And there's Aston Martins AMV8 coming soon too. Priced to compete with the 911 range.

I also think the company is fast loosing its cred with its loyal 911 customer base. Lots of talk about a saloon version coming, the next SUV etc. Notice also the Boxter is set to get a hefty hp increase this year too. But for us 911 customers, for many years the core of their business, they have lost the plot. I get the feeling they would like to see the end of the 911 range. They would much prefer to bring the company down a scale. Gone are the days that Porsche was a dream car that few of us could dream of owning.
They want to sell hatchbacks, family cars, SUVs.....hell even snow sleighs.
Fact is, this marque has lost a lot of its uniqueness. It's no big deal to own a porsche anymore. I mean.....the very fact that you've got guys procrastinating over whether to buy a vette or Porsche says it all.

 

I don't dislike current 911s' per say.

I do dislike the "bling bling" models of current Porsche line-up (911 or not) and I don't think I'm alone here when I read about people complaining about too much weight etc.
Not to mention posts where people say Porsche has lost it's credit which I totally agree.
Porsche has become more luxury than sport and that's a fact I dislike.
Gimme GT3 anyday and for sure I'll love it, it's a great sportscar!
TT Cabriolet with all leather interior and satellite navigators etc. and I don't. But hey, that's just me, I'm sorry if that doesn't agree with your opinion.

Besides, I was quoting what Porsche has said about next 911's building costs (which they say will be significantly less) and IMHO that usually means quality won't be better.
Not to mention I didn't say anything disliking about 996, just said new model's quality can't be much better (so I guess I'm disliking 997 now, what's the deal with that?)

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TIS330ci
[B]it's been confirmed there will be no flat 8 and instead they will use the existing 4.5L V8

Porsche in fact denied not too long ago that 998 (in a German magazine) would get a V8 and claimed the mags had got it wrong. But they have been running V8's in 996 mules as part of the test program for the "4th line" model.

They neither confirmed nor denied that 998 would get a flat-8...

A flat-8 would have some issues with packaging and rear overhang to a point that it wouldn't make sense from a handling perspective.

 

Really, how much bigger and heavier do you think a flat 8 would be? I don't think the difference would be significant at all. An 8 cylinder engine is not necessarily heavier, for instance a small block Chevy V8 weighs less than the Porsche flat 6.

 

You run into issues of balance - yet more weight out beyond the wheel line, and the challenge of cooling. Bigger engine will need more cooling so more weight somewhere for bigger radiators, which messes up drag, which messes up performance and fuel consumption...You might also need bigger rear wheels and stronger rear suspension components, delivering yet more weight...It's not just the weight of the engine, but see it holistically as a system and what the system needs when you add two cylinders. So why would you want to fit a flat-8???

 

First rule of hot rodding, there's no replacement for displacement.
Besides, the concept is not new to Porsche, for example the 904 GTS used flat 4,6 and 8 engines.

 

I am just curious to know who porsche is marketing this 997 for, other than possibly a first time buyer who wants a showroom car. I don't see how a 996 owner would get rid of his car for such a meager improvement. If 997 is not a big improvement, price of a used 996 will hold it's value better, and thus used car sale will compete with the sales.
I can't understand the arrogance of porsche if they don't make the GT3 engine architecture the standard 997 design, and graduate to a flat-8 for 998 soon. Till then I am not giving up my C4S.
Eventhough I am dissapointed with porsche's current marketing strategy, I am addicted to 911's, so I am not going to move to a vette, viper or infact an astonmartin yet, the drive of a 911 feels more connected, even if it's not the most powerful. But, if 997 doesn't improve dramatically i'll just hold onto my porsche, and if 998 is not a of earth-shattering performance, it's time to shop around.

 

I seriously hope you guys don't actually believe there is a chance they will put a v8 in a 911 variant. That would seriously throw off the balance, and the shape of the car. The only way they could do it is to make it mid engine, and mount it a 90deg,which I think is safe to say they wont do. A flat 8 maybe, but it would probably be a more compact engine, maybe a 4 liter with smaller pistons, so that the engine would be only marginally larger than the current flat 6.

also you guys are assuming the 998 will be a 911 variant, when it could be a new 928 type car.

 

I hope the built quality improves (not to mention engine & tranny) but Porsche said "production costs will be significantly lower than on 996 models", which in my opinion means built quality can't be much better than what it is currently.

You infer that 996's have a poor build quality, why? That's where I disagree with you.

It sounds like you're dissing current P-cars...that's all.

 

Compared to other vehicles costing much less, the 911's interior build quality leaves something to be desired. I would only have to drive my 2004 Lexus RX-330 to affirm this. However, most people buy a 911 for much more than the cheap plastic stalks on the steering column but when you drop a ton of cash on a car is it asking too much to have the same quality as a "lesser" car?

Rob

 

Personally I've never seen a 911 as a hot rod - I enjoy it for the corners not driving it in a straight line.

But the 904 was not rear engined, it was mid engined: a whole different and much better balance than the 911's rear engined configuration.

 

Who said anything about a straight line? I track my 996 quite a lot here at TWS, a 2.9 mile road course, so I think you might say I enjoy "corners" too LOL. You should try it sometime, if you haven't already. Yes the 904 GTS was a middie, a better example would be the 912 vs 911 (flat4 vs 6). I'm merely trying to point out that Porsche has utilized different engine configurations without a complete redesign of the chassis.

 

Here's the first post on the 8 pot 997 engine rumor that makes sense!

You guys forget the 911 is a design severely constrained by the choice of engine placement made 40 years ago. Porsche basically admitted this during the introduction of the front engined 928 series. I drove a 928 for many years and over 200k miles and can attest to the fact that this car was light years ahead of the 911 at the time and would still be reasonable competition even today. It was the appealing classic shape and primary market demand by 911 worshipers that doomed the 928 during cash-short times and forced Porsche to maintain production of the 911.

I do agree that what Porsche has managed to accomplish with the 911 over the years is truly remarkable and the current 996 is certainly a respectable sports car in all areas (although the cockpit is still a little tight IMO). To get me excited about the 997 and cough up the $100k new car rite of passage fee would be no less than 400HP and GT3 levels of performance without the ultra stiff ride and peaky engine. I don't see how this could happen without an 8, and the 911 engine packaging dictates the flat-8. Oh, and the PDK transmission would be another plus!

Here's hoping the C2S will be that car!

 

I infer mainly the engine and transmission.

Other people have complained (in this thread also) about interior quality which I'm sure you're aware of also but for me, biggest concern is with Engine & Transmission.

I don't like the way "normal" 996 models don't have engine and transmission as older 911's and GT2, GT3 and TT do/did.
To me, that's the biggest area where Porsche needs to improve (go back to old principle) but when they say cost of building next 911 will be significantly less, I don't see that happening.

Not dissing all current P-cars, some (parts) of them and principles in Porsche of today.

 

Excellent point about the TSBs. I read somewhere that production quality (mfg defects/#units) was higher for 993s than 964s. Looks like a trend to me.

I have no idea what the deal is (besides annoying ), but I think it might have something to do with a rosier (or otherwise inaccurate) perception of Porsche history.

It's not like one can't look this stuff up, but I guess an "opinion" is just as good as a "fact" on a discussion board.