well, until you can demonstrate that the handling on the 911 is going backwards with this iteration of the 992 TT / and it's respective weight gain... relative to prior (and lighter) models, maybe we should just trust the engineers at Zuffenhausen to build the car is it needs to be built ..??

 

I don't think most Turbo owners want a out-and-out sports car driving experience. It has always been the heaviest of the 911s and the most "Grand Touring"-like of all of them. If they wanted that sort of experience, they would have gotten a GT3 or a GT3 RS.

In any case, I am not nearly good enough of a driver to feel a 30 or 50 pound weight gain in a 3500 lb car, so I am not worried.

 

That may be true if the engineers worked in a vacuum, but they don't. Many other forces at work that may negatively impact the final product. Government regulations (particulate filters), financial constraints and marketing direction. Personally, I trust that the Porsche engineers are capable of producing one of the best cars in the world, but I realize that they don't have free reign and that compromises have to be made.

 

in the end, we can build a go-cart on a basic tube frame chassis, with thick anti roll bars, and a middle mounted seat ... put a motor strong enough to create a large power to weight ratio and make an amazing "sports car"..

would it be safe? have any luxury? aesthetically appealing? environmentally sound? etc..

All this armchair quarterbacking of what one of the greatest automakers in the world is doing is laughable to me... Don't like the 911 as it's evolved.. for LESS money go buy a 993.. or 964.. sheesh

 

You are mixing terminologies - 1.1g refers to roadholding (an objective measurement of how fast the car can go around a certain radius corner). Handling is a subjective description of how a car feels while cornering, its balance, adjustability, excitement, etc...

 

see my post above.... I think Porsche knocked it out of the ball park with the 992... and the Turbo will make my car seem pedestrian by comparison

 

Laugh all you want, but this is precisely why manufacturers like Singer and Ruf can sell cars like this for millions of dollars - because Porsche has abandoned this lightweight segment (more than just partially due to regulatory and market conditions).

 

supply = demand... when more people want 911's like Singer makes... I promise you VW will make Porsche build it.

 

No, the problem is that a company like Porsche cannot build a car like Singer makes due to the regulations that apply to a large scale manufacturer of new cars. Singer escapes them, because it represents their cars as being a Model Year 1989-1994 (and only subject to the regulations that apply to cars of that vintage).

 

this much we can agree on... thus my post above about building the go-cart... The 718 is a car that might better fit the needs of those wanting a lighter car as well.

 

Perhaps for someone cross-shopping a 3,700 pound Turbo. But for someone like myself who is used to driving a 1,900 pound 911 part of the time, a 3,100 pound 718 is not going to satisfy on that count.

 

As others have said, reducing weight must take into account the realities of government regulations (emissions, crash safety, etc) as well as overall general appeal (sound deadening, ride comfort) ... all things that bespoke car maker Singer does not have to worry about.

And Porsche could make a lighter Turbo S ... at maybe double the current price. Would people pay for that? Probably not.

 

Funny thing with all this weight talk - 911s have not been particularly light for some time now.

My 993 C4s weighs 3000lb, and that's with a meaningful effort to make it lighter.

The 964 C4 weighed ~3200 lb I believe.

I believe the 993 Turbo was about 3300 lb from the factory.

Dropping the weight of a modern 911 down to sub 3000lb would be tremendously difficult, particularly in Turbo guise. As others have mentioned - all the regulations for pedestrian safety and impact have made that much harder to do.

I think the big issue with modern 911s, if there is one, is physical size. The wheelbase of an air-cooled car is tiny and the car itself is hardly bigger than a Miata. It *feels* small, which is what's missing in modern cars.

 

I mean technically they already do: the GT2 RS is a RWD Turbo on steroids I don't think that car appeals to most Turbo buyers though.

 

I agree and with the weight saving measures that have been introduced since the air-cooled days, some of the new models could be sub-3,000 pounds if the size reverted to air-cooled size.