texas911

Well, the 5 series comparison is a good one. Sure the 911 is getting bigger but when compared to all the modern cars it competes with, its still pretty compact. Compare the 356 to its contemporaries, and its probably close to the ratio the 997 is to cars today. I mean the Honda Accord is bigger than the first gen Acrua Legend. That's how far we've come.

quickxotica

What Chris Harris is bemoaning is the fact that the 911’s current sales success came at the cost of some blandness. Indeed, the interior of a modern 911 seems a lot like any other high-end coupe. Sitting inside a 997 you can’t even tell that the engine is in the back! So no matter how well it drives (and it does drive very well), it has lost some of its special coolness & sense of occasion.

Size & flexibility are not the root of the problem. The 911 is supposed to be like a pocket knife: useful for a variety of needs. This was the part of the appeal from the beginning. If you’ve never driven a long-hood 911T back to back with a 911S of the same year, you’d be amazed at how different the driving experience is between them… even though the biggest change was just the cams/gearing. A customer in 1970 who liked their 911T as a DD might have hated the S, and vice versa. They even offered a Sportomatic back then, and the 911E had a hydro pneumatic ‘comfort’ suspension that was different from the T and S.

In the middle years (late ’70 and ’80s) Porsche substituted platform choice (928, 944, 924) for real variety within the 911 range, leaving the 911 with just one basic driveline flavor (turbo excepted). Despite the solidity of the 3.0 and 3.2 engine of this era, this single-flavor strategy didn’t reach a broad enough audience to sustain Porsche financially through various market cycles (e.g. when 944/928 sales slowed down at the same time as a recession hit, the company almost went bankrupt).

Ever since 1989, Porsche has been adding versatility to the 911 platform (offering 4wd, tiptronics, lightweight RS versions, special editions, the GT3, various suspension options, powerkits, etc). Conceptually, I think the idea is that they want as many customers as possible to be able to buy a 911 that is ‘perfect’ for them.

It’s a winning strategy. If you want to commute 100 miles per day all year ‘round, you can get a PDK Carrera 4 with bun-warmers, Nav, etc. If you want a track car, you can get a GT3.

I suspect the new 991 platform is being engineered to be even more flexible than the current 997.2. Just look at that weird sunroof: isn’t it obvious that this will be a modular panel that can be ordered in different flavors by different buyers? (maybe fixed carbon for the track junkies, sliding glass for the targa crowd, etc). And you can bet there will be a variety of driveline choices as well: base, S, GT3, GT3RS, turbo, turbo S, powerkits for the S and turbo, choice of 6-speed or PDK, three or four different seating options, three or four different suspension options, LSD option, 4wd option, etc, etc.

So, we have a great car let down by a bland interior. What to do? Don’t laugh, but I say kill the center console. It makes no sense in a rear engined car except as a place to stick a Nav screen and stereo (just like every other car, hence the lack of specialness). The solution is to bring back the ‘center console delete’ option from the 996GT3RS and make it available on every 911…It’s perfect for the buyer who wants more simplicity and the specialness of an open footwell (as is only possible in a mid/rear-engined car). That way, you and your passenger ‘know’ you’re in something special from the moment you sit down and realize you can see each other’s feet. That’s pure hotness. Surely they can think of a better spot for the hvac controls and a stereo. At least as an option.

Sadly, it looks like the 991 will have an even bigger center console than the outgoing car. I doubt anyone agrees with me, but its just so WRONG on a rear-engined car. Oh well…

texas911

I think people who are nostalgic about the old 911s haven't driven one lately.

zanwar

Longer wheelbase will be an advantage at the track. Car will lap faster. Might be a disadvantage for auto-crossers.

It's electrically driven hydraulic power steering. No reason it would feel any different to the current system.

Quadcammer

and why is that exactly?

They aren't fast, but they are honest, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Even a torsion bar 911 with some bolt ons, exhaust, modern tires, and some suspension work, is still a hugely enjoyable car.

The best part is that they feel small, light, and lively...which I don't notice nearly as much of in the 997s I've driven.

Edgy01

I wonder when the engine cooling vents will disappear entirely on the 911. With each passing model they are reducing its visual impact.

texas911

How much of that fun is waxing about the old days? I know when I drive my 993, it takes me back to when I was in school. Good times! Just wondering. I totally see the appeal of driving a classic 911. But the way some posters go on about it, they make it sound like all new Porsche somehow not honest. Far from it.

rodsky

I think the statement is full of **** to be honest. My first Porsche was a 1985 3.2, then got a 964, 996 and now my 997.2S. I loved them all. But my 997.2S is the one I like the most. No doubt about it. The 3.2 was a great car, fast and sporty. But almost very thing inside was barely adequate. Air con was marginal. Comfort was not its strong suit. The 997.2 is fast, very fast and really sporty. Everything inside the car works beautifully and doesn't compromise the sporty feel. I feel that Porsche has gotten it right. more so now than ever.

1BlinkGone

That's one thing that killed my wife's interest in the Panamera is the ungodly HUGE center console. Considering they are somewhat replicating that in the 991 isn't exactly giving me grins...

spender

I like all Porsches, but I too am concerned that the direction Porsche is going in is the same one that BMW did, that saw its once-proud sports car brand diluted due to all the effete pretentious you-know-whats that leased them because they think it makes them look "successful" - even though a new 3-series costs less than a Honda Accord!

Porsche has always had a true "sports car" reputation that I fear it is about to lose with the direction the 997s are going in. I have a buddy who has driven 964 and 993 turbos, and he said that they were "scary' - in that you needed to know what you were doing or the car would get away from you. I think the 996 was the first step of this "declawing" of the 911. Porsche has learned its lesson from the Cayenne - which while I think it is a nice SUV, it had no place in a racing company. That being said, Porsche knows that if it makes a car that someone who knows nothing about cars can drive easily and comfortably, and who thinks it will make him look "successful" - they will sell more of them.

A friend of mine just bought a new 997 - but did not even know that it has a flat 6 engine, or who "Butzi" was, or that Ferdinand Porsche also designed the VW bug and designed the Panzer tanks. In other words, he did not recognize the heritage of our great car. While more buyers like this will be better for Porsche's bottom line, it spells the near end of the legend of the 911. Do people here honestly believe that if Porsche can make more money selling Cayennes to suburban housewives that it will still focus on the 911 as its flag car?

boolala

He also probably didn't know that several members of the Porsche family were arrested in France after the war for colloborating with the *****.

Not everything about Porsche's heritage is something to be proud of...................

Mike in CA

I had a good friend in college in the early '70's. His Dad owned a chain of furniture stores so he had money. Traded in a genuine 289 Shelby Cobra on an orange 911E Targa. He didn't know anything about Porsche heritage, just that they were cool and they were fast.

My point is that there have always been people who buy cars just for their wow factor, and others who buy them because they know all about them and are passionate about them. It's not a new phenomenon. Porsche knows where a big chunk of the passion for their cars comes from and unless some legislative decree makes it impossible for them to build them, there will always be a 911. I have a Cayenne S on order because I own a 911, not in spite of it, and Porsche knows I'm not the only potential buyer who feels that way.

Porsche has been building a rear engine car for 60 years, a 911 for over 45 of those. IMO, they're not about to abandon that heritage.

ADias

And you gloss the fact that the french arrested the Porsches to pick their brains and steal car designs, under the collaboration cannard, forgetting that the same Porsches save many people from the **** atrocities..

Alan Smithee

I vividly remember driving a new 993C4S in 1996 and thinking it drove like a BMW compared to the 911SC I owned at the time. That 911SC felt heavy, sophisticated, and luxurious compared to the 911T it replaced. And of course, there are still those that believe the last "real" Porsche was the 356.

The 997 I had, and the Spyder I currently have, were and are immensely capable cars, but they do not provide the experience of the older models. BMW has taken the same path with all of its established models, and Lotus is also heading in that direction (for those that have seen the upcoming product plans). The problem is that all of these companies have investors to satisfy, which means increasing profits by increasing sales, which requires widening product appeal beyond what the brand originally stood for. This loss of brand identity crosses all industries.

Thankfully, there are plenty of great used models for those that want the experience, and not just the brand.

JSeven

[QUOTE=Alan Smithee;8148488]I vividly remember driving a new 993C4S in 1996 and thinking it drove like a BMW compared to the 911SC I owned at the time. That 911SC felt heavy, sophisticated, and luxurious compared to the 911T it replaced. And of course, there are still those that believe the last "real" Porsche was the 356. /quote]

Enought said.

People are always complaining, it´s a human nature But those who are complaining about the 991, will end up buying one, and then the next victim will be the 2016 generation 998

J.Seven