dmk2

It looks like a conventional video sped up.

groundhog

Puts Bellofs record in perspective, 6:11 in 1983 Congrats to Porsche and Timo Bernhard.

dmk2

I would like to forward this thread to my sales advisor to pass along to his contact at PCNA.

Let the Porsche faithful be heard!!

groundhog

Porsche monitor the main forums and media outlets - its SOP for well run businesses. Also they know what actually sells plus they know the buyers who are actually prepared to put deposits down on one or more products they want - all this gets passed up the food chain.

Unfortunately, Its well known in the car industry that there is endless chat about analogue sports cars etc but this is balanced by the lack of actual buyers. The truth is many may want/desire a performance car or sports car but few actually buy them.

dmk2

ClassJ

Right now all average car enthusiasts care about are numbers. I guess this has always been true but it has gotten far worse in the past 10 years.

I am sick of ring time discussions and the subsequent banter about tire compounds, drivers, options, etc.

All of this chat about efficient dynamics, "distilled" cars, "pure" cars, "enthusiast" cars, "race" cars that are really street cars, "unfiltered" cars, insane dealer markups with waiting lists, etc etc.

If Porsche wants to upset the marketing world, just build a car and bluntly say "we built this car to be fun".

In the early 60's the sales slogan for the 911 was "driving at its finest".

I have a Carrera T on order and literally have paid no attention to the marketing. The Porsche "story" about the T says "made for drivers, not collectors".

So Porsche seems to understand that the GT car purchasing process is a joke but they refuse to do anything about it.

They also must be living in a vacuum since they offered up less than 1000 allocations for the T it seems and dealers were asking MSRP for quite some time.

groundhog

But surely the T is exactly what you rail against e.g. its a marketing strategy equivalent to the former "black" models - the reality is its a run out base that you can option SPASM and RAS at a premium to the base. I have no doubt its an excellent car as is the base - yet the marketing vastly overplays the reality.

ClassJ

Dewinator

groundhog

Therein is the paradox - you can do ~ 30mph to 70mph legally on the "street" unless you happen to live in Germany or the Isle of Man. For those of us that regularly track one or more of our sports cars in everything from regularity based events through to sprint series etc the braking, cornering carry speed and exit speed matter which is seen through all sorts of data including track times.

I came to the conclusion (a long time ago) that Porsche have a very good lock on their markets and understand what their customers really buy and why they buy them. Thats why they are the masters of niche marketing - the T being a very good case in point - I would argue there is very little point in having SPASM and LWB on a street car and the absence of six pots and thicker/larger rotors will limit track use too. Others would have a different opinion.

I would simply put it like this - buy what you like and what you enjoy - ignore the marketing, Porsche marketing in particular is about the up sell and new buyers fall for it big time e.g. we have the base - thats the entry level, of course more discerning buyers by the S as it has added unicorn dust but if you're really serious you want the GTS because that has pixie dust as well as unicorn dust - oh you're a "racer" in that case the discerning gentlemen (and women in the know) buy the GT3 it actually has parts from pixies and unicorns under the shell. But I was told the base Cayman was all the car I needed, tsk tsk - I wouldn't believe everything you read on the internet. Dealer has pocketed an extra $100k buyer now believes he's a race driver and has the car to prove it.

Thankfully we are ahead of the sales games...........aren't we

Allocations - put a deposit down on the car that you want and you will largely get it e.g. I have had deposits down on the 992 Series 1 GT3 and 982 GT4 for nearly three years. Its just planning and a bit of foresight. There are plenty of reputable dealers out there.

ClassJ

dmk2

The T should have been a little more RS America.

stout

Even PAG admitted its surprise at the level of interest in the GT4. They were caught out by it, but forums and other outlets had been asking for just such a car since the days of the 986. Enthusiasts have been asking for a 911 like the Carrera T for an even longer period of time, but I worry that the marketing of the T has obscured the T.

There are also some areas of interest that can't be measured and passed up the chain because examples don't yet exist. Which brings to mind a great Henry Ford quote: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."

4 Point 0

Nice. But what we really want is a Point 2 911-R. In enough quantity that everyone that wants one, can have it. In both Manual and PDK. Pure drivers car, with optional PDK, and the new Motor. Not some collectors item, but a car to be driven.

Not over track tuned, but light weight, slightly softened to handle the bumps of country runs and canyon driving. (we have GT2-RS and GT3-RS for the track already.)

K-A

I was just thinking about this. How hard is it for them to make a TRUE "purist" car? The "T" isn't a "purist" car in any sense as it has two turbos. Even the "R" isn't a truly "purist" car in my personal view either, as it's got too much/too valuable an engine and obviously far too high a price.

When I was shopping econobox sedans for the wife, they all weighed under 3K lbs.

How hard would it be for Porsche to just make an actually super light, no frills (i.e no added weight) 911, with a simple engine that makes good but not supreme power (which means a lot less long term worry required, if you pack on the miles) literally stripped to its core. Something fundamentally "pure." Even if it was priced to match a base Carrera (so they don't have to risk "cheapening" the 911 brand) or priced like a "T," I guarantee they'd sell every one they could make. No PASM, no RAS, no PTV+, no turbos, big brakes, raw chainsaw LOUD, stiff passive suspension, LITERALLY pure. Manual seats, manual steering, no sunroof, light glass available, no subwoofer, Sport Chrono. Literally.... Pure.