GT3 RS Business Model?? - Page 1 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Something to consider..... Six months ago the oil industry was riding high - Oil price was high - Jobs rate high - Nobody could get experienced people - Rig rates were running high.... The oil price has now halved - Jobs are being cut everywhere and rig rates are working towards half also! Remember the 1980's crunch..... The GT3 RS prices have risen sharply in the last 12months and the new 991 GT3 cars have proven very difficult to get.... This being said why would Porsche spend all that money on development only for the second hand market to make +80/100k Premium on these models? Also is very obvious some dealers are buying up all stock available an driving the market. Thats a trick that has been used in the classic car market for years...... The question has to be if Porsche decide to release a second batch of cars like with the M472 Tourings in 1973.... Then could the market be driven down over night? Thoughts??

Porsche make the Gt3rs to show what they can do this in turn helps sell 1000's of lesser 991's, Caymans etc etc don't think they care if customers make money on the car all adds to the hype and sells more cars!!

Porsche make the Gt3rs to show what they can do this in turn helps sell 1000's of lesser 991's, Caymans etc etc don't think they care if customers make money on the car all adds to the hype and sells more cars!!

SWC said: The question has to be if Porsche decide to release a second batch of cars like with the M472 Tourings in 1973.... Then could the market be driven down over night? Thoughts?? That cant happen with today's production schedules and forward planning.

5517 said: That cant happen with today's production schedules and forward planning. Of course it could, if they wanted to.

Maybe Porsche could have sold the RS for way more. But given that the whole point of the thing is essentially positive publicity for the brand as a whole, I would think that is the priority. So you don't risk the good PR by trying to squeeze out every last £/$/E. [/quote] Nail on the head. Porsche get to say 'hey we can build and sell a car just as capable as the Speciale for 100k less'. Oh and its held together better..... Oh and our residual values are rock solid....... Doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out there is a huge amount of marketing value in that to a company that churns out thousands of normal 911s that also cost considerably less than theiir Italian counterparts.... I'm pretty sure they didn't become the world's most successful high performance / supercar manufacturer by not weighing up the pros and cons of their pricing strategy. Quite funny really how so many people just assume they haven't noticed and have clearly made a catastrophic error..... Errrrhhhh

DT398 said: Of course it could, if they wanted to. Alright then. It wont happen!! IMO Edited by 5517 on Sunday 22 March 18:41

DT398 said: There's no need to shout. Your use of the caps lock function suggests that maybe you do. Sorry, didn't mean to shout. Now edited.

tree7777 said: Porsche make the Gt3rs to show what they can do this in turn helps sell 1000's of lesser 991's, Caymans etc etc don't think they care if customers make money on the car all adds to the hype and sells more cars!! Exactly this ; Hype around the car is helped massively by undersupply. This, in turn, makes people look at lesser or alternative models, which invariably are more profitable for the marque as whole. For example, I had a deposit on a GT4 and missed the allocation, but still took a few calls from the dealer offering me alternative model Caymans and pricing up to 991 GTS. Both more profitable models if the 'GT series cars being made at no profit' is to be believed Yes, the GT3RS is a wonderful car, and it's ability alone is good marketing, but all the hype surrounding its lack of availability and possibly resale profit does nothing but good for other models in the range. Porsche aren't the most profitable brand for no reason. They're very good at what they do, and this is very sound marketing on their behalf How much, if any profit, is made on each unit is largely academic when you look at the bigger picture of how many units Porsche sell globally across it's model range - circa 100k units worldwide in 2014 if memory serves me correctly

I'm sure they make a good profit on the 991 GT3 and definitely the 991 GT3RS. Surely if they meet demand, they will recoup more of their R&D? I would find it hard to believe that a 991 turbo has significantly more profit than a 991 GT3RS once you remove the R&D element? The residuals should still be good if you meet the demand during a limited run. This happened with e46 m3 csl. I would only imagine porsche is trying to produce a halo car, so, I others have pointed out, you go for the lesser models in the range. I suppose the 918 and maybe the GT2 with have the same affect.

5517 said: DT398 said: There's no need to shout. Your use of the caps lock function suggests that maybe you do. Sorry, didn't mean to shout. Now edited. Thanks for that.

5517 said: DT398 said: Of course it could, if they wanted to. Alright then. It won't happen!! Better for you? There's no need to shout. It did happen with the 991 GT3 and they released an extra batch of cars for the UK in July 2014, despite many on here banging on ad nauseum about no more cars etc. Do you know for a fact that they won't do it again? Your use of the caps lock function suggests that maybe you do. Edited by DT398 on Sunday 22 March 20:59

anonymous said: [redacted] Thats pretty much my view on the subject, which I have aired many times on here to the cries of 'yeh but why dont they just make more!' Therefore the answer to the Ops question is YES! The more they make, the more the swing from demand to supply!

anonymous said: [redacted] I am fairly confident that the GT models when measured in isolation are loss making for some of the reasons you list. However, it doesnt work like that. A lot of the costs will be taken centrally like cap ex. As ever, the accountants will declare expenditure and the companys accounts in the 'correct' way. Taken as a key part of the whole machine, the GT models are extremely profitable! The number in the bottom right hand corner is the one that matters.

anonymous said: [redacted] Yup, its all about creating desire in the hunters. A bit like differences aroung the ring of a couple of seconds. Intelligent people are making high cost buying decisons on these pointless numbers that have so many variables in them to be almost moot.

mollytherocker said: anonymous said: [redacted] Yup, its all about creating desire in the hunters. A bit like differences aroung the ring of a couple of seconds. Intelligent people are making high cost buying decisons on these pointless numbers that have so many variables in them to be almost moot. Some of the most financially sensible people I know make silly purchasing decisions when overridden with emotion Weekend cars are a pretty emotional purchase, so like said above, people fall over themselves trying to get the latest thing

graeme4130 said: Some of the most financially sensible people I know make silly purchasing decisions when overridden with emotion Weekend cars are a pretty emotional purchase, so like said above, people fall over themselves trying to get the latest thing I see a wide range of people at first hand in my work. Most of them very sound businessmen - but most also have something that they are irrational about - be it cars, art, OTT holidays, learning how to fly etc - there's always something. You can't put a price on a passion. If the cars, yachts, planes, holidays etc didn't exist, it would be pretty boring and in turn the incentives to do well and aspire would also disappear. All of this would have a wider impact in reduced living standards, less "progress" as a race etc. So what i'm saying, is supercars are good for humanity! Edited by Singh911 on Sunday 29th March 21:51 Edited by Singh911 on Sunday 29th March 21:51

anonymous said: [redacted] Still don't understand their supply and demand model. If there is demand surely you meet it by using the resources that are over supplying against lesser models. Does that keep the residuals higher for the lesser models if you are not over supplying? Over supplying also causes discounting.

Read this with interest - couple of thoughts I've been mulling over which perhaps add to the mix. I think Porsche wants to use some production to support other markets rather than just sell everything in the market with the highest relative prices in any given year (say that happens to be the UK this year). Struggling markets will recover one day and new markets will emerge. It is rational to forgo maximum profits in the country that happens to have the highest prices today to build an internationally diversified global brand. Another thought is that the 'vanilla' variants just aren't good enough to satisfy the UK market any more. For me, it is striking that as we have seen rapidly appreciating values in the limited edition cars, depreciation in the vanilla cars has rarely been more severe - especially considering how strong the economy is. For me, this is more concerning for the future health of the marque - are Porsche neglecting their early and loyal supporters in their pursuit of market share?