cja

Because the engine is MR, I there just is no space for a retractable hardtop like the SLK or the 2007 3 series coupe. The increasing popularity of retractable hardtop is going to be a trend. It certainly increases safety but it is simply hard for me to fathom 987 ever installing hardtop. For that matter, Porsche's convertible will pretty much always be soft-top focused simply because of MR and RR design. Any input on this?

tmc

why would you want the weight? Cloth tops are much lighter. Lighter=better for a performance car.

cja

safety, sound insulation and the price of a convertible for an instant change into a coupe... imagine you could have a 997 that looks just like a coupe but also with the capability of turning into a cabriolet... not actually that bad but I agree with you very much... performance will suffer.

Charlie C

2 thoughts...
1) Porsche should desing a retractable roof.
2) They should put in a 4.0 engine to make up for the performance hit.

Yeah, like that'll happen.

Le Chef

Porsche should get rid of all the electric motors for the soft top, windows, mirrors, and the seats, put in GT3 seats, make the trunk lids lighter by using Carbon Fiber, fit ceramic brakes as standard, and leave the engine as is - 200lbs of weight reduction is all you need to make the car faster

designman

Heresy! No retractable hardtop please! After that, then what, an air scarf? The rag is part of the roadster charm and lore. Plus the storage space afforded by the Boxster is priceless. Few realize what a fantastic practical all-around design we have. I just wish Porsche would offer a standard tan top and brown interior.

cja

designman, that's true... the retro and legacy of the 550 spyder. There are always always 2 streams... one like the MB crowd who plays with gimmicks like night view on the S class and airscarf and the rag of a boxster. As people say to me... I have experienced 2 very different cars within 12 months and will be enlightened to share my experience with all my friends. I hope I will never look back trading in my SLK350 R171. A Porsche is a Porsche is a Porsche, there is no substitute.

airboxster

I was told by the dealer that Porsche would never consider runflats because of the weight. Can't see them going to a retractable hardtop.

cja

I think a delicate balance must be striked between keeping all the good things while carving out the details to make things better. Some say the 987 should see more changes while others love the small change in details. Certainly, the lights look much better than the drop tear lights.

With others offering stuff like airscarf and retractable hardtop, what Porsche offer is something more niche... sticking to its good o MR and RR design. However, do note that Porsche did try heresy to no avail by rolling out the 928 trying to replace the 911 because it DID THINK THAT FR was the way to go. The experiment failed. Some fail and some prevail like the CAYENNE. If we have to say heresy, Cayenne is definitely the one. It is nonetheless ironic to find that a sports car company now derives most of its sales from a 4WD and to me, the CAYENNE says nothing about Porsche and it is nonehtless good news to shareholders. I know many fanatics are fairly angry with the rollout of cayenne... those purist so to speak. We must understand that Porsche is a for profit company and it must follow trends and when the 4wd market was hot, it just had to follow to capture some of the profit. Sticking to principle has its limits and if it weren't for AUDI , Lymbo would be extinct by now.

I find this a dilemma myself... it is fairly hard to stay true to principles these days when you see dominating giants like DCAG... MB to me is really a ridicule... you see it being nothing but a profit making machine by rolling out models from A-Z, The A, The B, The R... every letter you get sub letters like CLS, CLK, CL... it's confusing... this sort of product offerings would only mean that quality must suffer to a certain degree and it is evident... the 3 star doesn't mean the same any more. Porsche is quite good in staying true to itself. It is to me a dilemma. Honestly speaking, I would not be surprised that Porsche starts offering hardtop retractable soon to be honest... it is hard not to sacrifice some legacy... some stay, some go... it is practical but performance will be sacrificed... one thing we notice is that Porsche is the only company staying true to V6 all the way. However, I do wonder if Porsche is under some pressure as you see all these super cars (lunatics) offering V8 (a minimum... heck even a SLK 55 V8 now offers 325 hp, and that's the smallest Merc... not to mention the new ML V8 ML 63), V10, V12 (lymbo)... I mean Porsche is under some pressure I bet ya... I don't know but I would like to study the history more on the RR... it is interesting to learn from you all.

I love the 911 and I think when I have kids one day, it will be the next logical car.

Doug&Julie

Renaud Bizet

Porsche as always mentioned that it will keep the softop because it is the best way to lower the center of gravity.
Hard tops are heavier and bring the center of gravity up.

CarsRGood

Anyone who has not had a serious ride in a Cayenne Turbo should not speak. It is every bit a Porsche with respect to performance against any vehicle with even remotely similar cargo and off-road capability. Of course like many of those vehicles it is also somewhat ugly and gets hideous gas mileage. And no doubt to really take it off-road you need to consider changing your tires and wheels. But for those who really NEED (or insist upon driving for whatever reason) a truck - this is one nice ride (albeit at a hideous price - but that's hardly the point).

One point of agreement - Driving around in a V6 Cayenne is not a task for someone in a hurry - it is much lacking in Porsche-ness in my opinion - regardles of chassis dynamics the car is hideously underpowered.

If Cayenne profits keeps Porsche independent and allows them to continue building "real" cars for the rest of us I'm thrilled to see them pull it off.

Doug&Julie

I'll second that. I'll never buy one, but I had one as a loaner (a Cayenne S) and it was a fantastic machine. Very worthy of the Porsche name.

heybiff

I thought most of what a Porsche was is chassis dynamics; like the 912 + 914. Has Porsche ever made a bad handling vehiclein it's own right much less compared to the competition? Even one of the origional abominations, the 924 was an excellently handling car, and can still hold it's own with modern tires + brake pads.

Heybiff