In 1998, Porsche consciously chose to end works cars, instead supporting private teams. That’s what happens when a company is failing. The only environment that has changed is Porsche’s financial problems.
The 924/944/968 replacement, the 986 boosted sales going back from the failed front engine “replacements” to the 914 mid-engined layout. But that wasn’t enough. The Cayenne saved them. America’s love of SUVs and the fact that most of the world does not have roads saved them. It was recognized that boutique “sports cars” were disposable money cars that went first when times are tough. So now they expand to Macans and soft roading. Ask a world citizen (not a forum enthusiast) what Porsche means and it will be “SUV”.
Since 1998 the only thing has changed is a massive effort to stay alive and in doing so, works racing left until 2014. Sorry, the fact they haven’t won Le Mans since 1998 was their own choice to withdraw so this doesn’t mean much other than they quit works cars.
Corvettes have always been “awesome” on the track and Chevy has ALWAYS played to win. Nothing has changed. Maybe you should read about Vette SCCA racing and L88 Corvettes in the 60s. It’s probably before your time. So how about the more modern works team winning GTE Pro at Le Mans? Hmm, Porsche left in 98, Corvette C5R works teams came. Isn’t that amazing timing? Here are some facts
Sixteen Seasons of Corvette Racing: 1999–2014
Chevy isn’t just now “Playing to Win”, they have always played to win and the complaints about
“boo hoo, my Porsche is slower than a Corvette at half the prices has
”, as I explained, has existed as long as the cars have been produced. Every year, every decade, every model. Do a search in this forum about Z06 corvettes and you will see complaints from 2006.
People ALWAYS complain that with Porsche you get less power for more money, yet people buy them.
I get it that you want a cheap fast car. We all do. And I get it that you want them to “unleash” the mid-engined platform. You just don’t want to pay for it. I get that. But it’s coming and will supersede the EOL 911s in racing. Nobody wants to pay attention to it because its maybe a MY17 car (fefi).
Now I see that some dealers are asking $20K over MSRP for a GT4 allocation? Now THAT is funny. Don’t know if what people say is true or not.
Re: Cayman GT3/GT4 Testing Complete- Production???
I can't believe I just called maybe a $90K car "cheap". I want a $30K cheap fast car
That's the problem with all this ridiculous pricing and getting used to $4K GPS units and $1,000 options that really cost maybe $100. Your sense of monetary proportion gets way out of whack. I guess everything is relative. I know people call a $130K GT3 a bargain and I guess a $95K GT4 might be a steal, but its not "cheap" unless compared to a $200K TT.
Re: Cayman GT3/GT4 Testing Complete- Production???
My read is different: Porsche is already slowing their cars because cars today are getting too fast to be fun on the street, and they started years ago.
Today a mid-priced sedan is as quick as a supercar from the mid '80s, but speed limits haven't changed since the 70s. Once you could use everything a top Porsche had, say a '73 RS, for a solid ten seconds in the US before risking jail time. Today you've got perhaps three seconds with your foot to the floor in a 918 before you get to the same speed. It's an exercise in frustration, an amazing party trick you can rarely use at best.
The fact is that Porsche could be competing with the Z06 on price/ performance if they chose to- drop a turbo engine in a Cayman and you're done. But if you've got a 90k car with twice the power of a Cayman, a) is that really fun for most on the street, and b) what do you do with your 150k car? That turbo Cayman would already be approaching Group B power to weight ratios, and that was shut down because the best drivers in the
world
couldn't handle those cars.
Faster isn't better for a street car. Porsche knows this, but customers still think it is. Thus Porsche has stopped pushing speed and started pushing elsewhere. The problem is that if you're a track or autocross junky, faster matters.
I'd argue that value based pricing saved them, not the Cayenne. Profit margins are reportedly up the
75%
on some 911 models, and while that might be a little high, it's close. Why? Because if you're not struggling to make the fastest cars you can, you're free to make a car that's cheap and fast enough. Sharing the engine between your top models that cost 3x as much (911 Turbo S, etc) as the bottom (boxster) is a very good way to do that. The Cayenne and Macan, on the other hand, are acually much more challenging engineering problems. Making a big, fast four door that can go off road is much harder than simply making a car that's fast. Thus the SUVs actually represent a value in the Porsche lineup, especially the lower powered models. While absolute numbers mean total profits are high, profit margins are in fact much lower than with most of the sports cars.
LOL. 286,000 cars is produced, a number the mid-engined replacement models only recently passed, is a failure?
Re: Cayman GT3/GT4 Testing Complete- Production???
Unfortunately, HP races always occur when the cars are cheap enough to be bought and insurance rates don’t kill the HP.
I understand the value based POV but when you sell 50K Macans this year and 80K Macans next year and who knows how many in 2020, the percentage of sports cars will rapidly go down.
It was either in Panorama or Christophorus that an article said the Cayenne was specifically targeted at countries with no roads. The sports car market was saturated. Now they target the huge CUV market.
A failure in the sense that the 924 was never accepted as a real Porsche. The 928 failed as a replacement for the 911. And the entire concept of going front engine was abandoned to go back to mid-engined. And considering they left the front engined design, I would call that failed (within the sports cars).
Re: Cayman GT3/GT4 Testing Complete- Production???
"
Ask a world citizen (not a forum enthusiast) what Porsche means and it will be “SUV”."
I'm calling bullish!t on this one.
Re: Cayman GT3/GT4 Testing Complete- Production???
I've never espoused that position and those two points are not even in my top 10 "wants" in a car. If that were the case, I would get a WRX.
I am a huge fan of the brand and I don't think it serves Porsche well to build a GT4 and then detune the engine so its slower.
...and thanks for the history lessons on the SUVs and 986s. (snicker) I've been around awhile and I get it :cheers:
Re: Cayman GT3/GT4 Testing Complete- Production???
My bad read. Sorry. Well I want it cheaper. I want it as CHEAP as possible.
As to the last sentence. Lots of luck with that.
