First, I love my 997. The look, the feel, the sound. It's an amazing car. But to me (a Silicon Valley tech guy) it is an amazingly refined and honed old-generation design. Rather amazing what they've gotten the car to do and to be, but at some point it had to be replaced by someone who did not cling to the past. Rendering it a great vintage machine. To add, up to now, the 911 was the only supercar you can drive everyday.
But the R8 seems to be the new everyday supercar. The engine in the proper position, beautiful, refined, reliable, with a great revving engine. No, it's no GT3. Yet. But Porsche had 40 years to build today's GT3, and only does so after establishing a mass-market version for their more standard car.
If Audi chooses, a few years of refinement will put the base R8 well beyond the 911 and when the cab ships, the V8 (the V10 will just be too pricey) it will be my next car. I hope that it forces Porsche to raise their game. They are certainly quite capable of doing so. And I'd actually rather own the Porsche. The history, the modest company size (separate from VW). But they've defied physics long enough with a rear engine and a 'classic' shape. Very quaint but time to move on.
Porsche folks, are you listening? I know you're currently consumed by financial engineering, but pay attention.

 

absolutely agreed...

 

Porsche gonna keep making that old dog hunt. Look at the new turbo - torque vectoring, active motor mounts - more electronics to tame that rear mounted engine.

 

Dunno - an R8 is nearly 4 inches wider than a narrow body 997. Very wide in a city....

 

Ive been ok with it

 

I can't take my Ford GT through the drive-through either
Wouldn't be a major criteria for a Porsche replacement.

 

The R8 needs to earn its stripes on the race tracks, and I'm sure that it will just do that. Audi has an amazing record at Le Mans, an endurance race where a car company's prime objective is to build sporty yet reliable cars that require as little time as possible in the pits.
I do like the R8. It's an attention grabber, although IMHO a bit too flash or me to own.

 

Why do they need to do that? The R8 is not a track car.

 

It isn't a track car yet, but is certainly able of competing with existing ones including Porsche's, Ferraris, and Aston Martins.

 

I guess you're lucky - me, I can only afford one car like this and it's an every day driver. That sort of thing is important.

 

Well, I do feel fortunate to own the GT. I'm an old guy and lusted for one since I was a 9 year old and the original debuted, conquering Ferrari at LeMans. This one is a recreation, but quite nicely done and still, in my mind, the most beautiful car ever made. It is a true garage queen and with 625 hp (pulley and tune) it has taught me that even large, and thus small amounts of horsepower don't make big perceived performance differences on the street. Thus when I hear debates about mods yielding 10 versus 25 horsepower on this forum, I kinda giggle. Not because the Ford is a brute, but it doesn't seem that much faster than my relatively stock 997S.
But seriously, the Audi seems to be as practical a car as the Porsche. With the GT3 lip, I can't do the drive-through either. It's still in the 'gathers a crowd' phase of its existence, and there are doubtlessly a few bugs that only time on the road can shake out. Also, the interior is a bit too up-market for my taste (I favor an Elise/Exige spartan thing for a sports car). Nonetheless, unless Porsche changes their tune, when pre-owned R8 (or R10) cabs come on to the market (likely not for 4 years or so) I am swapping.
I really love most everything about Porsche. But not so much so as to drive a lesser car.
Flames always welcomed

 

It is a track car in the same way as the 911 series is. Cup and other track-worthy versions are part of Porsche's racing and marketing strategies. Audi has finished up a RWD track version to compete with Cup, Corvettes and the like (I think). You know the old adage, 'Win on Sunday, sell on Monday'

 

No flame from me on that. One of the things I like about the 997 is that it doesn't stand out too much but if it was my weekend car all those mod cons that make it useful as a daily driver would make less sense. One of my friends has an Elise and it's a great car - a perfect targa rally and weekend track toy.

Have to agree on your comments about small horsepower increases as well. We campaigned low powered sports cars for many years in club events and I always took great pleasure in sorting the chassis / handling out and setting good times that way. I remember days when I'd end up with a sore right foot simply because it was pushed hard into the firewall all day long.

Down here the R8 is a bit pricey though at around $250k.

 

The autophile world is sorta separated in to two camps. The power folks and the finesse folks. Typically, the first category is achieved more inexpensively while the latter is tougher to do. And the priciest is the combination of the two. Really fast cars that handle really well. To be fair, there's a lot of grey in between but the former funded the entire U.S. muscle car industry, the latter fuels Lotus, Miata's and a few other failed attempts. Porsche is at the low end of a vendor who can combine both qualities. It's why we love 'em so much, and why there's so much fodder for controversy. Modding and arguing over power AND handling. What fun!

 

Ahh - the Miata! Now that's a car that will go down in history. Not just cheap and good handling but well built and sold by the boat load as well. The British motor industry surely must have stopped, watched and wondered what if on that one.

You're right about getting the best of both worlds. That's the ideal but if I had to take a choice handling and finesse wins out everytime.