Spiffyjiff

or whatever it was called in the old camaro/corvette days..."central office purchase order"...?? anyway,

with the exHAUSTive list of options, why not throw in suspension choices (other than PASM variants, like bilstein or JRZ caliber performance, etc), plenum choices, exhaust choices, sway bar choices and so on? it's not like they would cannibalize sales of the higher end models. i mean, i don't see a buyer who can afford a GT3 RS passing up on it simply because they wanted it for the suspension only, and now in the new world they can add that one option to a base model, ya know? not to mention that, on this site alone i've seen base and S models spec'd higher than GT3's and turbos with the current options list!

what got me thinking is quite a few '10 and even '11 models i have seen mentioned on these sites that already have bilsteins or aftermarket exhaust, etc. i know my thinking is flawed somewhere (otherwise a multi billion dollar carmaker would have thought of this by now!) so please, feel free to scream at me.

Edgy01

I guess I don't know what you're looking for. Are you suggesting that there are not enough options for the 997?

Spiffyjiff

let's put it this way - if i want leather air vents, no problem. if i want neon gold paint, no problem. my interest is more performance oriented - what if i want stiffer/GT3 sways but S model pricing ballpark is all i can afford? they do have performance options of course (ceramics - $8k?, x51 - $15k?) but i think they're leaving a lot of "affordable option" money on the table. just look at all of the cars out there (mine included) that have bilsteins, stiffer motor mounts, LSD, exhaust mods. and not all of these are for trackies. dont you think some of these people would have chosen that option up front? i know i would have.

Edgy01

Porsche has always had some degree of "performance" options for the 911. However, with some 80 pages of options already when does it all end? I would venture to suggest that the majority of buyers take what they get and are generally pleased with the options available. Recall, that for all those other options Porsche has to secure subcontractor arrangements with all those folks as well as to do full integration testing on all those combinations of components, not to mention compiling the technical data on all of that stuff. Someone would have to pay for all of that testing, and few would be willing to. That's what race shops are for. They assume the risk of integration for you--at a price. A full-blown Porsche prepped car with such parts may be very unaffordable, due to the degree of engineering they feel would have to be done to satisfy themselves, and ultimately, the customer.

Tcc1999

^That's what I was thinking (but so elaborately or eloquently). Adding factory performance options might also blur the lines between the different models even more. Look at it this way, Porsche is actually helping medium and smaller businesses by leaving the after-market upgrades to them.

alexb76

Those luxury items do NOT affect the performance of the car, nor emissions, nor tire wear, nor crash test results, nor safety, nor traction control/esp settings, nor comfort, etc...

A lot of engineering goes into these cars, to make them fast, to handle/ride well in all circumstances, and for it to be safe and pass all safety standards in ALL markets across the world. There's absolutely NO WAY you can add that many suspension/engine variables to the car and not to affect one thing or another. It's probably doable but then you might be paying double for the car.

Most of those extra aftermarket items are NOT necessary to track the car 5 weekends/year. That's mostly for enthusiasts who are looking for a specific feel on the car and I can gaurantee that they do NOT add much performance to the already perfectly engineered Porsche... it's mostly marketing.

I think the 997.2 performance options are actually fantastic! 997.1 was a bit limited, but now with Normal, PASM, SPASM for Suspension (each has a different swaybar btw), LSD as an option, and 3 engine choices (3.6, 3.8, X51), Normal/Sport exhaust, that's pretty much all you need to customize your car.

If it still isn't to your liking you are more than welcome to go aftermarket... or just get a GT3 to begin with.

Eric - Plug Guy

Simple answer: in Detroit, 'Bubba' was there to push the order through while chomping a cigar, pants dragging over his 40 yr old work shoes, suspenders drooping, hell probably even had eye shades. He'd walk it into the production boss's office and get a sign off to do some special stuff.

Porsche? Light years apart.

Remember, the 'basics' coming out of Detroit were just that. The 'basic' Porsche is a rocket ship in comparison.

And yes, I am an old muscle car guy (Camaro) and loved 'em. Watch the auctions too and often dream back to those days.

Spiffyjiff

hmm, good points all. esp this one:

oh and i should have told you all up front - i'm a "grass is always greener"/never happy with what i have anyway, so that prob explains some of my thinking within this thread!

Quadcammer

perfectly engineered? stop...please.

Are you honestly suggesting that a stock car vs. one with motons, upgraded swaybars, full exhaust, big brake kits, etc would be basically identical.

Cause I guarantee that the difference in performance will be much different.

Mostly marketing? Porsche's "perfect engineering" is mostly marketing these days.

utkinpol

porsche does not do custom builds. probably too many people would order cars with no suspension, no pcm, no interior, etc.

instead they make gt3 cup cars. wanna buy one?

i wish it could be possible to buy a 'barebone kit' from porsche, just a NB tub and most powerful engine they make, well, with transmission. all the rest can be retrofitted or done from aftermarket pieces. but they don`t do that.

so you do buy stock and then pay to your mechanic to take all that extra stock stuff out.

I am really curious what will be their excuse in 991 model as all engines they got will become 9A1 clones - so what will be an excuse to price gt3 engine 2-3 times more than one in the C2S?

kosmo

the OP does ask a valid question. In terms of logistics, P can most definitely do it. Prob internal politics that prohibits this. Bigger sways bars would have been nice i'll admit!

alexb76

I never said it'd be identical, but a Carrera is built for street, and occasional track day and for the audience of such, a different engine mount or swaybar is NOT gonna matter much.

I absolutely disagree that Porsche engineering is mostly marketing. I work with them, have been to the factory and test facility, the cars go through a A LOT MORE engineering than ANY other mass produced sports car out there! Don't get me wrong, their marketing is fantastic too, specially around Cayenne, Panamera...

The engineering that goes into 80% of aftermarket parts is MUCH LESS than what goes into my car from Porsche! If you really don't believe in their engineering, maybe you should buy a Dodge Viper instead?!

Quadcammer

I guess their IMS engineer had the day off

Mike in CA

Yeah, he was probably hanging out with the guy responsible for designing Corvette interiors......

pewter82

Thanks to "Bubba" he helped build some of the most highly demanded and expensive , Muscle Cars....

Give "Bubba" a little credit...those guys were out at the strip, racing factory teams in the 'hay days" of Factory vs Factory competition.

I think if you spec out a 911 today you can get some of what the OP is asking for, but just opting for the GT3 would be a nice idea.