http://blog.caranddriver.com/porsche...ver-territory/

 

You may be new to Porsches. The Paris-Dakar 959 was one of the most dominant Porsche motorsports cars of all time and cited, at the time of the Cayenne development, as the incubator to expand models.

The Safari may have great appeal in some states and certain parts of the world. Might even cannibalize some Cayenne/Macan sales.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/geralds_1311/3292076957/

 

I love the look of offroad equiped 911s. They bring back memories of the Group B dominating 959 above, Audi Quattro and Lancia Delta rally cars.

Far more disturbing is the mention in the article of downsized turbo engines for the 991.2 refresh.

 

Not new to Porsche and know all about the 959 and the part it played in Porsche vehicles to date. I just picture a BMW X6 ish type of vehicle. The other issue I have is with Porsche introducing models to fill niches ala BMW.

 

OK. But according to the article,

"The concept, which will be called the 911 Safari, will be based on the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4, and feature larger tires, higher ground clearance, skid plates, and an off-road-capable suspension."

No mention or implication of changing the body into an BMW x6-like shape. Based on the C4 and, given the history of the 959 and other rallye cars, no need to change the silhouette.

If Porsche wanted to clone something to mimic the X6, they could simply photoshop the Cayenne's roofline into the same downslope as the X6. As an owner of both X5 and X6M, the platforms are identical except for the rear roofline and tailgate. Since the X6 came out in 2009 and the X6M in 2010, any interest by Porsche to copy that concept would have surfaced long before the 2015 facelift.

 

The 911 IS a niche car. It's not practical, it's expensive, a large part of the world's population lives more than 3 hours from their nearest dealer and it's more car than 99.9% of the world's population could handle.

Yet, there are currently 14 variants of the 911. Which ones do you think they should not have introduced? Or, which of the 991 owners here on this forum purchased a "less mainstream" Porsche because it is not the same as yours?

Someone who lives in the Alps, the Rockies or the Lake Ontario snowbelt should not wish to have a 991 that has AWD and the ground clearance to rip through the 14 inches of snow that fell last night? Sure, my Cayenne GTS can do that....but what if I couldn't afford both the Cayenne and the 991 at the same time? I buy the 991 and then take the bus 20 -30 days each winter?


There was a thread on another 911 Board 12-13 years ago when someone criticized Porsche for designing/producing the Tiptronic gearbox. He thought that was stupid and went on a lengthy and detailed rant. Like the MT/PDK argument, but much more colorful and arrogant.

He got a polite reply from a Vet who had lost his left leg in Viet Nam and thanked Porsche for recognizing that one size does not fit all. And an invitation to the OP to come out to the track with him some time for some spirited fun.

Well, we didn't hear from the OP for awhile after that, but it was an poignant observation that there are all kinds of people who have enjoyed the 911 for the last 50 years, in all kinds of conditions, environments and purposes, including a few that might appear narrow to some.

 

Found this render in the German magazine "Autobild sportscars".

I think this will be very appealing to some markets, where they have very bad roads (Rusland, China, etc.) and in the middle east. Porsche will await the reactions, but I'm pretty sure they have their plans already on hand for this car.



Suzy991 (iOS app)