 718 Cayman GT4 RS and the 718 Spyder. It comes standard with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) with sport calibration and has been lowered by 30 millimeters. It also features Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with a mechanical rear limited slip differential, ball joint type suspension bearings and 20-inch forged alloy wheels. The ride height, toe, camber, and anti-roll bars are all adjustable. Compared to the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, spring and damper rates have been reduced to achieve a more relaxed, characteristically convertible-style setup. As on the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, customers can optionally specify a front axle lift system, which raises the front end by 1.1 inches while driving up to 37 mph.
The Race-Tex covered GT Sport steering wheel features a yellow 12-o'clock marking. The standard Full Bucket seats are made of lightweight CFRP in a carbon-weave finish and offer a high degree of lateral support. The seat covers are made of black leather, while the perforated Race-Tex seat centers feature a contrasting color with a black background. The contrasting colors are Arctic Grey and Carmine Red.
How much? The 2024 Porsche 718 Spyder RS carries an MSRP of $160,700, excluding $1,450 for delivery, processing and handling. Arrival at U.S. dealers is expected in spring 2024. The Porsche 718 Spyder RS will be unveiled to the public in June at the festivities marking 75 years of Porsche sports cars in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Shortly afterwards, it will make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.
(Ford images)
Ford is calling the all-new 2024 Ranger pickup "the most connected and capable Ranger ever." The new Ranger features a standard 2.3-liter EcoBoost® engine and more powerful available 2.7-liter EcoBoost® V6, plus new driver assist technologies and features. Other stuff? Ranger offers available advanced towing technology, including class-exclusive Pro Trailer Backup Assist, an integrated trailer brake controller and 360-degree camera to make off-roading and trailer backing easier. It will also offer over-the-air updates. Other stuff? An available Integrated Box Side Step, new fold-flat rear seats, greater width between the wheel wells to flat-carry cargo up to four feet wide, plus in-bed and in-cab outlets. The 2024 Ford Ranger will be assembled at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, with orders beginning later this month and availability beginning late summer. The 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine will be available late fall.
(Audi images)
Audi is celebrating 25 years of its TT sports car. Inspired by Bauhaus, the Coupé study from 1995 began series production in 1998. 178,765 first-generation Audi TT Coupés had rolled off the production line by 2006. In the course of emotionalizing the brand through a fresh, progressive design, American designer Freeman Thomas, under the then Head of Design Peter Schreyer, created a puristic sports car in the Audi TT Coupé. Audi presented the study at the IAA in Frankfurt in September 1995. The model name “TT” is reminiscent of the legendary Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man, one of the oldest motorsports events in the world and one where NSU and DKW celebrated great success with their motorcycles. The name “TT” also recalls the sporty NSU TT of the 1960s. The Audi TT Coupé’s deliberate departure from the usual Audi nomenclature underscored the complete novelty of the model.
The AE Song of the Week:
Put on my blue suede shoes
And I boarded the plane
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
W.C. Handy, won't you look down over me?
Yeah, I got a first class ticket
But I'm as blue as a boy can be
Then I'm walking in Memphis
Was walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel?
Saw the ghost of Elvis
On Union Avenue
Followed him up to the gates of Graceland
Then I watched him walk right through
Now security they did not see him
They just hovered 'round his tomb
But there's a pretty little thing
Waiting for the King
Down in the Jungle Room
When I was walking in Memphis
I was walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel?
They've got catfish on the table
They've got gospel in the air
And Reverend Green be glad to see you
When you haven't got a prayer
But, boy, you've got a prayer in Memphis
Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
She said
"Tell me are you a Christian child?"
And I said "Ma'am, I am tonight"
Walking in Memphis
(Walking in Memphis)
Was walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
(Walking in Memphis)
But do I really feel the way I feel?
Walking in Memphis
(Walking in Memphis)
I was walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
(Walking in Memphis)
But do I really feel the way I feel?
Put on my blue suede shoes
And I boarded the plane
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
"Walking In Memphis" by Marc Cohn, from the album "Marc Cohn" (1991).* Written by Marc Cohn, Publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. Lyrics Licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Official Music Video here.
*Cohn wrote this song after traveling to Memphis to check out Graceland, Elvis Presley's mansion and a kitschy tourist destination. He made sure to see an Al Green sermon when he was there, but it was a trip out of Memphis along Highway 61 where the meaty part of his journey took place. In the desolate Delta, he saw a sign that said "Hollywood," which turned out to be the Hollywood Cafe, which is a small diner/music joint in Tunica County, Mississippi. This is where Cohn smelled the catfish and encountered a black woman in her 70s named Muriel who was at the piano. After watching Muriel play a variety of spirituals and Hoagy Carmichael songs for about 90 minutes, he spoke with her when she took a break. Cohn's mother died when he was just two-years-old, and he lost his father at age twelve. He spent a lot of time reconciling his childhood, which often comes out in his songs. Speaking with Muriel, he got maybe the best therapy of his life. Cohn described this conversation in his 1992 interview with Q magazine, saying: "She was real curious, she seemed to have some kind of intuition about me, and I ended up telling her about my family, my parents, how I was a musician looking for a record deal, the whole thing. Then, it must have been about two in the morning, she asks me up to sing with her and we do about an hour, me and this lady I'd never met before, hardly a song I knew so she's yelling the words at me. Then at the end, as the applause is rising up, she leans over and whispers in my ear, she's whispering, You've got to let go of your mother, child, she didn't mean to die, she's where she's got to be and you're where you have to be, child, it's time to move on." The Hollywood Cafe is still there - you drive right past it to go to several of the casinos now located in Tunica. Muriel and Cohn kept in touch, and she attended his wedding in New York. Cohn saw her again when he took another trip down south and played her some of his new songs, but Muriel died in 1990. This was the first single for Cohn, who was discovered by Carly Simon in the mid-'80s when he was with a 14-piece band called The Supreme Court. Atlantic Records signed him in 1989, but the first attempts to record his debut album with Tracy Chapman's producer David Kerschenbaum failed. Ten months later, he tried again, producing the set himself with help from the little-known Ben Wisch, who had helped him with his demos. Finally released in 1991 when Cohn was 31-years-old, his self-titled debut album was a huge hit, thanks to the massive success of "Walking In Memphis." Cohn won the 1991 Grammy for Best New Artist award, beating out both Boyz II Men and Seal. Cohn never matched the chart success of this song, but like his musical heroes Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne, he remained a critical and artistic success as a songwriter and performer. Cohn has explained that this song is a journey to be baptized in the world of blues music. He said it is about "Spiritual Awakening." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG