Does anyone know how many of the previous generation RS's are out there?

 

FWIW, the GM of my dealership told me about 600 cars for the US, not worldwide. I then asked how many 918s where sold in the US and he told me the number but I forgot it (it was either 200+ or 300+). He further said that not all 918 buyers are interested in an RS although some of them may flip their RS for a profit. So, there will be 200-300 RS cars in the US for non-918 buyers. My dealership gets 1.7% of all 911 models (based on their historical 911 sales volume), so he thinks they will get 3-5 allocations for non 918 owners. Not too bad.

 

Limited for sure, many dealers have twice as many deposits as allocations.

 

Put me down as "Not Interested"

On a serious note, I just don't know how many 918 buyers in the US (which I am told is about 300 of the 918 allocations worldwide) would be interested in owning an RS (as opposed to buying to flip the car for a quick profit, and honestly if you've got the bank account to spend over $1 million on a car, is flipping a car for something like 25k-50k really worth your time? )

But back to the 918 owners and buying the RS. Not sure many of the 918 owners are serious track rats or junkies. And if you're not going to spend time tracking the RS, it really isn't usable as much of anything else except maybe as an additional line-item on your insurance contract, or something to drive to the weekly cars-and-coffee so that folks have somewhere (the rear wing) to put their coffees on.

 

But they may want the LATEST and GREATEST!

 

Before I say I am not interested I want to see the data. The GT3 is more street friendly so I bet the RS will also be a dual threat type of car. It will be hardcore; no doubt, but I bet you it will be more street compliant than previous generations. To me - it will all come down to the wing. If the wing looks like a bolt on(kit car) - no interest. But if the wing looks like an extension of the car with nice styling - than I have a very strong interest. I am not concerned on avail. because I know if I want one I can get one but I need to see the data(numbers) and the comments/opinions from the experts before release.

 

And they have it.

It's called the 918.

Er, I mean, the 918.1

 

The 918 is the latest and the greatest hybird...
The 991 GT3 RS will be the latest and the greatest N.A. 911.

 

600 worldwide makes no sense. There are more 918 owners.... Porsche is in the business to make money and only 600 isn't making money. I call BS

 

^ +1 - seems like a dealer trying to drum up more deposit money. Why not use it as a zero cost working capital line if people are willing...

 

Possible, but I don't think that's what my dealer is trying to do. I already fully paid for my GT3. Told him clearly that if I can't get a GT3 RS, will go to a Ferrari dealership and get a 458...

If they want to hold onto my deposit, they have zero incentive to tell me my chances on the RS is slim.

 

I spoke with my local SA a few hours ago and he was advised of similar numbers...600 US inbound RS vehicles with 296 US 918 owners getting first dibs. And, while each dealership has an idea how many vehicle allocations they will receive it isn't set in stone (or is subject to change).

 

I agree that 600 isn't make much sense. But I seriously doubt there is much $$ to be made on GT3 RS anyway. Porsche's major $$ maker are the cayenne, Macan and the Panamera. GT3 RS, 918s are only around for RD and brand image. I think they will be lucky if they breakeven on the 918.

 

Marketing 101, scarcity drives demand. It doesn't need to be actual scarcity- the perception will do.

The first 890 918s sold at the rate of a couple a day. The last 30 sold in less than 24 hours, once there was scarcity. But there were cars to be had, just as there were 991 GT3s to be had... Even the GT3 RS 4.0s had trouble selling through near the end.

A couple fewer cars than demand serves a purpose to drive scarcity and hence demand. A lot fewer leaves money on the table. If these end up as scarce as suggested it will mark a big change in strategy for Porsche.

 

The GT3 was supposed to end production at the end of December but it will obviously continue into 2015.

Hype for sales?