net

As the title suggests, Porsche has taken a step in the right direction with the 992.2. Contrary to what the majority may think Porsche is currently doing what is the best for the brand.

There was a major shift in consumer demand for Porsche 911s, for as long as I remember I remember the 911 was known to be the old man sports car. But with the recent success of Porsches marketing campaigns and being able quite literally to conquer social media a lot of the younger generation and new money has changed their dream cars from Lamborghini/Mclaren to 911s. Now the Porsche 911s especially the GT line are linked with status and success on social media rather than high-performance track cars. This is why we recently the crazy inflated prices for them because all the new internet money went and bought them for crazy markups since no price is too high to show your newly acquired status on social media.

Let me tell you those people don't care about a turn key to start or a digital tachometer; rather, they associate digital technology with high performance and luxury. All they care about is getting the new hottest piece with the highest performance. Now back to why I think Porsche is taking the right direction, browsing RL I see the average age for users is between 50-60 Porsche knows this and is catering to people in their 20s and 30s because these are the people who are going to buy new cars for at least 30 years to come. Similar to what a lot of other luxury brands have been doing such as AP with the collaborations of celebrities and Rolex with fun colourful dials etc.

Most of the people buying 911s now have had an emotional connection with the model and brand seeing them win races growing up for instance, but this is a thing of the past and now it's all about social media unfortunately.

With that said, the reason for this post is just to show a different perspective on the matter and perhaps show that the 911 model has a brighter future not dying with the new changes, as some people seem to think.

FYI I'm 25 years of age so maybe I'm just biased and don't know what I'm talking about.

melhechi

I agree with your perspective on the future of the Porsche 911. As someone who has followed the brand closely, I see these changes as a necessary evolution to keep the 911 relevant and desirable. The shift towards appealing to a younger, tech-savvy demographic ensures that the legacy of the 911 will continue strong for many years. The integration of modern technology and luxury features doesn't diminish its heritage; instead, it expands its appeal and keeps it at the forefront of the automotive world. Porsche's ability to adapt while maintaining its core identity is what will keep the 911 thriving in this new era.

RudyP

Quite likely that you are right... As an old guard 911 fanatic (although I'm 45 which is a bit younger than your Rennlist average range) I see this as good for the shareholders but bad for me. Although the other way to look at it is that I can keep owning my older cars without that new car itch which will be a nice way to reduce spending... Sure they might cost a bit more to maintain over time but I already have a nearly 30 year old 993 (and F355 which is the real scary one in maintenance) and know plenty of people who have much older air cooled 911s.

Even the 992.1 (which I have) is IMO a bit of step back from the 991.2 and 997.2 that I have - purely a personal preference thing but I find the tech to be more of an annoyance than a positive, although I do like the more horizontal dash integration/layout in the 992.

CamsPorsche

Interesting perspective OP, but I can't fathom how many 20-30 year olds have the dosh to pay for a $140k base 911 regardless of its cache and I think you're stretching Porsches development catering towards that young age group. I'm 48 and doing quite well for myself and I've not bought a GT3...yet.

The GT cars are not a premium due to internet fame (sure Instagram and Youtube float loads of GT car content); they are up there due to the low production numbers and games played by both Porsche and dealers. Existing clients know how damn good the GT cars are but are more than willing to pay to play and jump on the allocation carosel.

Watching Instagram, Youtube etc. I mainly see GT content from collectors with a number of Porsche or other brand cars or performance enthusiasts...

RealityGT

The .2 will likely appeal to the younger generations. Better is relative.

CM991

This is a very well written and romantic post but the reality is Porsche is not targeting 20-30 year olds. Since you are 25, you might believe life is based on what you see on social media and that covers the full spectrum There are 30,000 actual Porsche 911 buyer for every one or two influencer you see with a 911 GT3.

The 911 is going into a completely different price point with the 992.2. Lamborghini, as an example, sold about 3-4 thousands sports cars (non-SUV) worldwide. The 911 alone sold over 40,000 units globally. No sane company will market their 911 to 20-30 year olds that have an average income of less than $100K. The economics are just not there.

This is why the 911 average age is in the 50s. Not because old people love them, is that it is very difficult to afford a $150K car in your 20s. We do see more and more people in their 30s and 40s owning 911s as this new digital economy has allowed alternate and non-traditional income streams to this new generation, but Porsche strategy for the 911 is not 20-30 year olds. That’s what the Macan and 718 is for.

The digital dash and the push-bottom is the result of the organic modernization of vehicles. It’s a natural progression. That’s why BMW lost its iconic hood, the center door lock button amongst other things.

The 911 will remain a 911. Everyone said the same thing about the 997 when the 991 came out. When the 992 came out “it was too big for a Porsche! OMG!” Now people say the 992.1 is the best Porsche and will go down in history as the last non-digital.

I personally do not understand why remove such an iconic feature that does not seem to significantly reduce cost and doesn’t seem to be a mandatory requirement for the hybrid system. But only Porsche knows, for now.

But I’m in my late 30s and I do not make average income for my age. Our households is in the 7-figures. Most 30 year olds are mid low 6-figures and nowadays that’s not sufficient in most cases to justify a 911 price-wise.

RudyP

I’m not the OP but I don’t think he is saying the average 20-30 or 30-40 year olds make enough to afford 150K+ cars but Porsche doesn’t need to sell to average people - they need about 40,000 buyers a year per your post. If they only sell in North America, Europe and China, they need 0.00124% of the population to buy a car every year. That’s 1 per 80,000 (roughly). I don’t have the economic stats but I would imagine even in the 20-40 year old age bracket, there are a more than 1 in 80,000 with the income/net worth to spend on a car in that category (of course not all want to)…

I worked at Google for a while in the recent past and I had plenty of young members of my team who earned very high 6 figures or low 7 figures every year and these are not entrepreneurs, they’re W2 people working in a large corporation at a relatively junior position.

CM991

I’m was in technology as well for many years. Unfortunately the tech world is not one that has the same passion for cars as other industries even though most have the income. The majority drive vehicles well below their means and those that splurge tend to go with EVs.

The economics have changed and continue to change but we are not there yet. The change to use push bottom and a digital tach is not to target 20-30 year olds. It’s natural progression.

B194HR

While I appreciate your point of view based on your experience, I see things differently.
Look at which Porsches have the highest demand, adm, availability and used prices. These can all be partial indicators.
those models that depreciate harder and faster also can be helpful in determining consumer demand.

government policies are responsible for shifting product features, I remember when abs brakes were a new thing,
Airbags all over the interior, not just steering wheel and passenger dash area. Most safety features are inspired
by regulation and not the brands concern for its customer.

in my opinion this also applies to hybrid and ev engines, they’re not readily available because consumers demanded them.

we are headed in this new direction, and it is what it is, but the 992.2 hybrid gts is a significant departure for Porsche and
its 911 in many ways, both from the inside as well as the engine. It’s not just the usual incremental development. It’s much more than that.

consumers aren’t the cause of this effect, they are the beneficiaries or losers depending on your point of view.
but one thing is for sure, when it comes to the new 992.2 hybrid, it’s definitely not your fathers 911.

nyca

Salaries at these tech mega-cap corporations like Google are totally out of line with what engineers make in "regular" jobs. No one is making that kind of money at regular tech jobs, only at the handful of companies with multi trillion dollar market caps do you see those kind of numbers.

rk-d

People are acting like the 992.2 is so different from the 992.1. It's damn near the same car.

3rdpedal

Social media is a cancer on culture, proof that we are moving closer to the dystopian underworld futures of so many sci-fi movies. Technology is not uplifting society, but creating a bigger divide.

And maybe new money idiots are social media and internet driven, but if anything, their success is further proof that people are sheeple. Social media is for the moronic masses. All you are saying is that Porsche is happy to take the sheeple's money.

js1ngh13

This is definitely a interesting perspective and I somewhat agree with you. Social media has driven the push for the GT series cars and its evident - making it harder for the enthusiast to get one when a content creator can come in and throw 80k over MSRP for a GT3 spec that they might drive 3 times, scrape and then sell it since its "uncomfy". The enthusiasts for porsche know the cars value and most of them don't want to throw down 1/3rd of the cars value on top of the MSRP as a track toy.

But!

The younger generation (Late 20s into the 30s) are getting on the 911 wave (as am I) with tech jobs from the FAANG/Semi Conductor companies or whatever career path they might take. I think the big shift for social media has come for mainly the GT series cars and that those following blindly don't know the actual history of the brand and are not mindful enough to realize that a regular carrera can get you into arrest-me speeds real quick. They see a aesthetically pleasing reel or tiktok of a matte black GT3/rs and are like wow I want one. So I would say I agree whole with what most individuals are saying but I would say that social media has shifted demand towards more of the GT cars than regular 911s. And those young people with the money to throw around don't care about a digital dash, a push to start button, fins on the front, or a t-hybrid motor in the PDK, they probably don't even know what was there in the prior model or even before that.

They want the car with the big wing for their content.

null

I'm crying trying to imagine the taxes for a 7-figure W2 employee.

Ooof.

While I don't know that it's trying to market to 20 year olds, I think Porsche is more interested in building a brand than building great cars for "driving enthusiasts." I think this has always been the case to a degree (you've got to sell the cars, after all), but now it just seems more obvious, and the relationship between the two less dependant - instead of cars selling the brand, the brand is selling the cars.

Staffie Guy

Porsches are expensive automobiles and older people generally have more disposable income than younger people. No more complicated than that.