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Porsche has officially unveiled the facelifted 2010 911 GT3 RS.
Designed to be the ultimate rear-wheel drive sports car, the RS features a modified version of the GT3's 3.8-liter boxer engine. Peak output climbs to 331kW, which is 11kW more than the standard GT3. Backed up by a short-throw six-speed manual transmission, the new 911 GT3 RS should accelerate from 0-100 km/h in four seconds, before hitting a top speed in excess of 314 km/h.
Other performance tweaks include a wider front and rear track, a revised suspension management system, active engine mounts (which adjust their stiffness to reduce drivetrain shuffle), and an optional lithium-ion battery (it weighs 10 kg less than a conventional lead battery).
In terms of styling, the RS features a unique two-tone paint scheme, extended fender flares, 19-inch wheels, a center-mounted titanium exhaust system, and a massive carbon-fiber rear wing.
The GT3 RS will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month with sales starting in Germany in January 2010.
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Taxis to strike over Bus Rapid Transit System
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Taxi drivers and operators across the country will strike from September 1 over the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit system.
"We are calling for a total stoppage of public transport for the taxi industry," SA National Taxi Drivers Council secretary-general Philip Taaibosch told a meeting of industry players in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
"The strike is to register the concerns of the taxi operators in Johannesburg with support which will be coming from all other provinces."
The Bus Rapid Transit system was expected to start running in Johannesburg at the beginning of September. Taaibosch accused the city of ignoring the taxi industry's concerns and negotiating in "bad faith".
"We believe that our operators in Johannesburg are not protected and we believe that... the City of Johannesburg are negotiating in
bad faith.
"We cannot support the BRT in its present form, not without the involvement of the elected leaders from the taxi industry."
"Open-door" policy
City of Johannesburg spokesman Nthatisi Modingoane denied allegations of bad faith and said the city had an "open-door" policy.
"The city's position is still... that the negotiations are as transparent as possible and as inclusive as possible. The doors are open."
Taaibosch claimed the taxi representatives in those negotiations were not legitimate leaders.
He said more explanations were needed and the implementation of BRT should be suspended until taxi operators were satisfied. Going even further, Taaibosch said if authorities had been serious about negotiating with the taxi industry "they would have given the taxi
industry the right of first refusal".
"Where these buses are going to run is where taxis have been running historically, and they are now going to infringe on the operations of other people, and those people will then be obliged to defend their operations," Taaibosch charged.
The industry had previously claimed their routes as intellectual property. This argument had not been tested in court and had been
rejected by many legal experts.
The city has also offered the taxi industry a stake in the BRT system but this was also rejected by Taaibosch.
"Remember, we never wanted a stake in the BRT."
Peaceful strikes
However, Modingoane said some taxi operators were prepared to "engage" in the BRT. A interim management corporation had already
been formed with the goal of giving taxi operators "ownership" of the bus system.
The BRT would continue regardless of the taxi industry, he said.
"We are committed to revolutionising public transport in Johannesburg. BRT is not just about a small number of people. Our mandate is to help the people of Johannesburg."
Taaibosch and chairman of the Johannesburg Southern Suburb Taxi Association Ralph Jones promised that the strikes would be peaceful.
Jones said that past demonstrations in Pretoria had been conducted without incident.
"So at the end of the day, ladies and gentlemen, there will not be any violence."
He however didn't mention strikes by taxi drivers in Cape Town earlier this year which left several people injured and caused hundreds of thousands of rands worth of damage.
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