Bandit201

I was thinking today where Porsche will be in 5 years with the 911. Looking forward to the new engine configs but at the same time very sad knowing where technology is leading. My boys will not really know the sounds of a big F12 motor screaming along. Or a GT3 wailing at 9k RPM. How much hybrid tech is Porsche going to use? Is this the end of simplistic flat sixes? Will the "soul" of a 911 be even more removed from our driving experience?

911sccab

Purists have pondered this since the 356 was sent to pasture.

However, the rate of evolution (revolution?) is accelerating rapidly so I think the inquiry is more legitamate than ever before. I also think the experience is a major component for enthusiasts and increasingly some microchip is having all the fun.

5 years? Faster. Cleaner. Not much lighter. More connected to the high tech grid. Less connected directly to the driver. Better to some. Less interesting to me.

Tentative build date for the Targa that will park next to our '83 SC Cab is April 17th!

Dude174

Interesting as I agree and I think we are living in the true golden age of horsepower wars and awesome cars that are attainable. Performance that was a generation ago out of reach for all but the real high rollers. I remember when 300 hp was huge!! Now 400 is ok and 500+ new normal!

Clarkson was right the other night when he compared the M3 to i8, its typewriter giving way to laptop. That's what's happening now among manufacturers, I just wish I could afford to own all these cool cars!!

coxswain

They will still have 20+ versions of 911 even after five years.
One or two of them will still be naturally-aspirated (I hope), while most will be turbo-charged.
But I wouldn't be surprised if there will be hybrid or electric 992 911s. This: http://jalopnik.com/the-next-great-t...che-1686088193

NoGaBiker

I suspect that as time marches along there will continue to be enough "old" Porsches (however one defines that) to keep all us old racers happy. And as younger people come of age, the Porsches they lust after will be the ones that are being built at that time -- they won't know anything much about the older ones, just as I know very little (from driving experience) about the 356, or even the pre-SC 911s.

So yeah, you and I may not have any choices of new Porsches we want to buy, but with them cranking out 200,000 a year or whatever it is, there will be no shortage of pre-loved ones we can add to the stable.

In the meantime, I'm happy to have a March 27 build date on my GTS! I suspect it will be my favorite Porsche yet.

And SCCab, I just ordered on Saturday (3 days ago) -- wonder how I got a build date 21 days earlier than yours? I guess it has to do with dealer allocations.

gota911

All Porsches will be fitted with PTK (Porsche triple clutch) transmissions. There will be no shift buttons or "flappy paddles" on the steering wheel, nor will there be a shifter on the the center console. It will "auto shift" and the only thing the driver will do is steer the car.

It will brake automatically so you won't hit anything, then it will accelerate automatically.

It will have 238 HP and get 183 MPG, because it will be a hovercraft. No wheels, no tires, no road friction or rolling resistance.

The good news? The Burmester will be the entry level stereo.

Sounds like fun!

911sccab

[QUOTE=NoGaBiker;12048609
And SCCab, I just ordered on Saturday (3 days ago) -- wonder how I got a build date 21 days earlier than yours? I guess it has to do with dealer allocations.[/QUOTE]

I was told Targa 4S allocations were hard to come by... not sure if that's regionally or nationally. I'm hoping my date gets bumped forward!

wanderfalke

I you want to know where they are headed look at the 918 hybrid with light weight materials . I read a article sometime back that a new cheaper process of producing carbon fiber had been discovered.

LexVan

5 years isn't long enough. Change? Sure. Significant? Probably not.

Sent from my iPhone using Rennlist

STG

Playing with turbo engines for all of the "street" models still and moving to hybrids the next five years after that.

Thinking about how to eliminate the NA engines in the rest of the GT cars.

All the while thinking in 20-30 years from now, boy remember those "good old days" when you could actually drive a car with a soul on your own, and can can actually enjoy it on any public road without speed cameras/lasers that monitor you every single minute in your car!

Grunty

I think cars in general will be safer. Collision avoidance, crumple zones etc have made huge strides in recent years. I welcome all this, given the prevalence of distracted driving.

I think porsche will probably be in the same place it is now, where making sports cars isn't its big moneymaker but a critical part of its brand identity. They will continue to make the best car they possibly can.

I think there will come a time where the benefits of new tech will vastly outweigh the sound and feel of NA engines. When that day comes, we won't miss the old tech anymore but will remember it fondly.

Bandit201

LexVan, you are probably right. I should have asked in 10 years. That is more realistic. And 911sccab the Targas will never be produced more than they are now. They will be very limited as they have a narrow scope of buyers and believe it or not, the rear window glass is very difficult to produce and the vendor who makes them is maxed out on capabilities.

911sccab

Thanks Bandit... We feel like we're getting something special... not in GTS/GT3 performance, but in securing our own taste in a flavor of motoring that is quickly disappearing... something I think will continue in the next 5 years. Cars will keep improving for 98% of the buyers, but some of us will miss the intimacy that has made automobiles a hobby that moves us, not mere transportation.

trysixty

Hacker unveils 2020 Porsche Configurator

Bandit201

Pimp mobile for me! LOl. Great job Trysixty.