how and at what rate would you have Porsche proceed...

- I would have them make the car have great aero Cx's as well as less balnd styling. I esp. would have them cut the damn wt. down on these things. In short I would have them proceed faster towards the future of sports cars. I blame the overall problem on Dr. Wienie King, who is a terrible bean counter. He is killing the company in order to sxave it. It makes sense to keep the family out of the biz - but the downside is that PAG thus lost the Piech DNA -- he seems to be the one who is most like the old man based on all the biolgraphies I've read (both as to engineering accumen and irrascibility). Anyway, things will get better (and I don't mean just the 997). The C-GT can serve as a development platform that PAG actually gets paid for (like the 959). And PAG is getting a new chief designer.

What about the GT3RS. Is that not an acceptable car as far as weight is concerned. I understand about cutting weight down and all, but if they cut out an air conditioner, back seat, probably electric and heated seats and etc., that may turn off alot of potential buyers. I know I wouldn't drive a 911 for everyday use if it did not have the creature comforts offered by other cars. I also need a back seat for the kids and that kind of cuts out me getting GT3 seats because I need easy access to the back seats. Porsche also has to comply with crash testing and will get heavily criticized by car mags if they don't build up a car to withstand impacts to a certain point. Porsche does still offer lightweight options/cars. We may not be able to get their best lightweight efforts though such as GT3RS, but that may not really be a Porsche issue as much as an American DOT issue.

Acceptable? To me a 2,200 lb. Boxster with 250 h would be acceptable.

I take your point re A/C and kid seats (see above posts) - I live in Oregon, don't commute by car, and have something else to drive with A/C, so it's easy for me to not have it.

A couple of guys over at PCGB weighed their cars with equal fuel on board. The mk1 996 GT3 was the same weight as the current 996 GT3RS. Things just keep getting heavier & heavier.

Here's the quote;

uhh... i'll take 250hp in my SC, too... it's over 2200lbs, though.... it doesn't have power windows or air, either... that's what a '67 S weighed, and that was the 'lightweight' package...


does that make every 911 built since the late 1960's 'unacceptable'? even those were underpowered, eh

Back to the corvette thing, the 67 and the 04 and still water cooled front engine rear wheel drive 2 seat fibreglass car. No other car has held as true for as long. The 911 stopped when water hit the block.

No "Harm" in that. ;)

Just curious. What does the weight of the mk1 and the GT3RS generally run.

What direction would I take Porsche?

BACK TO THE FUTURE.:)

Hybrids are nothing new, back in 1908 Porsche designed a series of race cars that were so ahead of their time, they outlawed them and excluded them from racing.

One version was AWD, electric hub drive, or as they called it an electric transmission (a diesel version was later used on WWII's most lethal tank the Tiger II) with a gas engine generator.

Yet another hybrid gas/electric car, was FWD, again with the motors in the wheels/hub. The first racing ban was on 4WD/AWD, but they found a way to ban this awesome car too. Who said racing was about a level playing field? They suck!

BACK TO THE FUTURE, before the Japs do it first (NSX proposal).

http://www.drivingtoday.com/afronet/greatest_cars/archive/ssk.html

http://www.supercars.net/cars/1901@$Lohner-Porsche@$Phaetong.html

5axis: those are some sick wheels. Who did them for you?

I can't believe this thead is still going. Anyway

Joe. I would like to take credit for them but can't. They were on the car when I bought it. I still spend a day re polishing them each summer. It is high maint look for a car I drive very, very little.. too much work and no play.. waaaaaaa

search wheel polishing, there are many who have done their own.

They look awesome. What type of polish do you use. I have been using mother's on a set of mine. Its okay, but I am sure there are better.

What about the GT3RS. Is that not an acceptable car?

Yeh, come to think of it is. Ship it over and I will accept.

In the thread they don't actually list the numbers (that I can find).

Here's the thread in question. Not sure if not PCGB members can register for the forum or not. Worth a try as it's an interesting read.

i agree to a certain extent that there is a cost issue - perhaps i would own one over my '86.

but i would not take a NA 996 over a 930.

the older cars are "prettier".

yeah... good thing he didn't design the 993 or anything.... he must be a really crappy designer...

sorry, silly to be that hung up on radiators. i'm assuming, then, that you foam at the mouth over the coilovers in the 964/993, and sleep with an extra 915, cursing out those damn borg warner synchros in the G50? hydraulic clutch?? A/C that (sort of) works?? where did porsche in the late 80's get off??

honestly, the sound changed, but that's it. it's still a performance engine, and not some 1.8 liter econo unit. you don't like the quiet? my SC is bone stock... it's not going to scare anyone into hiding, either.

so, you've got a 4 seat (if you squint), flat six powered, rear engined, 2 door, steel sports car that's still capable of beating the world.

it happens that the company, through a mixture of low finances and stubbornness, kept an ancient engine design around until the EPA killed it.

Ouch, what was that for?

Here we go again.

Let's hear what people that have never driven a 996 at 270km/h for extended periods of time have to say about how the 996 handles. I love it

OK, I'll make the 100th post in this interminable thread... we aren't good prospect for future PAG sales. Market research shows you need yuppies and their even richer cousins. That is the reason for the 996 and the slight variant the 997 with its 3.8L engine (which do nicely in a Boxster BTW). For sheiks, rich Euro-princes and the like, you can sell 959s and C-GTs. It's all good -- we will inherit either the used cars, or the engineering. It's trickle down all the way.

I don't prefer the 996 because the pedals are hanging instead of the old race car style mounted on the floor (much more elegant and easier to work on). Also I've never heard of anyone tangling their clumsy feet under the old pedals but have heard of an old-time autocrosser crashed his boxster because he got his feet mixed up under the wrong pedal during a Porsche parade autox.

Also, the newer engines say cheaper to produce and not as hardy for racing (dry versus wet sump etc, previously covered ad nauseum)

Interior gauges too flashy and not serious in appearance (separates are more costly again and have the advantage of easier repair if one gauge fails).

The old philosophy was build a street car based on race car experience and success..new philosophy is earn more profit giving them something similar but not proven by racing success. If old philosophy was still being applied we would be getting the GT3 engines in our normal 996's at normal 996 pricing.

Lastly, I don't like the flat-sided look of the 996 nor the egg lights.

Sweet & Awesome looking: 996 Turbo Coupe, TT Cab, GT3, GT2, GT2RS

I've changed my mind about the 996. I'm going to get one and a Cayenne when I can pay cash for them. The 996 is an awesome car in speed and handling - way, way, way better than my upgraded '87 coupe. Its looks grow on you too. I have a Porsche poster on my home office wall titled "Triple Espresso" that has a Boxster S, Cayenne Turbo and 996 that I stare at and drool over every day. If I had the cash now, I'd buy both now but still keep the SC and Carrera. The SC's my go-kart and the Carrera is just too beautiful to behold in Cassis Red.

Trickle-down Porschenomics. I agree and I like it.

all 911's are great :)
but starting with the 964, the car began to change, first it was suspension, then bodywork (993),then the 996 cut the last tie with the original 911 losing the aircooled engine

ahhhh.... I can't help but add my 2 cents. Lord knows this thread isn't long enough already.

My theory is this - everyone identifies with a particular car (make/model/year) for different reasons, but the general trend, is that it is something you can relate to and has emotional ties. For me, the classic 911 will most certainly always be the 74-89 SCs and "Carreras". Why? because when I was 6 years old, that was THE car, and the sight of a stock targa with the 3-spoke steering wheel and fuchs rims will always evoke memories for me.

Same with the 356 model, since that's what my family had as I grew up. Sitting behind the wheel of T-6 just feels like home.

Now, the 996? Great car, say what you while. 20 years from now? I'm sure there will be a crowd complaining about what ever Porsche is "currently" making and claiming that the 996 is the ultimate sports car - and they will have their reasons.

I have nothing against the current line up. I just think that it is getting more difficult to get the same "enjoyment" on todays' street with today's cars.
The 996 limits are so high that make the driving experience dull (at least for me). The 996 will run circle around my Carrera but who cares. I am going to be flamed for this but I have no interest in a GT3 either. Well only if I was loaded and could spend 2 days a week at the track.
There are too many silly drivers and the Police are getting tougher on today's streets.
Mayvbe I should sell the Carrera and get a 911S...

Because they call it a 911 when it isn't. Porsche marketing noticed a lot of people liked the 911 name and they decided to apply it to everything. I'm surprised the Cayenne isn't referred to as a 911 SUV.

If they called it a 996 then I wouldn't get so upset about folks comparing it to the air cooled version. Heck, most 996 owners I meet don't even know what I'm talking about when I call their car a 996.

I've found that exact same thing.

-"what year do you have"
-"2000"
-"oh, you have the 996"
-"no, it's a 911"

hate the owners that know zip about P-cars, hate the Porsche marketing people for misleading the general public.... But hating the car itself?!?