[LOWDOWN]

The March '14 issue of Car and Driver landed in my mailbox today. An interesting story on the Porsche 918 is contained within. Base price is $847,795. I said "Base"...

Did you know that Porsche offers an extra-cost Weissach Package that "strips out sound insulation, replaces leather with Alcantara, dumps cooling for the passengers...and otherwise cuts weight by 90 pounds"? Sound familiar, in part, to the Z/28 preparations?

CO$T? Well, "if you have to ask"...it's only $84,000. But it does include the special Weissach wheels which, as a free-flow option, would otherwise be $32,500 (and NO, they're not platinum-plated)...or $8,125 each...

Or, for the same $84,000 at the Porsche Palace, you can ADD 4,400 pounds...by purchasing a nicely-optioned 2014 Cayenne Platinum Edition...you know, for those crappy days when the 918 should stay indoors...BUT genuine platinum plating is STILL optional...