Do You Know How The Iconic Porsche 911 Got Its Name?

Choosing a name for a new model is far from an easy process for automakers, and unless they are related to mythology or a place, car names often make little sense in the eyes of consumers.

Take the 911, for example, Porsche's iconic sports car, whose exterior design is an evolution of the 1963 original, the year it was born.

Nevertheless, '911' wasn’t the original moniker that Porsche was going to use, as they initially planned to sell it as the 901. However, they soon received a "friendly" letter from Peugeot, informing them that all three-digit numbers with a zero in the middle are a no-go as they had already trademarked them.

This meant that it was time for a brainstorming session, whose result was supposed to keep production costs to a minimum. Still, before knowing that they cannot use the original moniker, Porsche had the idea to add '901' badges on the tailgates and dashboards of the vehicles, so they already had the '9', '0', and '1' printed out and ready to use.

So what did they do? Well, basically, they put 1 and 1 together, thus giving the sports car the iconic name that's become famous worldwide as revealed in this case not by Google, but by Porsche themselves, in an official video.

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Jannarelly Floats The Idea Of An Electric Design-X1 Roadster

With 2017 now drawn to a close, automakers around the world, big and small, are looking towards the new year ahead. That includes Jannarelly, which is floating the idea of an electric version of its Design-1 roadster.

The Jannarelly Design-1 is the work of the same Anthony Jannarelly who designed the Lykan Hypersport and Fenyr Supersport for W Motors (among other projects).

The minimalist sports car draws inspiration from classic roadsters, powered by a 3.5-liter V6 mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The project dubbed the Design-X1, however, would do away with the internal-combustion engine in favor of an electric powertrain of undisclosed specifications.

The version pictured – in a neon tint akin to the new Aston Martin Vantage's with a red grille frame and grey stripes – also features a single-seat cockpit, with the rest of the cabin covered by more bodywork.

At this point, Jannarelly and company are gauging public opinion to see whether they should proceed with developing the electric track machine. So tell us, what do you think?

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Fire Risk Prompts One Last Maserati Recall For 2017

Maserati has issued another recall. This time it's relatively small in scope, but it's rather serious in nature.

The problem comes down to a fuel line that could leak gasoline onto the engine bay or the underside of the vehicle. And as you might imagine, that poses the very real risk of a fire breaking out, with potentially disastrous consequences.

The campaign announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration affects an estimated 1,406 examples of the 2018 Quattroporte and Ghibli in the United States, and another 86 in Canada – all of the units manufactured between July 24 and December 14 of this past year.

The manufacturer issued a stop-sale order for those vehicles affected on December 15, and is now followed up with a recall. The fix entails fitting new new fuel delivery lines in a process that's set to kick off on February 9, 2018. But until then, owners might consider leaving their vehicles parked.

This is the fifth Maserati recall we've reported on in 2017. In January the manufacturer announced the recall of all the Levante S crossovers it had sold in America up to that point. In February it issued two more recalls – one for the Quattroporte, Ghibli, and Levante, and another for just the sedans. And in March, it recalled the Levane again. Those are just the ones on which we reported in the United States. Here's hoping it won't have to issue many more in the new year ahead.

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Oettinger Built This One-Off VW Golf 400R Police Car

Arguably more than most countries, the police in Germany need pursuit vehicles capable of chasing down monstrously fast and powerful vehicles down unrestricted stretches of autobahn. The trouble is that it doesn't have the budget to buy fleets of Porsche 911s and Mercedes-AMG GTs. So what to do?

Here's Oettinger's answer. It's a one-of-a-kind Volkswagen Golf R that was unveiled a few weeks back at the Essen Motor Show, decked out in police livery with special equipment.

That includes the flashing lights on the roof and in the air dam, and a foil wrap in blue, white, and neon yellow, emblazoned with the word “Polizei.”

It also includes a full aero kit, complete with front sp;itter, side skirts, rear apron, and roof spoiler. The hood is custom as well, there's a four-pipe exhaust system with 90-mm tailpipes, and the whole thing rides on a set of 20-inch alloys wrapped in low-profile Hanhook rubber.

The real long arm of the law in this case, though, is what you can't see: Oettinger has tuned the 2.0-liter turbo four from the standard 310 horsepower to a more prodigious 400, giving it a 0-62 time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 180 mph.

That's mighty fast – for a Golf especially – but don't expect to see one of these patrolling the autobahn anytime soon. The concept car was created as part of the Tune It! Safe! campaign, supported by the federal transport ministry and by industry members.

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Alfa Romeo's Working On New Giulietta And 4C

With the Giulia and Stelvio, Alfa Romeo has properly revitalized its product portfolio. And it's said to have a new, larger crossover in the pipeline too. But what will come after that?

According to the latest reports, the Italian automaker is looking at two new vehicles: one to succeed the Giulietta, and the other, the 4C.

“In order to complete the Alfa range of products,” Alfa's chief technical officer Roberto Fedeli told Auto Express, “we need another couple of pillars – something in the C-Segment and then obviously a sporty product, a very sporty product.”

The Giulietta could use a shortened version of the Giulia sedan's platform, which would ostensibly mean it'd be rear-wheel drive – rare territory for C-segment hatchbacks, following similar formula to the BMW 1 Series hatch. But Alfa (and FCA) would need to ascertain whether a re-entry into that segment would be worthwhile.

The company has been moving away from unprofitable small cars, having in recent years discontinued the Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200, and Lancia Delta. “it’s very difficult to make a profit,” Fedeli said about the segment.

As for the 4C, an update is in the works – but the company is looking beyond that to the long-term future of the model. “We make some small modifications but then we have to decide if we want to install different engine, or switch the architecture. As you can imagine we have some options, we are working on more than one option.” However it turns out, Fedeli says it won't have a manual transmission – which is sad news for purists.

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Baseball All-Star Leaves The Pitcher's Mound For Supercar Dealership

Professional athletes tend to have a short career, leaving a long “retirement” to fill. Some move on to team or talent management, but not CJ Wilson.

The former All-Star pitcher owns a chain of automotive dealerships. Three of them deal in Mazdas: two in Illinois and one in California. But his dealership in Arizona deals in British supercars, and it's just added another line.

Alongside McLarens, the Scottsdale dealership will now be selling the BAC Mono as well. In fact it will be the first location to receive the updated 2018 model of the single-seat exotic – five of them, to be specific, each of which is available for sale.

“It’s with great pleasure that I can declare BAC Scottsdale officially open for business,” said Wilson. “When I first got into the Mono cockpit, I was absolutely blown away – it provides the ultimate experience for any driving purist, with unrivalled levels of accessibility, pace and poise.”

The left-handed pitcher played for the Texas Rangers from 2005-2011 and for the LA Angels until 2015. He twice pitched in the MLB All-Star Game, but has since taken to cars. He's been known to drive Porsches and a custom McLaren P1, and competed in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill and in Mazda MX-5 club races.

That's him driving the Mono at the Inde Motorsports Ranch in the video below. We don't know about the Mazdas, but if you're fortunate enough to buy a new McLaren or BAC Mono from his Scottsdale dealership, you just might get a photo or an autograph to go with it.

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Christmas Presents Don’t Come Any Better Than A Koenigsegg Agera R

Giving is what the Christmas spirit is all about, but someone thought he could give himself a present, too – and what a gift that was!

As it turns out, he took delivery of a Koenigsegg Agera R, complete with a red bow. You know, just like the ones us, mere mortals, put on our gifts that, unfortunately, are not a hypercar.

In fact, this owner had been hunting for an Agera R for some time before finding one in Japan that had less than 500 miles on the odo, which makes it practically brand new. Its satin white bodywork is adorned with some blue details, but we guess that wasn’t what lured him into buying the Koenigsegg in the first place.

In all likelihood, it was its 1,115HP output when running on E85 ethanol, or 1,050HP on 98 octane gas. Being able to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h [62mph] in just 2.9 seconds and to 200 km/h [124mph] in just 7.5 seconds, along with a top speed in excess of 420 km/h (261 mph) are what make the Agera R a true hypercar.

Moreover, the Agera R is second only to the RS version, which is currently the fastest car in the world with a Bugatti Veyron-beating 284.3 mph (457.5 km/h) top speed. But, hey, more than 420 km/h should be enough for anyone; finding a long enough straight to get there will be the real challenge.

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