neanicu

There's much weight to be removed by going with a smaller NA engine,a manual transmission or a lighter 2nd gen PDK and the use of exotic materials. That weight reduction will compensate the addition of electric motors.

Serge944

Don't disagree on the weight - it is the biggest enemy. But if the choice is between performance and enjoyment, I will choose enjoyment every time. A good engine sound is high on my priority list.

bronson7

Totally agree!!!

Drifting

I'd rather Porsche keep similar NA engines, and just make the GT cars much lighter with exotic materials, like the carbon fiber tub used by Mclaren. If you can drop 400lbs from the car, then the gas mileage ratings will improve significantly compared to the old model for government regs, AND the lighter car will be crazy fun to drive.

I'd happily pay the price premium to keep our Porsche NA engines, and enjoy a much lighter car on the road and track.

Nizer

No to option 1 & 2.

Yes to option 3) smaller flat-six with hybrid assist and 4) smaller, lighter car.

neanicu

Yes,I agree,although sooner or later it will happen. And I'd personally take NA plus electric over turbocharged.

Keith Verges - Dallas

Did not work for P1, 918 or LaFa. 3400, 3700+ and 3500 respectively, as best I can tell. The GT3 is lighter than all and frankly, it is a bit porky for a sports car. My body on frame 7 liter NA Z06 was lighter.

Keith Verges - Dallas

I love the sound of a turbo car. The F40 is glorious. It's different, but minimize exhaust and intake muffling and it sounds like an extra angry Darth Vader is in the car with you. But I am clearly in the minority and an extreme form follows function person. It can look and sound like a farting toad but if it's fast, fine by me. Most cars look the same from the driver's seat.

MileHigh911

The problem ends up being
"you can't have your cake and eat it too"

We have enjoyed being the little guy that punches at the big guys. Those CF big guy cars are on another level of costs. Including Purchase costs, insurance costs, repair costs, etc, etc).

neanicu

Manufacturers are going through all this trouble by testing all kinds of technologies to improve sound and throttle response in a turbocharged engine,when they could be concentrating on reducing weight. The HP war is blinding them and with every new generation they have to show " more power ". More power until when? At what point there's too much usable power? We're getting there I tell you...we're getting there!

Keith Verges - Dallas

Not all of them; I just bought the new Miata - 155 hp but about 2300 curb weight, full of fuel. I bet it loses about 20+ lbs of rotating weight when I put my SM 15 x 7 wheels on it for track and set aside the 17" wheels. And a turbo kit prototype is already in the works, anyway. I'll bet that with about $5K in mods (less than a wheel set on a GT3), that at my home track the Miata will run within about 2 sec of my GT3. My primary Miata Turbo track car already does.

It is way more than hp. Consumers want large, heavy wheels, sound deadening and other comfort features, etc, etc and it adds up. And the cars have to be big enough to fit pro athletes and well-fed business men who can afford $$$$$

neanicu

Valid arguments.

So it seems Porsche along many other manufacturers have lost their ways. " Less is more " is not a valid proposition anymore. It has been replaced by " More is great ".

Serge944

No doubt there are excellent sounding Turbo cars - even modern ones. Look at the Maserati Ghibli, the McLaren lineup, anything AMG, the Ferrari 488. Porsche, on the other hand, doesn't have a history of making excellent sounding turbo street cars. I haven't heard the 991.2 - maybe this is already changing?

Bottom line, it has to sound good no matter what configuration. If the 991 GT3 sounded like the Turbo, I wouldn't have bought it.

Slightly off topic - this is why I can't stand to watch Formula E. It's like pulling teeth, I tried three times, but couldn't stand to watch more than 10 min.

To quote Lord Hesketh in the movie Rush: "Aah! What music! They could never have imagined, those pioneers who invented the automobile that it would possess us like this, our imaginations, our dreams."

reidry

Largely I agree with Mike in CA, the packaging is crucial.

I voted turbo charging in the poll, only because turbo chargers have a history of being successfully implemented in a package that reaches thermal equilibrium and maintains a consistent level of performance for hours not minutes.

The instant torque of battery power is appealing, however batteries have their limitations. I want to be able to do a spirited 4 hour drive in the mountains and have the exact same performance in the last 5 minutes as the first 5 minutes. Can a motor assisted solution provide that sustained level of performance?

Either way I do not want to be in the C7Z06 position where the car is designed around / designed to a limited capability of a couple of hot laps or a single 10-20 minute track session before an extended cool down or recharging break.

Ryan

reidry

"Be careful what you wish for ..."

Just a caution.

I have a very good friend who is a composite materials engineer (not a scientist, scientists work in a lab, engineers work in the real world). Composite monocoque construction is light and stiff, however the manufacturing processes for blending metallic and carbon components are in their infancy - with the most maturity in the aerospace industry. Creating a composite monocoque with metallic attachment features and incorporating the necessary measures to control corrosion is an expensive undertaking. Race car chassis need to survive a few seasons at most before they are either obsolete or damaged beyond repair so long term corrosion and material boundary stresses are not nearly as important as for a street car. Automotive manufacturers are currently evolving their structural processes from the racing industry, not from the aerospace industry.

The McLaren F1 was the first production car to use a carbon monocoque chassis and those cars are not yet 20 years old. With current manufacturing processes the exotic carbon monocoque wonder cars of today will be on blocks in under 50 years. Unlike metal cars, it's not a matter of cutting out a few rust holes, it will be time for a full tub replacement.

Ryan