wanna911

You are correct. Official time is 7:18 for the GT2 RS.

Don't know what tires the 918 was on though, that has to be a factor. But the time for the money is certainly not impressive.

911rox

If the times quoted by the OP as being official from Porsche are accurate then they are disgraceful IMO. Especially when the similarly priced McLaren and Ferrari are miles ahead in performance according to current information. Any half smart tycoons will know exactly where to spend their $$$s.... Without class leading performance, for me, the 918 has nothing to offer.

FWIW, if a GT2rs was good for 7:18 or even 7:20, i'd expect the proposed 960 car to do 7:10ish or less and the 918, 7:00 or less.

Z356

The quotes above highlight some of the issues I worry about re: 918 Spyder! Porsche started its US marketing agenda with a special preview for VIP's & prospective 918 buyers at the Monterey Jet Center with a prototype during the August 'Historics' in 2010. Then in March of 2011, Porsche announced more details:

$845,000 MSRP before options.
$200,000 to secure your order.
Another $200,000 once allocation is up and you need to spec.
Final remaining payment rendered 60 days before delivery.

For those that put a deposit down, it was followed up with a special invitation to Zuffenhausen & the test track at Leipzig, including dinners with Dr. Wolfgang Porsche & his wife. They also had a 918 RSR prototype on display in Carmel for the 2011 'Historics' week, along with a special dinner for prospective buyers. Sometime last year (2012), they started asking for the additional deposit...and it was now a firm commitment! The $400K (or so) was no longer refundable! Porsche put on various dog & pony shows for the 918 in 2012. They selected venues both in the US & Canada and had prototypes able to give prospective buyers a 'limited' test drive!

I have asked a friend that has $400,000 or more currently committed to the 918 why he was doing it. He has a 'Carrera GT' and loves it. He told me he wants to try it out. If he doesn't like it as much as his current 'Carrera GT', he will sell it. He thinks he can make a profit if he decides on the latter. 'Someone in China will want it' was his reply. Perhaps. Perhaps not. Part of the appeal to him is the 'exclusivity' and the courtship by Porsche over the last few years. I doubt he will approve of the current mass marketing 'blast' we are discussing on this thread. I am wondering if Porsche, regardless of its past record, is NOT making a major marketing mistake with this model? Time will tell. But for the sake of the 960, I sure hope they succeed...if only to break even!

This is the car that Porsche needs to get 100% 'right'! Hopefully, the resources and engineering talent currently being used to finalize the 918 are going to be soon fully allocated & committed to 960 project! Although seemingly unrelated, I think the first test of Porsche's commitment to that 'goal' will be how track-focused they actually make the upcoming 991 gt3 RS! It has to buy them (and us) time before they are ready to unleash to the world the 960! That is the FeFi! That is 'The Great White Hope' vs big Red! This track focused mindset is needed at Porsche Motorsport to make sure the 960 doesn't become a 'gizmo' high tech exercise! They need to make it lean & mean! They can't afford to disappoint on that one! My dos centavos.

Saludos,
Eduardo

TRAKCAR

Car obsessed all my life. My first word was car, but did not give Porsche a second look until getting into DE.
Now I'm charmed by 964RS, 993TT and 997RS for DE, from a driving pleasure, knowledge base and depreciation perspective.

The CGT never really spoke to me because it seems so far out of my reality taking the CGT to DE. Just like private jets don't really interest me. Must be nice but maybe next life.

If I'm not going to DE it there are many nice old charming as well as new techy cars out there, some that may even last a few laps. Some are awesome fun to drive, beautiful to look at, cool to sit in but just don't hold up, like Fiats and Astons. Some are just plain extremely capable like AMG's. I'd pick all over Porsche if I'd never go to the track.

At any money the 918 is still not interesting. The 960? Who knows I don't see many going to DE events.

Brings me to 991GT3 and all signs are wrong. Heavier, unproven and no manual all sound like less fun and less track worthy. It better prove to be unbreakable at the track for the 991RS to have any chance even if it is lighter then the 4.0 and comes with a manual.
If heavier and PDK it becomes just one of the rest... Mind you it may still be the best of the rest but now we will have options. A lightweight AMG or even SLS AMG, BMW is no longer a drivers car, GTR too heavy and not track worthy, a Corvette too cheap image and Chevy dealer, Viper is also $$ and Dodge dealer. The rest are sporty coups that the 991 is trying too hard to compete with.

If the 918 is a halo car...
Both product and marketing causes me to stand back and watch it unfold and I agree that all hope falls on the shoulders of a lightweight 991RS to keep the sporty image going for all the Cayennes and Panamera's.

Perhaps a 918 looking Cayman with 500HP light weight? But I suppose in the interest of market position the Cayman will always have to fight with one hand tied behind its back...

Maybe they will rebody it so they can charge $300k?

Joe S.

Ring times:
918 7:14
GT2 RS 7:18

http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/nordschleife.html

jenk12m

Some how I got a packet and I've only owned 3 Porsches in my lifetime

Carrera GT

They must think you're an especially gullible sucker.


(kidding!)

Mike in CA

..

jenk12m

Lmao!!!!

Michael246

Porsche is trying to do sub 7 minutes at the ring as a new goal... The 7:22 was the estimate when the car first came out. I don't care if the 960 has RWS and PDK S, as long as it is all carbon fiber, has no turbos, and no batteries. Porsche should build a carbon chassis around the size of the cayman, and put the engine from the GT3 boosted to 550 HP. The car just needs to be small and light. Having the 960 built out of carbon will already give it an edge on the ferrari. I also think they will attract more buyers with the car being carbon fiber and an extra 100k.

CAlexio

I think this car will be a sales flop... and will be available for relatively deep discounts soon.. not publicly... but porsche won't sell many. It's almost like it was a top-down decision of the worst type... the committee at the top decided on a brand halo leader, and the engineers were tasked with making it happen.

LOL!!!... exactly.

PS. received my 918 packet a few weeks ago... couldn't for the life of me understand why as I've never purchased a new porsche, or anything above $100k. they must really be desperate.

aussie jimmy

marketing 101.
keeping the brand on your brain, you might buy a hybrid cayenne instead.
job done.

MM3.9GT3

I got a packet too. I really liked the book, and the car, until I looked up the base price. $845,000! As a comparison, the F12 has a base price of $315K, and even if they were the same price, I would pick the F12. I did like the personal touch where a cell phone number of the brand manger was provided in the letter.

This car is going to make the GT3 RS look like a bargain. May be that is the point of a halo car, even though they will have trouble selling 918 units.

Dan39

I think you hit the nail on the head here: top down decision where the politically-correct board of a big company, with the requisite number of quota-fillers and lawyers and accountants and politicians on it, got together and decided for brand purposes they needed to produce some environmental statement car. That to me is the 918.

The engineers were assigned the task and then went out and dutifully did the best they could, which was to utterly fail to compete with McLaren and Ferrari. The 918 concept was not one that engineers came up with and the board approved and it was not one that answered the demands of customers.

mgent

One important consideration is the target market for the 918... How many of these guys take their Enzo/Veyron/FlaF/P1/Pagani/etc to the track for a few laps? How many only own 1 of the above? The new hypercars I believe will crush the 918 on the track, in the mags, etc... But the 918 is cool. For guys who have a bunch of cars, who have all the cool cars, it will be very interesting because it is cool. It will serve largely as a brand / design instrument for Porsche - helping to promote hybrid technologies for future use, likely including 911, boxster, etc...

Also, what were sales like on the CGT when it was launched? Target number vs actual sales, and the time needed to sell-out? I thought I remember that car selling on the slow side, and it was awesome, and remains awesome today...