First let me state that I am very young in comparison to the rest of this board..

I am only 18 years of age. You can judge me if you want to, but that's beside the point. I am in love with the Porsche 911. To me it is the ultimate. A car which is instantly recognisable. An icon. A masterwurk. The majority of you are privileged enough to have driven my dream car.

My major concern is - the future of the 911. Or more specifically - the future of the sports car itself. Obviously the price of petrol is a major market concern. It will take me at the very least a decade or two to afford the 911. What state will the world be in in regards to petrol prices and hybrid car technology? It's a real fear of mine. That when I finally get to the stage of being able to purchase a Porsche - it will sound and drive like a Prius - no sound of the engine, exhaust, changing gears etc. The driving experience will have diminished.. And even though petroleum will still be around in some shape or form I fear that the inevitable hyper-inflation to come will make running a 911 on a day-to-day basis a thing of the past.

Is there any hope for us youngsters who fantasise about the 911? Or am I just being paranoid? What shape will the sports car take in regards to new technology?

Thanks for your time.

Seb

 

just mod the hell out of it.... you can turn it into anything to your liken... thats what RL is for.

 

Don't worry.........
For sure fuel prices will increase. Ten years from now I imagine gasoline will be about 5 - 7 dollars per gallon but by then we will be used to it. I remember when gasoline went from about 35 cents to about 50 cents a gallon ( 1972?) and folks were thinking it was the end of the world!

Porsches 10 years from now wil be different but that will be OK. Some folks today consider the only real Porsches to be the air-cooled types ( up to 1998). By the way the current models are super cars and the old cars are also highly desireable. I have been looking at the new models but also the 993 (1995 to 1998). These are 11 to 14 years old and are roughly half the price of the new ones in excellent condition. So, there will be many options 10 to 15 years from now.

 

dont worry seb, the 911 has survived and remained iconic for many many decades. i have ultimate faith that porsche will keep the 911 around, and even in the year 3000 when flying cars are the norm, the 9997 (or whatever they will call the 911 in 1000 years) will still have the heart and soul of the original.

 

I started driving Porsches in 1974--when the first oil Arab embargo hit,--to save money on gas. The last gasoline powered car to run on gasoline will be some sort of classic,--either a sports car or a Bugatti. It's part of ownership,--ensuring you have set aside enough money to operate it. Despite rising operating costs, these things still get driven. Why not buy a 1988 911 Carrera in a couple of years? These are fine machines and will give you a proper taste of how a 911 handles. These new ones have tempered that significantly.

 

+1 on buying an older 911 for ~$20k. Cheaper than a new mustang and 10000x cooler.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated to see some different insight!
For me personally I wouldn't choose an older 911. I'm a real sucker for the beauty of the current 997. I would much prefer to take a giant leap up from a fairly bog standard daily drive to the flawlessness of a brand-spanking 911 fresh from the factory. As much as I appreciate the older generation models I simply prefer the more recent additions and I imagine that will continue as the 998/99_ etc are built of the next couple of decades.

Is still a little concerning in regards to that mechanical feel of a car possibly being lost. Does anyone else feel the same way? Sports cars sounding like Prius'?

 

I'm really going to be p#ssed if this dude turns out to be Dr pcar!!

 

I don't see petrol disappearing any time soon, granted we will see other forms of technology but oil will continue to grease the wheels. The 911 has been around for over 40 years and I don't think Porsche has any plans to kill their golden goose anytime soon. At worst, you can always but an older model.

 

Seb,

Stop worrying how technology will affect the 911 and worry more about how you might affect technology. Then, after you've created your first start-up dot-com, sell your business and go out and buy yourself a new 2011 Carrera S. Be the first 21-year old on your block with your dream car in your garage. Remember, it's not excessive if you've earned it.

Regards,
-Ted

 

I'll take a Porsche sports car with a non combustion power plant when the time comes. Type of power that brings a Porsche to life is not as important as being 100% Porsche driving experience.

Fear is like a cold, wet, heavy wool blanket... throw it off and live in the Sun.

 

Fuel price in Europe and elsewhere is a reflection of taxes, not the actual cost of getting the fuel. Oil is still readily available, and new techniques make getting at more challenging oil supplies easier and more cost effective than ever.

Prices will only rise if we vote for folks who drive up the costs. That seems to be the direction the country is going, but hopefully that will change. If we move to alternative power sources, the price of oil should drop, assuming the costs to get at the oil stays at current levels or decreases. The world has many more new drivers coming online as 3rd world economies mature; China, India Neither China, nor India has the infrastructure in place for electric cars, let alone the US. Electric cars will provide many challenges before wide adoption.

Getting away from the cobustion engine is going to be more difficult that the econuts want us to belive. We end up buring more fossil fuels with electic cars (assumnng those same econuts don't let the country move to nuclear)

Fear not, Porsche and others car companies will have plenty of fun cars to drive for us. The upper end of the car market depends on this, and more companies are entering this market than anytime in the automotive industry's history. Most are marketing to the upper end of the market, leaving the low end to traditional players as the cost to enter the market is steep for the mass producer.

I see a future of more designer cars, and more personilation than ever before. Porsche has given us this flexibility for many years, and I see others following suit. Oil is king, and will remain so for many decades to come.

We just don't have credible alternatives. We spend much more on energy costs for homes, businesses, manufacturing, etc than we do with automobiles. Coal, Natural Gas, Nuclear are all energy costs for home and business, and is that going to go away?

I certainly can be wrong on the analysis above, but I don't think the combustion engine is going away for many decades at the earliest.

 

I remember being 18 once; I wanted a Jaguar XKE in BRG with that line of toggle switches on the dash!

But now that I can finally afford a sports car, I can get something better: a 911!

So fear not!

 

I wouldn't worry too much son...in the future big "green" brother will make sure no one can own nor afford any of these cars. It will be crimes against the environment and mother earth. Furthermore, you'll be taxed to death so you the worker bee only have time to work, sleep, and serve the state.
However, if things do turn around and people get smart and revolt against big brother....you might be the proud owner of one of these...the choice is yours.
(thanks to Jeff not Dan, thanks to OCBen...the camel is mine..the picture not real life)
abe

 

No, that's not from Dan, unless you're talking about the camel pic.

The nicely done photochop of the 997 was done by Jeff (Icon). Gotta give credit where credit is due.