True, but why take the 911 in a direction that compromises engagement and fun for the sake of comfort? Don't we have the Panamera for that? And wasn't the 997 already plenty comfortable? It's subjective, but I don't find the 997 or even Cayman R uncomfortable at all. Give me a good seating position and seats that fit, and I'm all set.

 

I wonder though if the 991 platform will enable an engaging hardcore car. The wheelbase is set, and I doubt they'd narrow the front track or change the weight distribution. Plus, they'd really have to change the interior a lot to make it more sporty.

 

I think that describes the difference in the steering well. And I agree that a lot of jittering in the hands can be a bit scary, but to me that's just part of the fun, since I know the car can deliver the goods.

 

i hear ya, but as i said before, a 911 Carrera will always be the biggest compromise in the Porsche line-up, cause it is meant to attract/satisfy the biggest amount of customers and that doesn`t come without compromises.
the aftermarket will offer enough stuff to make it a fierce weapon, if someone feels it is too soft, but the other way around, making it significantly more comfortable, is almost impossible.
for 90% of the Carrera customers tho, it`s already sharp enough to satisfy their needs imho.

 

Porsche has stated that they will sell more cars. Do they want to or do they need to because of VW? They could accomplish this be dropping the prices to allow it to be more reasonably priced and deemed to be a good deal by those that previously could not afford a 911. Well, we know Porsche didn't do this since they raised the price of the 991s.

You could sell more units if it appeals to a broader range of people. With all the variants they make, the potential is there. Now make the base more comfortable yet maintain the performance. Now also make the performance models more performy and you will likely grab some of the buyers that would ikely buy an f car.

I think that the wide bodies will be more impressive especially the turbo. And the gt3,rs gt2, rs will leave people wide eyed and jaws on the floor.

There will always be folks that will love the previous generation and will not upgrade. This will keep more money in their pocket. Always cast a vote with your dollars or non dollars. But I think that based on the reviews from real drivers, this car will be quite special but the sales numbers I'll tell.

 

There are always buyers who want more comfort and the ability to have a car that they can drive fast. There are those that want performance and want to ring it out of the car.


I say "meh" to the cars performance on my short test drive and people don't agree with it. But these are the same people telling others to drop PTV and add park assist. How important is that performance when you give a suggestion like that.

Like I have stated the 991 is another variation of the 911. Option it as you wish and you can pretty much get any driving experience you want out of it.


anyone who pays a delta to move up from a 997.2 ; more power to you. Enjoy.

 

Biggest amount of customer? Not sure what u mean by this post but if you look at US sales numbers the 911 is greatly outpaced by the cayenne and recently the panomera.

 

within the 911 line of course.
Cayenne and Panamera customers are obviously willing to compromise even more and judging by the sales numbers of the C and P
there are much much more of them than purists. This important factor ($$$) isn`t going to be ignored by Porsche.

 

Yeah I don't see them reducing the front track in an additional model to appeal to more the 997 afficianados. The front was designed to add stability and is undoubtedly "better". This should not be on the subjective vs. objective scale. I can understand some wanting other elements of the previous cars for personal reasons, but not this.

That would be akin to bringing back drum brakes because you harken back to the glory days and you like the feel and sensation of reducing braking.

As far as the interior elements go - I think people are associating the interior with the new car - if it were reversed and the 997 had the current interior and porsche just went to the 997 interior for 2012 people would long for the previous "sportier" interior. It's just association and longing for a time. By definition the new interior should be labelled as sporty - it was copied largely from the Carrera GT.

Porsche will have some 991 GT cars coming in the next 18 months that will likely have some hardcore attributes to appease the folks desiring hard core and raw. I'll be anxious to see what they come up with. The 997.2 GT2 is just raw beyond raw. Some disagree but I found it almost un-street-able.

 

Let’s not forget that the 991s is clearly a better performing car, beating even its past supercars around the toughest of race tracks. They did not trade performance for comfort. The fact that you can drive hours in a less noisy environment is just an added bonus for some of us.

ChuckJ

 

Id like to acid test this debate a little and ask the folks that don't care for the 991 100% a question:

If you won a contest and Porsche would let you design a keep your own new 2012 911 Carrera 2S - free of charge, would you choose a 997.2 Carrera 2S or a 991 Carrera 2S. You have $125k of allocation to spend on this car. Build as you wish. The 997.2 is still available - (this does not include GT3 or GTS cars - Just Carrera 2S's.) Which will you choose to own?

I'm just curious more than anything - how deep does the desire for the previous driving experience go?

 

Within the 911 line..that makes sense...thanks for the clarification.

 

I need to drive the 991 again, but based on the first drive I'm pretty sure I'd go with the 997, optioned for max fun factor.

 

As I mentioned somewhere else it depends on what performance means to the buyer.


On numbers without a doubt, as for performance that puts a smile on a drivers face...maybe.

In the past there were wild arguments from Porsche drivers about how 0 -60 times were not important in judging the car. It was the way it handle, and felt that was more important than a quicker M3, vette, stang. The feedback to the driver was almost always mentioned.

Now everyone points to the ring time of the 991 as a sign it's a better car. Maybe, but maybe that's not the most important aspect. Kinda of like the PDK debate... Yes it's faster but does that mean better.

In my short test drive its obvious that the 991 is a terrific car. I don't thnk anyone here is arguing that. But it's not necessarily better for everyone at this time...especially since there are other options available.

 

It's an interesting discussion, and echoes the manual vs PDK debate in many ways. A lot seems to depend on our underlying motivations for getting a 911.

Personally, I'm in my mid 40s and yearn for sports car along the lines of what I grew up around: relatively simple and raw, connected with the driver, not necessarily more than tolerably comfortable, perhaps a little dangerous if you drive it carelessly but crazy fun if you get it reasonably right. I've done the luxury car thing for a couple decades, and now it's time for elemental sports cars while I can still enjoy them. But I certainly appreciate that some people may want a more hi-tech contemporary car that achieves performance in more 'sophisticated' ways while also being more comfy and multi-purpose.

I do hope a GT3 version of the 991 will come out which is more to my preference. If so, it could be my next car.