Pop star with a soft spot for sports cars: Dua Lipa and Porsche join forces

WEBWIRE

Dua Lipa has always been a fan of sports cars and the Porsche brand in particular. Which is why the singer-songwriter and the sports car manufacturer are joining forces.

After attending the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in the summer, the now 28-year-old has immersed herself in the world of racing and Porsches unique history. At the Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles, she had the opportunity to experience the thrill of driving a Porsche for herself, when she got behind the wheel of an all-electric Taycan and both a current and historic 911.

What exactly this will involve has yet to be revealed, but details on the planned collaborations will be shared soon.

Porsche donates one million euros for immediate humanitarian aid in the Middle East

Porsche AG supports the Middle East emergency aid campaign of Aktion Deutschland Hilft

WEBWIRE

Through its Middle East emergency aid campaign, Aktion Deutschland Hilft wants to help people in the region affected by the conflict and plans to further expand it as soon as the security situation allows. This is in line with Porsches holistic donation strategy.

We are greatly saddened by the hostilities in the Middle East. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to all people who are suffering due to the conflict and those who have lost family or friends. Together with Aktion Deutschland Hilft, we want to provide help where it is needed most, says Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG.

The donation of one million euros from Porsche AG will be used for urgent humanitarian aid in the region. Aktion Deutschland Hilft connects relevant aid organisations and services, providing assistance in areas such as the distribution of food, water and hygiene products. The alliance also facilitates psychological aid on the ground and supports evacuation efforts, measures to protect the civilian population and the provision of medical care.

Andreas Haffner, Executive Board for Human Resources and Social Affairs also sees the donation to Aktion Deutschland Hilft as an appeal to the Porsche workforce: Porsche has always stood for a culture of openness and respect. We want to transmit those fundamental values well beyond the factory gates as well.

“Porsche Friend” Iga Swiatek going into the US Open as title holder

WEBWIRE

The US Open in New York will start on Monday with the Porsche Friend Iga Swiatek as the title holder. Porsche Team Germanys Tatjana Maria and Anna-Lena Friedsam are both assured of a place in the main draw.

It has been a good year for Iga Swiatek. The Pole, who has headed the world rankings since 4 April 2022, has already won four tournaments this season in addition to her successes in Doha and Warsaw, she celebrated her second triumph in succession at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and claimed her third French Open title. At the US Open, where she will be defending her title, she is one of the top favourites.

For sure, its not going to be easy to successfully defend my title, said the four-time Grand Slam champion. After reaching the semifinals at the Masters 1000 tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati, where Porsche Cars North America was a sponsor and the exclusive vehicle partner, she is nevertheless keeping her cards close to her chest. Like for most players, New York and with it the tournament is however something very special for her. Theres no city to match it on the Tour. It all makes the US Open so incredibly fascinating.

A look at the statistics underlines her status as the favourite for the years final Grand Slam. Since her defeat in the round of the last 16 at the Australian Open, she has reached at least the quarterfinals at every tournament she has played this season. At six of here seven hard court events, she has made it to the semifinals at the very least.

Tatjana Maria and Anna-Lena Friedsam main draw certainties

As currently Germanys top player, Tatjana Maria is a US Open main draw certainty. Thanks to a brace of WTA titles in Columbia on clay in in Bogota in April and last week on a hard court in Barranchilla she is momentarily the world No. 49. Even though she only progressed past the first round in 2012, 2017 and 2018, the 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist is looking forward to the tournament. The US Open is exceptional in its very own way, said the 36-year-old mother of two who will face Croatias Petra Martic in the first round. At this weeks WTA 250 tournament in Cleveland that will last until Saturday, she has reached the semifinals where she will meet Sara Sorribes Tormo from Spain. It gives her even more self-confidence: I hope that after Barranchilla and Cleveland, I can also show my best tennis at the US Open.

As the current world No. 89, Porsche Team Germanys Anna-Lena Friedsam is also sure of a US Open main draw berth. Her opening opponent is Elina Svitolina, the former world No. 3 and winner of 17 career WTA titles. After taking time off to have a baby, the Ukrainian has returned to competition this season.

Laura Siegemund and Eva Lys still in qualifying

Two German players are still in with a chance of making it to the main draw via qualifying Porsche Team Germanys Laura Siegemund, winner of the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and winner of the womens doubles in New York in 2020, will play the final round of qualifying on Friday. The hopes of Eva Lys from the Porsche Talent Team of once again reaching the main draw of a Grand Slam after the Australian Open are also still intact. Her second round qualifying match that could not be played yesterday due to rain is scheduled for today.

As the world No. 8, Maria Sakkari, Friend of the Brand of Porsche Greece, is also in the line-up in New York. She was a semifinalist in 2021.

The last German player to win the title at the US Open was the Porsche Brand Ambassador Angelique Kerber in 2016.

Porsche expands online sales to include customer-configured cars

WEBWIRE



Porsche is adding new options for those wishing to buy its cars online. The Porsche Car Configurator has been completely redesigned and now offers numerous new functions and views. Users can now pre-order customer-configured cars online, too. The new functions will initially be rolled out in Germany, with other markets to follow.


Porsche customers will soon be able to design their own dream cars online using a new configurator. The Porsche Car Configurator can also now be used to pre-order vehicles directly. The new functions will initially be available in Germany and will be launched in Spain and Portugal in the coming weeks.

Porsche Car Configurator with expanded functions

Thanks to a plethora of new functions and views, the new generation of the Car Configurator is now even more intuitive and offers a noticeably enhanced experience. The new features include expanded views of the vehicle in even higher quality and with more backgrounds. Almost all options are now visually represented in real time – from the different variants of the design packages to details such as decorative stitching. Users are also guided through the configuration process in a targeted manner.


“With the new functions, we have reached a milestone on the way to a highly attractive digital service for buying a Porsche,” says Robert Ader, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Porsche AG. “We have completely revamped the Porsche Car Configurator with the objective of enabling maximum customisation while making the configuration and buying experience as intuitive as possible. The result is a more inspiring, simple and compelling customer journey.”

Online pre-ordering even for customer-configured vehicles

Customers could already request and order in-stock new and used cars. Thanks to the new functions, this will now include customer-configured vehicles as well, which can be pre-ordered from the desired dealer directly in the Car Configurator. The sale is then finalised at the Porsche Centre. The process is part of the brand’s omnichannel approach, which is designed to allow customers to move seamlessly between digital and physical contact points.


“Our customers get the best of both worlds – and Germany is once again the pilot market for the expanded functions in online sales,” says Alexander Pollich, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Deutschland GmbH. “The customer’s dream car can now be configured and pre-ordered from the comfort of home. At the same time, we will continue to focus on the dealers as the central point of contact for the customer and foster that personal contact with our brand.”


Porsche launched online car sales in Germany in 2019 and has been steadily expanding the offering ever since. Online vehicle searches are now available in 100 markets around the world, and cars can be ordered online in 32 of them.


“Many European markets have played a role in shaping the further expansion of online vehicle sales from the outset and are now the first that will be able to offer their customers the expanded functions,” says Marco Schubert, Vice President Region Europe at Porsche AG. “The experience of the past few years has shown that the option of an online purchase is increasingly important to European Porsche customers. This is why we want to offer the expanded options in Spain and Portugal in the coming weeks and have planned the rollout in numerous other countries in Europe for 2023.”

The new Porsche 911 GT3 RS is in the starting blocks

WEBWIRE



The Porsche 911 GT3 is getting a big brother: the 911 GT3 RS, the new top of the 911 line in terms of performance will celebrate its world premiere on 17 August. The development of the high-performance sports car was inspired by the successful 911 RSR and 911 GT3 R GT racing cars.


“The new 911 GT3 RS is even more optimised for track use than its predecessors. The spontaneously responsive, high-revving four-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine with approximately 500 PS has proven ideal for use at trackdays and club sport events,” says Andreas Preuninger, Director GT Model Line. “That’s why we focused primarily on aerodynamics and chassis questions in the development of the new 911 GT3 RS.”

Broadcast on 17 August at 5:00 pm CEST

The digital world premiere of the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS will be broadcast on newstv.porsche.com on 17 August at 5:00 pm CEST. The video will also be available on demand there after the event.