I could not agree more with Cupcars comments on page one. It is true we are a bunch of hardcore Porsche fans and to have debates over what body is better I find it a bit silly... <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> Sorry!
We all have personal preferences about the way our cars look, I would prefer to have a 993 GT2 with the huge arches etc, would not get an S because I do not like the 993 Turbo look and dont have the mula for a GT2... But this is not what matters! What matters is the same flat 6 that is singing on the back, the big tach that sits in your face, the hard brake pedal, the purity of feelings and emotions you get when you drive a 993... Any 993 for that matter or an older 911...
On another post I mentioned I'm stationed in France and went to a Porsche dealer in Nantes to droul and get my 993 fix! There I do not know if it was done on purpose or not on the 2nd row of cars in the showroom he had a 996 4S a 993 2S and a 993 coupe siting in a row next to each other...
Kinda like an evolution scheme! My wife who endures my passion like most of your wifes made the first comment when we walked in... She said wow look at this silver one (the 996 4S)...she said it is huge!!! It is like a Mercedes!!! She continued by saying "oh look at you car compared to this it looks tiny"!!! She said I much rather like your car and the one next to is (993 2S) than this big one...They look more like a proper sports cars!! I thought to my self my goodness she has the car knowledge of a 5 year old and yet it was striking to her what we ( the hardcore fans) have been saying all along about the way Porsche is heading with its marketing and customer direction... Indeed the comparison was incredible, I wish I had my camera with me to take pictures to illustrate this! The new 4S is a mammoth car , long, wide and huge looking. At least is much better looking than the regular 996...
A bit of news though from a new found friend in Stuttgard who is very much involved in the Factory (ex racer, dealer etc) and yesterday he told me that some of the Porsche guys have realized that they need to do something about the situation, he himself is disilutioned with the mark and he said that after caynenne who is a must for sales, Porsche is planning to go back to its roots with the 911 model. He said that they have realized that the 911 has the hardore fans that will not switch to the new "boats" as he called them so besides Cayenne there is a new model planned to satisfy the "new customers" and return the 911 to the hardcore fans for racing etc. He hinted of a GT type not like the 928 but similar to the 996 with all the bells and whistles of the new car and usable rear seating!!!
He also said that the flat 6 watercooled motor is great and it is such a shame it is so underated because it is stuck on a 996... "

I really HOPE SO!!!! I do not know how credible these stuff are I would imagine from his confirmed connections that they maybe true at least part of it.

So there I hope I brought to this discussion a bit of good news , I guess we have to be patient and stick to our 993's till this happens...

But whatever you all drive S non S etc, ya all have fun out there like my friends in Texas say...

 

[quote]Originally posted by DJF1:
<strong>A bit of news though from a new found friend in Stuttgard who is very much involved in the Factory (ex racer, dealer etc) and yesterday he told me that some of the Porsche guys have realized that they need to do something about the situation, he himself is disilutioned with the mark and he said that after caynenne who is a must for sales, Porsche is planning to go back to its roots with the 911 model. He said that they have realized that the 911 has the hardore fans that will not switch to the new "boats" as he called them so besides Cayenne there is a new model planned to satisfy the "new customers" and return the 911 to the hardcore fans for racing etc. He hinted of a GT type not like the 928 but similar to the 996 with all the bells and whistles of the new car and usable rear seating!!!
He also said that the flat 6 watercooled motor is great and it is such a shame it is so underated because it is stuck on a 996... "
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Man, that's the best-sounding rumor I've heard in a while!

 

Don't bite my head off for this one.. (don't shoot the messanger.)
But I've actually heard rumors that the 911 is going to be completely discontinued in 6-8 years.

I don't have my facts straight.. but I was told that some engine was thrown into a boxster body as a trial and the midengine+power to weight ratio blew the doors off the 911.
So, if Porsche continues to develop the boxster it may very well exceed the performance of a 911.

This is not my argument and I don't support it obviously, but as long as we're talking about rumors, this one came from a very good source.
I hope as we all do that this information is very false, but in some way shape or form, it does make some sense with Porsche's new tactic for developing cars.
I also understand that midengine is more optimal in a high performance car.

Just what I heard.. Hope it's totally off base..

 

[quote] Posted by B-Line:
I hope as we all do that this information is very false, but in some way shape or form, it does make some sense with Porsche's new tactic for developing cars. <hr></blockquote>

Well, if you look at Porsche History in reality the Porsche fans are the ones who finally dictated the fate of the 911.Not logic or which ever car was faster...Don't forget that Porsche brought out the 928 to REPLACE the 911... But look what happened!!! They also had the 914 much like the boxter and look what happened as well...
The fact of the matter is that the 911 has probably the most hardcore fans on earth. Think about Ferrari. Yes they do not have a model like a 911 but they have the V12... Look what happened to the Testarossa...they went back to the roots...front engined V12. How about the F50... V12... Simply Ferrari is associated with the traditional V12 and its hardcore fan base will have none of the twin turbo V8 stuff as seen on the F40...(mind you I do not mind an F40 in my garage ) Porsche is associated with the 911.
It would be foolish of Porsche to disregard the hardcore fan base. Besides these are the people who supported and pulled out of the slump the brand in the early nineties were only the 911 was selling...
Over the years Porsche produced some really fab cars like the 928 and the 968. The 911 was never the "perfect" car , but this is what has made the 911 the special car that it is, the legend....

In my mind maybe my source if off base, maybe not we will see; but forgive me if I only want to believe him!!! Life without hope is nothing...and I really hope that history will repeat its self!