The price quoted in the article was 175,000 GBP - That's $296,674 USD.

 

the 458 is going to sell at a premium just like all new Fcars, if you wait 3-5 years price will come down.
There are of course exceptions to this rule, for example a 360 CS is still more money then a 05/06 F430 6-speed.
Scud's are getting more reasonable, but the economy kicked a bunch of guys who had hard deposits in the teeth.
The cali is sold out and selling for extreme premiums.

The fit and finish will hopefully improve again with the 58, as the 30 was still lacking some interior touches for the money.

If you want a real Fcar, buy a slightly used 599, V12's are always the way to go for fun.
A modded TT will eat any 430 on the road, anytime, anywhere. Its not even close! The 58 will just mean we all need to upgrade our turbo's LOL

 

I agree with the OP: Porsche has been falling behind in terms of performance for their halo cars for some time. The stock 480hp on the 997TT is a joke. It should have been +525 hp. The GT2 is an amazing piece of work, and the TT should have been performing at its level, not below it. Now everyone is taking aim at Porsche: Ferrari, Nissan, Lambo, Audi, Chevy.

We may as well buy Carrera 4's, because they look the same and are all slower than competitor's cars.

I'll be looking to Ruf for any of my Porsche fixes from now on. Too bad they are so hard to get!

 

I disagree!
Horsepower does equal performance.
I would put the magazine down for the moment and do some math. Weight combined with horsepower is what your looking for, take that number and divide it into the purchase price. The TT is still the top of the heap, which is why is still has a large bull's eye on its back.
If you want to compare 300K cars to a 145K car, you'll always be hunting for more. The truth is with some minor mods, the TT can't be touched by any of those cars in stock form.
Granted if you take your Lambo down to Heffner, etc you are in a different league but be prepared to write the check.
Last time I checked, the turbo still had the best performance numbers out there and its AWD. Ferrari's should not be compared to Pcars, but to previous Ferraris, this is the common mistake we all make.
Lambo owners want to compare their car to Ferrari's, it will never be and can never be one. Don't waste your time, it is a simple difference of demographic for the OEM.
The R8 is nothing more then a sexy RS4, the new V10 is Audi's way of keeping it competitive, no one should spend 190+ on that car, but they will.
Nissan has proven they can build cheap horsepower, of course that comes at a price eventually usually at your routine visits for service, and of course the residual value is proof if something sounds too good to be true it probably is.
Finally, the ZR1 as great as it is, is manufactured by a failing car company. The car stickers for 10X's what the average GM car is worth. Who is their target audience? The execution of that car is **** poor, and once again the interior looks like my old chevy from 20 years ago.
Porsche gives us plenty, they basically show the potential owners through their racing programs what these motors can do. They are the only OEM to be 100% aftermarket friendly, just look at how many options you have and then compare it to the overall population of turbos produced, it is almost overkill. Porsche built a car that will last 20 years as it sits in stock form, if you want 850 horsepower, look to the right and make some phone calls. I promise not one of those other cars stand a chance.

 

While I can see some of the logic in your sentiment, the facts still stand true:

-The GT1 engine block was an amazing piece of tech back in its day in the 90's, but why are we paying top dollar for it despite it's slow evolution to 480hp?
-We are forced to pay extra from Tuners who will unleash its true potential, so that we can put the whoopass on the competitors.
-I want to see all the new tech: where is the weight savings, active aerodynamics, state of the art 4wd, PDK, fuel efficiency? Oh, it's coming from the newer (and cheaper) wet sump 9A1 Carrera block that will be Turbocharged but not be raced by Porsche.

Cheers to VW! They can keep the next proposed Turbo with it's 520hp. I'll be looking elsewhere.

 

Porsche can sell you a cup car today, there were a ton of cancelations. It's 180K, are you a player?
IN all seriousness, the Turbo is the most fuel efficient sports car built, there isn't a gas guzzler tax, you'll pay a 6k dinger to the government for one of the others.
PDK is for ******* IMO, every single one, from every single OEM is the same. Learn to use a clutch and you don't need a computer to shift for you. Wanting it, I guess I can see why, but its not important.
The new motor will never be as good as the one we have now, that is an entire new thread.
Active wing you have, what else do you want? THE NEW FERRARI HAS ZERO VISIBLE AERODYNAMICS.
I think you would be happy in a 94 3.6 with about 75k put into the motor, but you'll have to shift.
If you are willing to spend 300k on a car why wouldn't you be driving a CGT?

 

I agree horsepower does not equal performance, but most people on these forums (gross generalization here ) seem to spend more $$ on modifying their cars or buying the latest and greatest, instead of changing the biggest variable - the driver.

Heck, take a few bucks and go to a good racing school, and I am not talking about PCA "Drivers Education." Or is the point really to be noticed by others for what you drive?

In the mid-atlantic area of the US, you can buy 2008 F430s for under $190K, so I don't know where the inflated prices posted in this thread are coming from....

 

Modifying a car is a disease, we have support groups
It is nice when you begin with the perfect platform and the Turbo is just that.
Some of us have had the proper training But I agree it is money well spent and probably will get you further then wheels, but you wont get the looks which is why 99.9% of people buy these cars to begin with.

05 430/6 speeds are going for 130k
no reason to buy an 08, also remember high mileage for these cars is anything more then 400 miles per year.
Once you drive one, you'll realize you are paying for the beautiful music and the very expensive, but exclusive parking.

 

give it 2-3yrs after intro; you will be able to find one with low mis found 08 lambo spider <750mis offered @ 100K off MSRP!

 

Ferrari is Ferrari. Need I say more?

 

Give the 911GT2 570HPs and the PDK and u will see who is the boss .
i don`t like ferrari`s recent cars, they have lost their grace and class.
that 458 is no exception, that `look, i want to be meaner than a lambo` design doesn`t work for a ferrari and as far as engine-tuning and reliabilty is concerned give me a 911 any day. it is simply quality and an icon.
i mean has the F430 or 360 become an icon or will the 458 will become one? i don`t think so...

 

I agree with most of your opinion, but you don't know anything about the GT-R depreciation yet.

But we all know about the depreciation of 996TT, which has a GT1 engine in it. And if the new PDK 997.2TT turns out to be a great performer, then too bad about the depreciation of 997TT as well.

While I agree that a modified 997TT is the best performance for the money, somehow I have never wanted to buy one. I would rather have a GT3 anyday.

 

Totally agree with your first paragraph, but not sure I agree with the second. I've been to a handful of both. The "good racing schools" never brought much more to the table than a good PCA instructor. I may not be the pro you are, but I found the PCA to be as good a place as any to learn how to drive these cars on the track. Maybe you attended some lame PCA events. What do you feel the "good racing schools" do that you can't get at PCA?

Don't mean to hijack the thread. I think the new Fcar is a sexy beast. Anyone looking for a few condo's in New York and maybe I can afford one.

 

Sorry, but those are incorrect figures. I've been researching it myself pretty heavily lately. No one is paying over MSRP for Scuderias right now. Max MSRP is around $305K. You can find new ones at Ferrari dealerships for MSRP. My local dealership had a delivery miles 2009 selling for MSRP just 2 months ago. 2008 Scuds are in the $260-280K range. New "regular" F430's have MSRP around $230-250K with pretty heavy options. You may find a 430 Spider in upper $200's, but not over $300K. Sorry, just wanted to clarify the numbers.

If you use the MSRP of the 430 when it was introduced right after the 2004 Challenge Stradale it was about 10% less, so by the same token, the 458 should be around 10% less than MSRP of Scuderia, so about $260-270K range. Secondary market can do anything, of course, so at first I'm sure they will trade MSRP++ for a while.