Clarksonian excess is positively joyous on paper, and the items that grab review headlines trend towards both the extreme and the concrete. Everyone with a bit of petrol in their veins knows that 700 horsepower is a lot, and 200 is simply not very many. At the same time, not everyone agrees on what makes a car fun. What works in a headline to bring people in, and what constitutes thoughtful criticism that keeps people reading are not necessarily the same. For that reason the subject of excess in modern Porsches requires further examination. While the sales figures indicate that Porsche has their customer base pretty well nailed, does it necessarily follow that the brand has stayed reasonable and accessible?
Too Fast?
Mr. JWW contends that maybe, for road drivers, Porsche has gone too far. The GT2 RS is designed to work on track, that is part of its very nature. At the same time, the compromises required to make it the fastest production car around the ‘Ring make it almost entirely inaccessible on the street. At its intended purpose the GT2 RS is virtually unrivaled, but on road the edges of the car’s performance envelope become infuriatingly distant.
This isn’t a problem that is unique to the GT2 RS, the GT2 RS is simply emblematic of it. In terms of straight-line speed any 911 will get deep in to triple digits before it feels like it is breathing hard. Despite being significantly more road and comfort oriented than the GT2, both the Turbo and Turbo S still offer more performance in every metric than can be routinely enjoyed out in the world of traffic and rogue deer.
The merits of “slow car fast” are often parroted, but if the majority of your enjoyment comes off-track that does hold a fair amount of water. At road speeds is a GT2 RS more enjoyable than a Carrera Club Sport or a 993 Carrera RS despite how much more performance it offers? Does this prodigious performance mean modern Porsches offer “too much” performance, or is it indicative of users simply refocusing what sort of enjoyment they seek from their cars?
Too Much Tech?
While I am certain that the paragraphs above are going to be somewhat contentious, I don’t think this will: New cars have a lot of tech in them. New Porsches have an extraordinary, and occasionally overwhelming, amount of tech in them. While Porsche clung to their analog roots for an extremely long time, hop in a 996 Carrera and compare the number of toys on offer to a current car, the 992 is a technological marvel of adaptive suspension, rear wheel steering, and programmable drive modes.
While all of these ingredients make the car faster, do they make for a better sports car? Had Porsche not stayed current the brand’s popular sports cars could have become niche curiosities like the eternally-lovable range of Morgans. While many enthusiasts claim to prefer simplicity, the broader market does not follow. The current 911 tries to be all things to all people, and the host contends that in comfort mode the car is decidedly more GT car than outright sports car.
The interior is more complex as well, with an analog rev counter flanked by configurable digital displays at both sides, and a dash-mounted infotainment display of a size that would make an iPad blush. Perhaps all this makes the new 911 more versatile, but does it make for a better sports car? Is it a step too far?
View Comments (5)
too bad Porsche couldn't still build an old, smaller, simple analog car.
maybe they don't need to. people will just go and buy a vintage Porsche instead.
While this may be true for Porsche’s limited production halo cars like GT2 RS, the other bookend is the base 718. Starting at $56,900 before options and with 300 hp, the 781 is significantly underpowered for the money. The competition is upping its game. Chevy’s Camaro SS has 455 hp and starts at $37,995. And the new mid-engine Corvette at $60k is arguably now fielding some serious competition not only to the 718, but even to the 911.
As an owner of two classic Porsche’s, and in the market for a modern one, my hope is competition such as the new Corvette will be the wake-up-call Porsche needs to dial up the horsepower (by 50 hp at a minimum) in both its base and S models in both the 718 and 911.
Porsche, are you listening? We want that new GT4 “Evo” engine in the 718S and GTS - maybe 375+ hp in the S, and 387+ hp in the GTS. More is more at the lower end of the spectrum too!
Useable power was a real consideration for me when I bought a 2016 Cayman GT4. I live in Florida where there are no real hills nor fun driving roads. My only access to fun was a few on-ramps to I-75. I would create a gap before the entry and use the car's power and handling to enter I-75under full acceleration and get up to 113 mph in third gear. Great sound along the way, but It was an uncomfortable feeling with others looking at me like I was a threat to their well-being.
I would then drop back to a lower speed, put it in 2nd and accelerate to the red line in 2nd and 3rd gears, Same reaction. I was frustrated trying to enjoy a great car. I sold it with 576 miles on it to someone from California. As I looked back on it later, every review of the GT4 was done in a mountainous area with sweeping curves, unlike Florida with its 90-degree turns.
I would have had more fun with a 356 than I could in the GT4. To me, enjoyable driving means balance in power, brakes, handling, and steering. Power alone can be left to the muscle car group.
Dear James, you did not buy the wrong model Porsche if that was the case when you looked at the GT4 you fell in love with that model, you would not have bought it.
I feel sorry for you that your reason you sold your GT4 was other peoples thoughts of your car and your driving.
Tell them all to get stuffed, you are wrong to brake the speed limit, all you had to do was take your GT4 to a track day with your Porsche Car Club or the many of track days you can with Porsche Sports Driving School days and enjoy what your GT4 could do.
Enjoy the relaxed speed limited highway drive to the track, then stretch your Porsche legs all day and drive home smiling,"at the speed" and looking at the other drivers who don't have a Porsche and what they are missing out with their boring lives and cars.
The head line a "Surplus of Tech and Performance" has Porsche gone to far, you can never have to much of both, as you get used to what you have a lot of people are happy to stay there and then there is other people who want more as you get used to the power they have and look for more speed, traction and electronic adds.
Example the Turbo S a internal organ rearranging launch control power house and some one would be happy with that for all time and then there is some one who would get used to that and want more.
Example Quarter Mile dragster 3 sec rocket ship and they who drive them looking to go faster, so were am i heading with this, PORSCHE keep doing what you are doing building cars to excite and enjoy road able and track able cars to put a smile on your face every time you get behind the wheel.