Anyone heard about the new 356 (aka - the baby boxter) yet?

[wild man]

Production is slated to begin for the 2012 model year. The details I remember are: 2-seater, ragtop, turbocharged flat 4 in the rear having somewhere between 250 and 300HP (don't know if an N/A version will be offered), pricetag of around 40K (that's about 8K less than the 951S was in 89). Anyone know what it weighs in at? Or any other info on it?

[Biggs_97]

Porsche prepares to bring back the 356 - Top Speed

I think it looks good.

[racer]

Its been rumored.. but to make it work that means the Boxster is going upmarket to make room. It will likely also mean a "similar" vw/audi version availabe as well.

[wild man]

Makes sense, since Porsche is now owned by VW.

[Davie Boy]

Originally Posted by racer

Its been rumored.. but to make it work that means the Boxster is going upmarket to make room. It will likely also mean a "similar" vw/audi version availabe as well.

Yeah, starting at $55K?!?! That's a bummer. They really need to bring back a basic, inexpensive (relatively speaking), no-frills roadster.

[fmartenies]

Small vehicles are low margin so you probably won't see something like that (no frills Roadser per Davie Boy) any time soon. If the Boxster and the 356 were side by side, most people's perception is the smaller car should be priced a lot less. But cost wise they aren't that much different - some savings on materials but labor between a large vehicle and a small vehicle is much closer than you would think. Therefore it would be very hard to make a small luxury Roadster work right now, especially if you think you can get enough of those buyers into the bigger car.

[flash968]

yeah - they really missed the mark on the spyder - i doubt they will have much more of a clue on the 356

i think porsche has lost its way when it comes to its lineage, and what the original concept was - they instead have chased the family market, and added more and more luxury to the cars

i would love to see a stripped down 2 seat ragtop - no power anything - he original 356 was about 1500lbs - even adding in the safety gear that DOT now requires, there is no reason not to be able to keep it down to 2200 - lotus did it

[fmartenies]

Originally Posted by flash968

i think porsche has lost its way when it comes to its lineage, and what the original concept was - they instead have chased the family market, and added more and more luxury to the cars

I know the two companies have been in bed together for years, but how likely/how long til the new structure and "cost savings" turn Porsche into what Lincoln has historically been for Ford?

[racer]

Originally Posted by flash968

yeah - they really missed the mark on the spyder - i doubt they will have much more of a clue on the 356

i think porsche has lost its way when it comes to its lineage, and what the original concept was - they instead have chased the family market, and added more and more luxury to the cars

i would love to see a stripped down 2 seat ragtop - no power anything - he original 356 was about 1500lbs - even adding in the safety gear that DOT now requires, there is no reason not to be able to keep it down to 2200 - lotus did it

Yes and no.. While the Lotus elise is about 2200lbs, it does cost, base price, $47,000 (which is to say, "boxster money")

Also note, that the fiberglass clams on the Lotus cost about $5K to replace.. and the aluminum frame cant be easily repaired, I can't say its equivalant to a "full scale size" Boxster.

Lightest new cars will be 23-2500lb. you need crumple zones to meet growing impact standards (which I am suspect of the Lotus actually passing)

One item that grates me the most is the "356" reference. A 914 reference would be more accurate, but even still, how about a new name and quite whoring out the lineage.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I'd have to know more about it, but $55k is not all that unreasonable. That's 335 BMW territory. Heck, a nicely appointed Boxster S could hit that number. Yes I wish it were about $10k-$15k less but that wouldn't stop me from getting one if I really liked it and they hit a home run with it.

[wild man]

The quote I heard like 2 months ago was somewhere around $40K. How did it climb to 55 already? Maybe the quote I heard was for the N/A version? Anyone have the curb weight numbers on it?

[Tervuren]

Maybe I'll get one on the used market 10 years from now when they are worth the inflation equivalent of $5-10K.

Porsche sells their cars at such a high profit margin compared to most manufacturers, I don't care how cool what they come out for is, I'm getting it used when it has "depreciated" to what its actually worth.

[flash968]

a nicely appointed boxster is closer to $70k (try building one on their site - i got over $70k in a hurry), so $47 is really quite cheap - but it isn't about the price to me - i would just like to see them build a car that is more to the origins, which were a simple no frills sportscar

as for comparing replacement parts costs, they are about the same regardless of car - you get in a front end wreck, and you're in for $7k no matter which way you look at it

as for crumple zones and stuff, the less mass, the easier it is to create the zones - simple physics there

so, in reality, they could easily build a simple no frills sportscar - the problem is that the new direction is more toward the luxury GT car - they haven't made a true sportscar in a very long time, and their direction keeps taking them farther and farther away from their original idea

but it is up to them after all

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by flash968

so, in reality, they could easily build a simple no frills sportscar - the problem is that the new direction is more toward the luxury GT car - they haven't made a true sportscar in a very long time, and their direction keeps taking them farther and farther away from their original idea

but it is up to them after all

Porsche's original idea involved power to the wheels via electric motors. The 911, 356, and most any of their no frills sportscars are a long shot away from the original idea. The new 918 or whatever its called is a lot closer with its hybrid setup.

Just messin'

I to like basic cheap fun to drive cars that are light enough to do away with power steering, power this, and power that.

[wild man]

I'm in total agreement (+1) with the last 3 posts. Hopefully, influence from parent company VW will make the things we are looking for happen. They probably realize that their Porsche division is supposed to be about "sports" cars, while VW takes care of the families' needs (and Audi runs the fence line, and/or maybe the low-end sports "arena").

[914efi]

The 'new' 356 will probably be the VW version.

[Rudeboy42]

Porsche should go more back to making simple fun sports cars. Now that VW bought them why do they have to make luxury cars? Tell all the bussiness men who want a luxury car to get an Audi and leave the Porsches for the true fans.

[KevsPorsche944]

I hope VW does something with Porsche's current design element. Porsche builds great cars and great on proformance. I liked it when each car had a noticable difference in design. Now everything looks like a genic mutant of the 911. The Panamera (The 4 door elephant man) is just horrible to look at and the Cayenne is maybe one of the worst looking SUVs.

Even the guys at Top Gear think the Panamera is great on proformance and ugly to look at.
YouTube - Top Gear Series 15 episode 3 Part 1

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by 914efi

The 'new' 356 will probably be the VW version.

If VW where to come out with a *cheaper* boxster it would probably be a turbo diesel, and I would be VERY likely to pick up a used one if I ever needed to replace one of my 944's.

As for why the Porsche's look the same, it started with the 996 and 986, both cars where designed to use the same front end parts to cut costs.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Have you seen a Panamera in person? It's much nicer than its static pictures would lead one to believe. The interior is extremely nice. And I doubt anyone that can afford one would give a rats ass what a bunch of $2,000 "not-a-real-Porsche" people think either. They'd probably chalk it up to jealousy, laugh, dismiss it and move on with life.

One of the hallmarks of a successful design is that people either love it or hate it - it's polarizing. The hallmark of an unsuccessful design is one people don't bother to notice.