NoGaBiker

It's funny -- the "limited production" hot 911s have become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy over the last few decades. I feel like in many cases demand is artificially high because of the perception that buyers will be able to enjoy the prestige of ownership (Hey, I got a 911R; how about that!) and then make considerable money on the deal after that. I'm not sure that 911R take rates would be all that remarkable if they were expected to follow a traditional Carrera depreciation curve.

It's funny to think about the original RS, the 73 2.7. It was sold from Sept. 72 to mid-73. They never even federalized it for US sale. The requirement of 500 units produced to qualify for Group 4 racing was deemed a big gamble by Dr. Fuhrmann who was CEO at the time. They feared the car would languish on lots because of its outlandish price (I think the RS was around $11,500 at a time a 911 S was maybe 7400? Going from memory here). They only built 240 of the original, Lightweight M471 model before chickening out and switching to a road-friendlier M472 Touring that used real bumpers and a few other touches lifted from the 911S. (A real Lightweight traded at Amelia for just a tick under $1.5M recently. I regretfully passed on a Touring in 2002 because of a beach house purchase the wife wanted to undertake. The Carrera felt like a gamble at $62,000.)

Anyway, Porsche wound up selling just a hair under 1500 of the 73 RS and that went into their computers big time. And the subsequent "performance" of the RS (at least in the past 15 years) has gone into our computers big time.

It would sure be great if getting an R entailed nothing more than grumbling but then paying the $180k MSRP, ordering and waiting four months for them to hand craft one to your spec. But then let's face it; having an R wouldn't be near the draw for most of us that it is currently. I, for instance, don't want a less-comfortable 911; BTDT. And I'm not a collector; I like to put 5-7,000 miles a year on each of my 2 cars at any given time. So I don't buy GT3s even though they are reasonably priced and reasonably available. Nor would I buy an R under the "easy availability" scenario I've proposed. But you can bet your *** I'd buy one if offered the chance under the current availability scenario.

9914s

I'm with you a 100% and the reason why this is my first and last Porsche.

Archimedes

Just about every manufacturer on the planet has had limited production cars that were in short supply at some point, even domestically. Ford GT anyone? COPO Camaros?

R_Rated

Those were Halo cars and not poor mans/blue collar GT3 drivers cars. Ironically the most driver oriented 911 (perhaps ever) will see the least amount of driving of any 911... perhaps ever...

Thundertub

My personal opinion is that if you want a brand new driver-focused 911, then order a base 911 coupe. Perhaps the ONLY option would be the manual Sport Seats Plus. Nothing else. Pick any of the standard non-metallic colors. To spice it up just a tad, add red seat belts, and the Porsche Crest in the head rest.
Then take out all of the radio/nav/phone/speakers crap.

Then go drive the living stih out of it for the next 10 years.

mb1

Lotsa whining and threats. When all is said and done, and it's time to replace your current vehicle, you're going to have to find an alternative to Porsche. One that meets your expectations for performance, visual appeal and prestige (if that's important to you). Good luck.

9914s

Easy.

mb1

Beautiful, but not an option for most of us.

Archimedes

By making only 911 of them, the 991R is essentially a halo car. Call it whatever you want, every manufacturer does this to some extent. Whining about it is a waste of time. Manufacturers don't have a responsibility to the market to make a certain volume of anything. If people want to cut off their nose to spite their face and go buy from a different manufacturer, that's their prerogative. Porsche will be fine.

mb1

One other question, and I truly don't mean this to be mean or obnoxious. Why does someone who has disowned Porsche forever and who's bought a McLaren decide to read and post on a Porsche enthusiast site? I'm just trying to understand the motivation. Totally your prerogative and I welcome a healthy disagreement amongst enthusiasts if there isn't an underlying agenda.

n2cars

[QUOTE=NoGaBiker;13475852]

Your parking brake must get a lot of use on that driveway

Tcc1999

I don't generally disagree with anything said but this is an emotionally charged issue. From a business perspective though the high price makes sense. PAG seems to want to have its cake and eat it too. They have declared they want increased 911 production numbers and at the same time they need to protect brand exclusivity. With various financing options (and models with numerous price points), unlike in the past, a 911 is within reach of a lot of people who may have otherwise never been able to afford one. So how do they maintain exclusivity and ramp up production (and profits). Seems like they produce various special, limited edition cars with insane price tags. So, there is still exclusivity (even though most can't afford these cars) associated with the brand. I dunno though, I'm still driving a 997.2 GTS with no plans to upgrade, so what do I know about anything?

997s07

Well said. I chose the base over the GTS because it felt more connected to the road, I didn't buy the 991 GT3 because its a fukcing automatic...

The base is fun and the speeds are not too different on the road to other cars.

Jnosol

I think it's great that the 911R are going for that high used. It just makes our average 911s more justifiable when we sell it used for higher than expected retail.

It's cheaper to get in line for a 991.2 GT3 Manual, same thrill on my book.

grendel88

The best way to establish a relationship with dealer, buy or lease a lot cars. PFS leases suck. High volume models depreciate like crazy. While the vehicles are great, the best buy is always used. The dealers make money on used, but don't get allocations based on selling used cars.

So, any Porsche enthusiast that doesn't lease a new Cayenne for the significant other and a Panamera or Cayenne or high option 911 all the time gets no where. Any enthusiast that doesn't buy a new 911 Turbo or Turbo S and trades it in on a loss, gets no where.

Forget the the Spyder, Porsche rewards us with "special cars" when they have made lots of money on us in the past. Who says they aren't Ferrari...