speed21

550whp does the trick. You NEED that much to stay ahead of the rif raf on the streets these days. More again can only be better. Less leaves you having to tangle with the mob.

HotLap

IMO, I'd like to see more Torque as while my S is fast, it feels sluggish off the line. Given that a $30K Mustang GT has 425 hp and more torque (and IIRC is in the low 4's 0-60) I wouldn't mind seeing the S with 450 and base with 400. I know these cars are apples to oranges but beware that new 5.0 "Coyote" V8 is a screamer!!

911SLOW

/thread

docfink

Can't agree with you...We're not talking about the track, right? I mean, how many of us live at the track? Useful power is the key, and I think 400 is plenty, although I won't argue with more.

SSST

Useful power on the street is 500+ ft/lbs of torque at 2800 rpm.

I don't drive around with my foot buried in the floor, but when I want acceleration, I want it to be effortless without having to down shift.

Also, I have no doubt that the 991 coupe is more nimble that a 997tt in the twisties. A 997 coupe is more nimble than a 997tt. However, if you had more power than you do now, would you be faster or slower around the track. It might not make a difference on the tight sections, but would on the straights.

Carrera GT

Horsepower is just like income; usually about 20% more would be enough.

This rule proves true for almost anything men measure.

kosmo

for those of us less fortunate guys, 30% would suffice!

SSST

Almost, but not everything

Selo

I read double when it comes to wealth. In other words, when folks nearing retirement age were asked how much they felt they'd need to have saved in order to feel comfortable in their retirment, it was almost always about 2x what they currently had.

Alstoy

It's never enough (joke). I have a hard time getting everything out of my base 325hp 997. I've spent the last seven years learning about this wonderful car and now I'm much more focused on weight. I wish I could do more than just change the 19" wheels to 18s. My next car will be an even better experiment in weight management. Nice topic. Cheers.

chuckbdc

I don't understand. You can buy safely strong 19 in wheels from OZ or BBS that are lighter than 90% of 18 in wheels on the market, and all 18 in wheel ever offered by Porsche. Moving to Michelin SuperSports from many popular tires will save significant weight at any size- for many as much as getting lighter wheels.

fast1

I have two cars: 2007 987S and a 2011 ZR1. I enjoy them both, even though the ZR1 has double the HP and torque of the 987. The ZR1 has about 640 HP and over 600 lb/ft of torque, and at the risk of being called a wimp, I wouldn't care for anymore. The 981 is perfect for the street, as is the ZR1 when you keep the revs below 3K.

Rocket_boy

400 ~ 500 hp on the street is good enough and as many have said, just make it lighter. I'd love to see a 911 come in around 2800 lbs with a light weight all-wheel drive setup and 450hp,...it would be darn near unbeatable.

Some cars such as the Z06, ZR1, Mustangs, etc. are down right dangerous in anything but completely dry conditions, and not even then. All you have to do is go to You Tube to see several videos of Vettes getting out of control and slamming into one another, fish-tailing up or down a cliff, etc.

Porsche builds the best all around sports cars that take on just about any condition and handle it. They may not be best in all categories, but usually win test after test after test.

aamersa

No, not at all a wimp for finding 640 hp to be enough. That would be satisfying enough for almost any one. The point that needs to be made is that porsche should stop being stingy about hp, and offer something close to above hp on the turbo model and the non-turbo 911s should be around 500hp and certainly no less than 450hp. It is a fiercely competitive car market out there, so why deliberately keep hp low.

Petevb

It is.

How much power to weight you can deploy is a function of the rest of the package. A 60's muscle car with 5:1 power to weight (600 + hp) would kill you if you looked at it sideways, where in an F1 chassis (with only 240 hp) it'd be positively boring. Power to weight will continue to go up as long as the chassis continues to improve- tires, 4wd, TC, torque vectoring, etc. And the chassis will always improve.