Porsche's Motorsports Reputation Fading

[zuffenhausen]

I'm watching the ALMS race from Laguna Seca and one of the commentators, speaking about the factory Audi R8, just said, "it may well be the best sports car of all time." Considering the absolute dominance of the R8 in recent years, I almost have to agree, but when was the last time the legendary 962 wasn't the object of that honor? Or the 917 before that? Where is Porsche? Off building SUVs! The arrival of 2003 will mark five long years since participated in top level sports car competition. For someone who regards Porsche's racing heritage so highly, it's really, really sad to see it fading.

-zuff

[dtw]

Where's the button for heated seats on this thing...darnit...HEY you kids shut up and watch your DVD! ...honey put this coffee in the cupholder will you and OH ***** that little sports car came out of nowhere!!! I almost hit him...wow. Hard to stay in my lane when there's so much to concentrate on. What was that thing? Looks like some bugeyed frog with a duck's tail. Good thing I've got my trusty Cayenne...

[Wayne 962]

And Audi is owned by?

It takes deep pockets to race...

-Wayne

[Oldporsche]

I watched the whole race, which was replete with Porsche commercials. One spot even had a plug for our local PCA chapter. No pepper wagons however.

You would think with the sponsorship of the coverage by Porsche, that Porsche could have had a little race resume' with the results of the Porsches. But that would call again for some imagination from the Porsche marketing group. Or is that the Porsche lawyers group? You know a little something, to keep the name alive with the race crowd followers. I tried to count as many Porsches as I could. There were more of them than the Corvettes. And the majority of the Porsches finished the race. Corvettes not! But the coverage was of the corvettes, a couple of Ferraris and a shot of a viper trying to stay on the track.

Good luck,
David Duffield

[zuffenhausen]

The race also made me wonder what the former customer teams think of Porsche now. You have Team Joest, who had so much success with Porsche at Le Mans in the '90s, now running the Audi factory effort. And Franz Konrad, who tottered along for years with aging GT2s and dwindling factory support until finally he gave up on Porsche and is now racing the awesome Saleen S7R. And let's not forget Champion Motorsports, arguably once the biggest proponent of Porsche racing in the United States. They campaigned GT2s, then the GT1, and even went so far to develop their own LMP: a Lola chassis combined with Porsche power. The Champion Lola was in the race today, but it's now powered by Audi and featured a prominent Audi logo on the engine cover.

These big players have moved on, despite their affinity for the marque. If Porsche slips with support and development for customers racing the GT3R, you can bet the little players will jump ship too. If that happens, people won't notice Porsche's absence from top-level sports car racing, because it won't be in sports car racing at all.

-zuff

[island911]

What you old fogies are missing is, real racing doesn't keep the reputation. . .you just need everyone to know you have the fastest car in . . .. the video game.

[Early_S_Man]

90% or so of the motorsports commentators ... really ought to be unemployed, and most of the time it would be better to turn the sound off/down ... if you are actually watching the race, as opposed to just having background noise on in the room! A classic example of an illiterate comment was in the early '80s at an IMSA race when a commentator said that the 962 designers had copied the aerodynamic 'tricks' from a drag racing 'Funny Car' ... when, in fact, the reverse was true! I guess the commentator had never seen any 1970 or later Can-Am cars!

Until enthusiasts take control again ... I doubt there will be any more ads with the following theme:

[pwd72s]

Warren, you nailed it! These days? As I posted earlier, I have as much loyalty to Ford as I do to Porsche...little or none. If Porsche wants to abandon it's roots and become just another car factory, making everything from sports utes to sports cars? Well, guess I'll just look at the vehicles...and not give a flying french kiss who made them!

[Embs]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
And Audi is owned by?

It takes deep pockets to race...

-Wayne

Maybe VW should own Porsche, what a combination it could be or has been, however you want to look at it.

http://www.vwvortex.com/news/index_w12coupe01.html

I personally think VW has got it going on! I own a new beetle and love it, can't wait to buy a new bus when it becomes available.

[James Bond]

*BUMP*

I'm only 19 but, even I long for the day that Porsche will become a great force in the world of racing, again (as they used to be). It's a sad fact that one of the best names in the history of professional racing (IMO, THE best!) has been taken over by bankers. Every time I think about how Porsche has changed, as far as professional racing and a general disreguard for it's racing heritage, I feel this deep hurt inside. I still love all Porsches, inluding 996's and 986's but, I think I am doomed to live in the past. Sorry for these grim reminders. At the moment Porsche has left us with a legacy, they key word being LEFT! Hopefully Porsche has things in the works and will make a comeback soon. God knows it's been far too long.

[atlporsche]

I see it this way...esp. in the coverage....why cover a class that's all the same car. Unless you're rooting for a specific car, you're rooting for a porsche.

The ONLY Non-porsche GT car out there was the Risi Ferrari. Or were both Ferrari's GTS??....oh crap...mind blank....

anyway.

For most of the races this season...to win in GT is to use a Porsche, and it won't get the coverage it deserves until someone comes along with something else that will run with them...BMW tried it, but didn't want to homologate the V8 car...

sjd

[Wayne 962]

As a business owner, I can totally see Porsche's point of view. I personally think that the 911 is on the way out to be replaced by their new 8-cylinder supercar. You can't really race the Boxster - not quite built for that.

Racing takes lots of $$$, which is probably better spent elsewhere at this moment in time. I'm sure that they will return to racing, but they are working very hard to remain independent right now. If you read the recent article in the WSJ, you will see that they have some very, very smart ideas about the new Cayenne, and the general direction of the company. They almost when bankrupt in 1992-93. It's nice that they learned from their lessons. They are keeping super-low overhead, and the Cayenne supposedly can be manufactured in super-low quanitities and still turn a profit for them. Hedging your bets like this is smart business, as we all know that the auto industry is quite unpredictable.

I think in 2-3 years, we will be looking back and remarking that the 'bankers' at Porsche were very smart during this uncertain period...

Just my opinion...

-Wayne

[James Bond]

Oh, I completely agree Wayne! I am glad for the people in charge at Porsche to have done what they did, or else our beloved Marquee would have gone bankrupt or worse, owned by Ford or GM! I don't fault them for that, changing to watercooled 911's (more economical), etc. Change is good but, I guess I was just saying I miss the good 'ol days. Even though things are much different now, I still love Porsche and all it's creations.

[Jim Garfield]

I think that the best thing that could happen at
this point is that Ferdinand Piech could be persuad-
ed to take over the helm of the company when he
retires at VW / Audi. Not that he would want to at
this point in his life. But look at the record of what
he has done in his career. The roll that VW and Audi
are on now, the Audi rally cars of the 80's, the Le Mans
cars, the 917 of course,...FERDINAND PIECH.

I think that the company was crazy to force him and
Butzi out in the first place.

[emcon5]

I taped the race so I could see what I missed being there in person.

What I found just precious about the brodcast was that the telemetry from the Audi's was brought to you by Porsche.

It is also interesting that the de-facto Porsche Cup that is GT class, the relatively new Ferrari 360 Modena beat all the Porsches but one.

Tom

[cegerer]

Has Audi become more "Porsche-like" than Porsche? In racing for sure. And now maybe even with their road cars. They've even got the balls to name their 2005 V10 sportscar the "RSR"!!!!! -- Curt

[nostatic]

speaking of Audi...

http://www.audiworld.com/features/tests/2003rs6.shtml

[Dana_Drury]

I think you have to things in a bit better perspective. Porsche have spent 30 years dominating many facets of motorsport. We all know the incredible ability of the Porsches running from the 60's to the continual wins at Le-man in the 1990's.

Racing takes money though, and Porsche has to be careful especially in these uncertain times. As we all know, Porsche rise and fall with the economic climate. I think you will find that they are trying to isolate themselves slightly from the rises and falls that occur in such climates.

You do this by diversifying. To do this you sometimes need to make sacrifices. They are the most profitable car company in the world, and they need to stay that way to survive. They have done that through the Boxster and hopefully with the SUV. To do this they have needed to make a decision - "Do we quit motorsport for a few years and concentrate our time, money and resources on investments? Or do we continue to race - an expensive and not always financially beneficial practise".

Sure racing is great and it fires the blood of fans like nothing else (except driving a Porsche) but I think you will find there is a long term strategic plan behind them dropping out. Its dissapointing that some factory support for the larger teams has been less than what it could be, and I can't comment there because I don't know the full story.

Racing is fine if you have lots of excess cash...

Personally I think that they have done the smart thing - "Sure Audi you win for a few years, we have already had the honor of winning for the last 30... but we will be back". And what would be better publicity stunt than a fight to reclaim the crown of races like Le Man after a such absence?

Porsche have kicked ass for the years, and I don't think it will be any different once they get involved again. At least thats how I see it. Oh and I forgot, Porsche say they race to improve the breed... maybe they don't need to improve the breed yet?

[Doug Zielke]

I'm getting tired of all the Cayenne (and Boxster/996) slagging going on here. The usual old rhetoric is way past the "best before date".

Dana_Drury.....your thoughtful comments are right on target.

[Randy W]

Porsche does have excess cash - they are financially better off right now than they have ever been. They are simply not interested in spending it on motorsports in the way that they used to, and I doubt that in 2 or 3 years it will be all that different. From what I gather, they will be plenty busy developing the Cayenne pick up truck and the 4 Door whatever. Maybe they will take the Carrera GT to LeMans, but by that time it could be uncompetitive. I think they are in danger of staying away too long. The 911 seems likely to morph into a watercooled V8 posh grand tourer that Porsche will still call a 911, although it will resemble the original in the way a TR7 resembles a TR3. Ferdinand Piech's involvement with Porsche in the late 60's/early 70's was one of the main reasons Porsche gained its reputation in motorsports, but it appears he's too busy using that knowledge turning Audi into the kind of company Porsche could be.

I wish Porsche success, but they are obviously not interested in what I value in a sports car (or in even continuing to stock parts for my older 911s). They are abondoning Ferdinand and Ferry's original principals and losing their way in my opinion.