In case you were wondering, the Porsche-themed Transsyberia Rallye 2008 concluded on Friday with Team France in first place, followed by Team Spain and Team Germany 1. Coincidentally, Porsche also released details about new variants for their latest 911. The 911 Targa 4 and the 911 Targa 4S, so named due to their glass tops and standard all-wheel-drive, will hit showroom closer to winter this year.
The Transsyberia Rallye 2008, in which most of the top racers seem to be sponsored by Porsche, has finished its 11th leg, and the Team France is in the lead, follewed by Team Germany. Team Qatar ran into a rock and damaged their vehicle, and may not be able to continue to the 12th leg. A few days ago, the original points leaders were Team Middle East, but on the 9th leg, driver Said al Hajri drove into a hidden pothole and injured his spine.
The little-known Transsyberia rally from the Russian capital of Moscow to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar is being heavily promoted by Porsche, so much so that they custom-built a set of Cayenne S Transsyberia models to compete in the rally. Unlike the WRC, these road-legal vehicles are closer to their showroom counterparts. Though some other vehicles are also running the rally, the Cayenne-driving teams are getting the most publicity through international Porsche online advertisements (though none on this website). Unsurprisingly, they are also currently leading the 2008 rally, which has already reached its fourth leg.
So my PR guy called up Porsche and asked if we could get any Porsche model for our usual test-drive period, which is typically over several days. The Porsche people fired back that their test drive policy is the same for the media as it is for the public. So if you have some kind of undying love for these cars and want to abuse one, read on.