KBell

The dealership in St Louis has LOTS of 718's on the lot. Sitting for a long time.
In all the times I have been there over the last few years, I have only seen one 981.
This used 981 sold in one day!

RRDnA

On a global basis, 2017 sales were up 6% over 2016 sales.

"In addition to the Panamera, the 718 models have also significantly exceeded the previous year’s figures. Around 25,000 of the mid-engine sports cars were delivered, marking an increase of six per cent." Source PAG press release - Porsche again sets new records for deliveries.

K-A

Global sales uptick is thanks to China. China have no basis for what previous Porsche's felt like, and would buy a 2 cylinder if given the chance. Hardly a market inline with the desires of a U.S enthusiast market.

If U.S 718 sales slump to the point where they remove it from the market entirely, they can sell 1 million of them in China, unfortunately, it'd do nothing for us out here.

lajoiedp

Whether you want to be believe it or not, we are living in a Global economy, not a US only economy. Porsche is a global company, and will happily take sales wherever the "market" is for their vehicles and could care less what a few "enthusiast" in the US think.

Archimedes

Absolutely, and Porsche's real sports car sales are a small percentage of their business.

urbanscribe

That 9__ is such a crap lemon clunker compared to the perfect 9__ I own whose unique qualities I will now cut and paste from a post to I saved in my bookmarks.

Seriously what was Porsche second rate engineering muppets thinking when they released the 9__?

cobalt

Sadly we seem to be saying that the quest for speed, performance numbers, profits and fuel economy has neutered the sports car forever. What gave the marque its place in the record books is no longer relevant so long as someone buys it, good or not. Seems progress is not always a good thing and no doubt people are rolling over in their graves next to the philosophy that made the early cars so great.

Grab your classic now before these all become electric and completely drive themselves. Although we can be assured it will do it faster than we can.

fast1

I agree but to be fair, sports cars were in the process of being neutered long before now. Cars now have so many computer aids that neophyte drivers are emboldened to take their cars to the track, despite the fact that they have little idea of what they are doing. I know that I'm a dinosaur, but things were so much different when I became involved in racing in 1970. Back then you honed your skills on cars with less than 100 HP, and over the years graduated to more powerful cars. Nowadays many guys with lots of disposable cash start with a 500 HP Turbo S.

cobalt

I can't argue with a thing you said.. For me it was the mid 90's when it all started down hill no doubt others will say earlier. Maybe when threshold braking became a thing of the past, who knows. Car control has become a module instead of a skill.

Dr.Bill

Exactly. Even the new GT3 "manual" transmission has computer aids to allow full throttle upshifts and will blip on downshifts. Only difference between that and the PDK is the third peddle and the lever you use to shift with.
And of course the entire alphabet soup of driver aids - ABS, PSM, RWS, PTV, PDCC, etc, etc. . .

Semitone

As Jeremy Clarkson said, "it hasn't really got a soul" , "The sound track is terrible...it just makes noise", No personality and it is missing cylinders!

Whoops!!! He's talking about the new Ford GT!! My mistake. LOL ...At least I am in good company while I wait for my new 718 CGTS order to be built.

Let the whining continue...Porsche cars are frequently brilliant. The owners...not so much.

rsr552

How is the reliability of the 718 engines compared to the 981 engines? Base and S

I know it's still early...but curious if there have been issues with the new engines.

MidEngineRules

Who would have ever thought people would label a 325+ hp modern lightweight sports car as inadequate. This thread is full of that. I would like to evaluate the driving skills of those who think they must have more power. This is what's laughable. I don't even scoff at people buying base models. At least they get to rev the motors a bit. All these cars have gotten more powerful than consumers require.

The market also overall seems to greatly favor low end torque. BMW ushered in the trend with their 335i. Nothing wrong with that although don't expect the same thrill on the upper end until the electric era. I don't find much need for additional low end torque as I'm not one to drive in a gear that lugs the motor, I don't desire to break traction in low gears, and I find torquey motors less involving. I spend most my time in 2-3-4 gears just zipping around for pleasure. If people know anything about gearing (multiplied torque) versus motor torque alone they'd know that the car driven in a lower gear will have more torque (force) on tap, all other things being relatively equal, therefore will win an acceleration contest. Yes, gearing erases the motor torque argument so many can't get beyond. It's not about engine output, but how that output is put to use.

MidEngineRules

True but sports cars are still their main passion and what the US market thinks does influence Porsche greatly and has for quite some time and probably always will. Is their another market as EV minded as the US? The Mission E is where Porsche is pouring in the R&D effort and has for the past 10 years. If Porsche can't lead the EV market they are in great trouble.

MidEngineRules

Porsche 6 cylinder NA DFI engines have shown great reliability (2009+). The new turbos haven't shown issues yet that I'm aware of, but now that tuners have cracked the ECU that will change. In stock form Porsche engines are very reliable these days. With safety margins removed I expect to see a lot of thrown rods. We seem to be a market where bragging rights are favored over reliability and driveability. FVD Brombacher in Germany employs Bosch/Siemens software engineers and offers mild tunes for the 981/S. The S power grows to 352 hp for $1300. Reliability is in tact as they don't remove any of the safety margins.

https://www.fvd.net/us-en/FVD9811002...hp-291-tq.html