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How about the last gen Viper? V10 manual trans RWD and I think they aged very well aesthetically . If you could stretch for the ACR, not sure it’s a worse value than a 997 RS. I would love me one; even the base
I haven't driven the new M4 and I'm not a fan of the auto trans, but last time I was at the track someone had a new M4 and was kicking ***. He was beating some pretty major firepower.
Either way, I also prefer the 992 between the two.
Originally Posted by CodyBigdog
All I will say is, you never know what mods someone has made to their stock car. However, the M4 Competition is pretty formidable.
Originally Posted by rk-d
No doubt, he could have been tuned. Suspension was clearly stock.
I driven the M4C at BMW Performance Center at Thermal and that thing is a beast. Amazing chassis and the steering is remarkable, even by Porsche standards.
Nice thing about the 911 is that Porsche offers so many flavors... And especially if you include time as a variable, you can build quite a diverse collection of 911 variants. I only have 3 and they feel completely different to me in terms of feel, use case, looks, etc...
For new cars, as a manual guy, there just aren't a lot of options out there. I'll keep buying 911s until they stop offering a manual ICE option. I'm also trying out an Emira - not really a 911 competitor but I think it will be a fun car in its own right, probably more of a mid-range Cayman competitor and with a completely different and beautiful (IMO) look.
The AMG cars are just insanely heavy, and the BMW M cars are getting there. Anything that gets over 3500/3600 pounds limits the overall driving experience, I don't care how powerful the engine is.
Other manufacturers don't want to compete in this segment - Corvette sales dominate, Porsche is there, no one else really wants to make an affordable sports car for the "mass" market. Manufacturers like Lotus can't produce enough cars to have any meaningful impact in the market. Other makers like Alfa would rather produce $250K+ halo supercar competitors.
None other than AP has made this exact point.
Paraphrasing, he said that in the future, weight reduction will be more
important than HP for sports cars, because there is already an abundance, if not
overabundance of power.
I have the same weight cutoff point for a sporting car.
I'd consider a McLaren GT, since it seems to have a really good balance between pretty outlandish performance and some semblance of comfort and practicality. The tricky part is just the image that's associated with exotic brands. Base price for the GT is about $250k CAD, and it's not that hard to get some variants of the 911 to that price, but the Porsche is just so much more discrete and less of a "look at me" car than the McLaren (or Ferrari and Aston Martin). The nail in the coffin is the reputation McLaren has for reliability, and the crazy depreciation.
I'd consider a McLaren GT, since it seems to have a really good balance between pretty outlandish performance and some semblance of comfort and practicality. The tricky part is just the image that's associated with exotic brands. Base price for the GT is about $250k CAD, and it's not that hard to get some variants of the 911 to that price, but the Porsche is just so much more discrete and less of a "look at me" car than the McLaren (or Ferrari and Aston Martin). The nail in the coffin is the reputation McLaren has for reliability, and the crazy depreciation.
Agree and the 911s discreet looks and ability to fly under the radar are a big draw for me as someone who enjoys sports cars for the experience of driving them but very much do not want any attention/status (I have a silver GT3 Touring because it has the highest ratio of experience/look-at-me of anything on the market IMO - and both of my other 911s are also silver). But I would argue that Astons, at least the VH platform ones like my 2010 Vantage are also very discreet - at least in the silver/gray colors that the majority are in..
I would describe it as elegant but understated IMO:
Agree and the 911s discreet looks and ability to fly under the radar are a big draw for me as someone who enjoys sports cars for the experience of driving them but very much do not want any attention/status (I have a silver GT3 Touring because it has the highest ratio of experience/look-at-me of anything on the market IMO - and both of my other 911s are also silver). But I would argue that Astons, at least the VH platform ones like my 2010 Vantage are also very discreet - at least in the silver/gray colors that the majority are in..
I would describe it as elegant but understated IMO:
Touring is definitely a "if you know, you know" type car. I don't get a second glance in mine and I like it that way.
Of course, it's loud as hell and being under the radar doesn't last very long once I get on it.
<major generalization coming> I think you can tell a lot about how much the core group of owners value attention vs. experience by the common colors that a car model is ordered in... I.e. Lamborghinis and McLarens are bright purple, green, orange, etc... Ferraris are almost always red, Porsches span the gamut but you see a lot of black, white, silver and Astons has 17 different shades of gray/silver on offer...
I know color is a subjective choice and at the individual level does not necessarily mean anything about the owner, I'm speaking in generalities here. And BTW I have a red Ferrari (because you kind of have to...) and I'd love to have an orange long hood 911...
Unrelated question - looks your lift is not bolted the the floor - at least that post on the pic? Any concerns?
4 Post lifts do not have to be bolted.. Mine (nor many I know of are) - they also come with casters you can put on to move it around (unloaded of course).
I sometimes miss my 2017 Nissan GT-R. The interior was not as nice as a Porsche. The tuning and modding options are unlimited and much less $$$ than Porsche. I had that car doing 0-60 in 2.7 seconds on cheap E85 gas. Never had a mechanical problem with it in spite of all the tuning (occasional check engine light). Way more people stopped me at gas stations and parking lots to talk about the car than any Porsche I have ever owned. Teen boys idolized me, lol.
I guess I’m a tad different than many Porsche owners. My BMW is a rocket ship and is my daily driver, although relatively* understated.
But I like my “fun” car to have a bit of flair and personality. I like it to stand out a bit and make good sounds. I like my spirited driving to be accompanied by some drama. That’s probably why I’m so turned off by EV’s. Heck, my 992 was guards red and got a lot of comments.
* Relative to supercars. But the 8 series BMW is a beauty in its own right
I think I'm getting these articles to cancel my T order and buy something else but I don't think there's anything appealing on the list for me. Maybe M3 (instead of M8) but thats not even on the list.
What are you looking for? Street car or street and track? Do you have interesting roads where you live? How do you plan to use the car? 911s and Boxsters/ Caymans are very sweet sports cars. But they ride firmly and are noisy. T is on the higher end of noise and firmness of ride quality. You will feel every road imperfection. But it is a very nice sports car especially with the manual. Hard to beat a manual transmission Porsche sports car.