neanicu

Personally,I do not think Porsche is not an exciting sports car company anymore.
Since we're comparing it with Ferrari,my disappointment comes from seeing Porsche's direction when it comes to high performance models. I think they are trying to jump into Ferrari's market segment. Porsche has always had high performance 911s that were more than capable to keep up with Ferrari,but this time it's different : they are slowly increasing prices(which I suspect will continue to rise),dropped the manual gearbox in favor of lap times,are involved more than ever in the super car segment with the upcoming 918 after being successful with Carrera GT,working on a future mid engine 960 etc. AP said it himself : " The PDK-S gearbox is faster than that of a Ferrari 458" . That statement alone means that Ferrari is Porsche's new target market,which was never true in the past!
This just seems like the future trend to me and I admit I might be mistaking,but where is Porsche's philosophy heading I ask?
" Porsche intelligent Performance

Individuality-The Porsche Principle
Intelligence-The Performance Principle
Passion-The Human Principle
Excellence-The Quality Principle
Excitement-The Experience Principle
Vision-The Perspectives Principle
Confidence-The Tradition Principle "

Following these guidelines over the years made them a sports car manufacturer that really did not have any competitor in that market segment,which brings me back to my point : why change a good recipe...?
" The GT3 is a car you can run all day at the track and then comfortably drive back home " is the idea,where does Ferrari fit here : it doesn't I'd say...
So instead of trying to change the game,use that marvelous engineering that brought the Mezger to improve shortcomings like coolant lines,CLs etc and keep your market segment by offering a choice to loyal enthusiasts in terms of transmission,CLs/5 lugs and in general,keep that simplicity yet technological advancement that brought you fame.

Just my 2 cents...

Vandit

The way the math is looking on this car, it's gonna be beating up on 918 Spyders... imagine how it'll do against any 911 variant.

carcommander

Porsche is having a hard time selling the Spyders. There will be a long line for the Special.

Nizer

All they need to do is yank the hybrid junk and drop the price. Car sounds amazing:

aussie jimmy

MIKE IN CA --------the stradale was the first ferrari really to feature a suite of digital gizmos (tranny/diff/electronic aids etc.) way back in 2004. what did porsche do? it released the hard-core, no compromise 996 gt3rs. totally analog, no nannies, manual. it was a true porsche through and through. so hard-core it didn't comply with u.s. regulations. even though the 2 companies had a different approach, the result was the same - HARDCORE!





then when the scuderia landed, so did the 997.1rs, another hardcore german, still manual, but this time adding some nannies, pasm for some comfort, and made a version for the u.s.

this was porsche's identity for the gt3; a homologation special with a race engine in it.

then came the 7.2rs with more power, then the almost unbelievable 4.0 pushing the envelope with 500hp from an n/a 6 cylinder.....HARDCORE - this was the gt3's identity.
look at this bloke's face, he cannot hide his excitement.




now porsche are flipping the identity.
new engine (yes it makes good power and revs sky-high, but sorry, is not in a race-car yet...)
an auto tranny only (to make sure many people around the world will be able to drive it)
more electronic aids/gizmos ( to provide a technological safety net and on-board entertainment for these drivers)
why the change???????
the speciale, to me, seems developed by people who are able to have their greatest passions encouraged and green-lighted by upper management. it evokes excitement just by looking at it.
for me, the new models at porsche (post 991) just don't do that anymore. the 4.0 and boxter spyder did and were the end of an era imo.

Nick

The 918 in cruise control will beat this car.

This car will be lucky to best the 991GT3 time around the Ring. As far as performance, the Stradale and Scuderia have not distinguished themselves. For an example, the 458 easily bested the Scuderia time around the Ring.

These "special" models are fun to drive though. They are loud, showy, and stupid expensive . But that is all you can say about them.

Mike in CA

aussie jimmy: I appreciate your perspective but I disagree with most of your conclusions, especially your subjective ones. If you had pulled up the Steve Sutcliffe video from Autocar to use as an example, you would have shown a bloke with the same look of excitement on his face as that of CH driving the 4.0 who, btw, feels that the new GT3 surpasses all of it's predecessors in most areas.

More than that, all of the models you refer to in your post as HARDCORE were RS's. The 991 GT3 is just the first act; maybe you should keep your powder dry until the 991 GT3 RS makes it's debut.

The Speciale is a very desirable car; it better be at the price. It's also a good thing for Ferrari that they've upped the ante since the base made-so-anyone-can-drive-it 991 GT3 appears to be primed to surpass or at least match previous 458 iterations on the track. Not bad for a car that's SOFTCORE.

frayed

So the GT cars were behind the curve with electronic gadgetry now they are almost caught up to Ferrari and GM. Shrug. What really matters is the driving experience. I'm OK with electronics as long as they are transparent and in the background. This appears to be the case with the GT3.

I think (i) the electronics are here to stay, and (ii) a 'purer' analog car will not meet Porsche's performance goals (or of Porsche's buyers!) unless they stick a boxer 5.0L ahead of the rear axle. At that point it'll no longer be a 911 and based on the Mclaren comparison even if Porsche converted a a higher tq, higher hp midengine layout, it won't necessarily be faster than the new car.

Pretty amazing what Porsche has done with a low tq 3.8L

aussie jimmy

hahaha!
mike, it's a good car, nevermind me, i'm just hard to please.
let's wait for the rs.
i pray to be surprised, and excited!

carcommander

I will get a chance to drive one next month. Still it's 850K.

Nizer

I'm sure it'll be a blast but I'd never buy a 918. Give me the same car with the same RS Spyder-based motor and no hybrid baggage and it's a totally different story.

P_collector

AussieJimmy,

I couldnt agree more..not that the 458 was so much in my focus now...I was never a Ferrari guy...but this "speciale" really gets me (looks much better then the normal 458 - except the back)...also when I look at the engine of a 458...my heart is beating faster..and what is Porsche doing (presenting us an engine bay which is worse then that of Dacia, totally unworthy of a sports car)?

the 458 speciale doesnt have RWS, e-steering = good (for me)...but it has a few other gadgets which I dont like..I would have preferred they made this car simpler. Still, I will analyse it in detail..

The only 991 I could think of - is a 991 CUP..no RWS, no e-steering, race proven engine etc = raw experience...

P_collector

yup...but ist nothing new is it...and as time moves on - it will get more difficult "day by day" as the market offers enough alternatives..

Still, the 918 is the best looking by far (vs p1, La ferrari)..but its concept for me doesnt do it..besides the price..

P_collector

same here..I think for us there will only be 991 CUP..or single seater..

96redLT4

2800 lbs, 600 normally aspirated hp........think about it.
J