orthojoe

Video analysis? So there is a camera too? Sounds more enticing now.

Serge944

I don't think the configurator is finalized for MY15, mainly because they haven't increased the price yet.

If you recall, the 2011 GT3 MSRP was increased from $112,200 to $115,700. Similarly, the 2008 GT3 MSRP was $107,500; increased from $106,000.

0Q991

Agreed. And with the added cost if this fiasco, will be interesting to see if they stuff a bit of it into the price increase...

redleg321

Chevy increased the price of the stingray to $53k so I was also looking for that. Maybe with the price increase we'll get sport buckets? One can dream.

RINGMEISTER27

You have my attention. Can't wait to see all the new goodies to choose from. Can't wait to get this order in!

Nizer

Does anybody still believe the DOT excuse?

These will be an RS-only item as (one of the) means to further differentiate the two models and justify the price gap.

Z356

Correct.

A) It will first appear on the MY2015 991 gt3 RS. Nobody knows for sure when/if it will be allowed to be offered as an option on the base gt3 or any future 991/981 'sport' models (e.g. GTS).

B) It is also still unclear as to what will that seat look like. Exactly as the sport bucket on the Spyder 918? That one doesn't fold out of the way to access the rear area of the 991 (storage, cleaning, etc).

C) And initially, they haven't been able to get the US 918's bucket seat on passenger side approved by DOT authorities for adjustment up & down/tilt. I believe it's due to placement of the 918 Spyder's passenger side dash-mounted airbag in relationship to person in the passenger seat! So in the first production versions, perhaps the US passenger 918 sport bucket might be fixed in place like every 997-era 'gt2' bucket seats (which are still used in ROW 991/981)! They are trying hard to get that changed for US cars since it's an adjustable feature on all ROW 918 passenger seats and most US clients would want that adjustable feature for their passenger! Hopefully, the layout of the airbags on the 991 is different enough so as to not cause any issues of compliance or delays in the ability of any sport bucket seats to be approved by US authorities on the 991 RS and subsequently other models in the range (including the 981)!

For the issue related to the passenger 918 sport bucket seat, below is my original post #23 on a thread I started in the 918 forum:

"On the new hard-cover 918 brochure given to us at The Thermal Club, it lists 'Power Seat Height Adjustment Passenger Side' as an available option at no extra cost! It is available for BOTH 918 Spyder (base) and 918 Spyder w. Weissach Package. The option number (code) is 543. Apparently the prototype 918 (Liquid Metal Silver) at The Thermal didn't have this option, but it appears to be available on production units...for ROW. I have just talked to my friend Doug. His understanding is that Option 543 (adjustable passenger seat) is not yet approved for sale in the US market. It will not be available for sure on his January 2014 (edit: delayed to March/April) production 918. He has been told by Porsche that the reason is related to an air bag issue. For some reason, it doesn't yet meet US safety regulations. So let's speculate a bit on this. The drivers side sport bucket seat moves up & down. It has an incorporated side air bag to protect the 'thorax' part of the body. The left door has an airbag for the protection of the head. Finally, there is a frontal airbag on the hub part of the steering wheel. What is the difference on the passenger side that would prevent Porsche from offering an adjustable height seat on that location? The seat's thorax air bag moves up & down with the seat, so that should not be the problem. The door mounted airbag covers the head on side impacts. There should be no issues there - that system works fine with the driver's height adjustable seat. So it must be the frontal dash/mounted air bag. Something about the air bag location and projected coverage area in relationship with a seat that is not stationary, but that it can move up & down a few inches. Seems odd, but that is all I the information I have been able to gather to date!"

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...-2013-a-2.html

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

.

Nizer

Does seem odd but if it's actually a few inches movement and not just a figure of speech as I assume, then that's a fair amount of travel.

Alan Smithee

I believe the DOT excuse - I think Porsche would love to charge extra for sport buckets wherever and whenever possible.

orthojoe

Was told by my SA today that my April 11 build does NOT get to have these new options. Apparently they are for the 2015 models, which start production in July. As long the buckets don't show up, I'm ok with that...

0Q991

Wow. So does that mean that the entire 2014 run for GT3s is 785 plus whatever new ones they make for 3.5 months? <1500 total?

mcsmcs1

Perhaps just 2.5 more months as Porsche has recently been switching over to the new model year June 1.

0Q991

So if that's the case and with the factory also likely having to do whatever it is for the fix, think the real number is closer to 1250?!

orthojoe

Who knows for sure, but if it's true then Porsche may be not FLOODING (gasp) the market with new GT3s like some 997 owners will tell you.

0Q991

^^haha.