The 997 Turbo - Controversial Opinions?
Well, guys, from a psychological point of view, your replies have been worth gold. But don't get me wrong, I'm part of this too.
Now let me get some things straight: I want to get the 997 Turbo and I will get it (if Porsche doesn't decide to cut off my car from my dealer's quota because of what I wrote... ) But I meant from all of my heart what I said.
I may think different when I actually sit in this car and drive it. But I'm not that sure about it.
As a Porsche driver, I have a hard time lately. In the past, Porsche drivers were considered to be very special individuals who love a stiff suspension, a fast tire and some fast rounds on the track in their lightweight, non-comfortable little racer. Today, Porsche drivers are viewed different by people, I can tell it by their looks, by their comments at the fuel station or at my dealer or even when I'm washing my car. People don't consider us Porsche drivers to be freaks like many years ago, they consider us to be rich and spoiled people who are just showing off their toy. Nothing more and nothing less.
Do you think it is written on my forehead that I'm one of the people behind Rennteam? Do you think people can read from your nose that you're the hell of a track driver and you love driving your Porsche? Or do you think people believe you when you tell them that you're enjoying a lonesome ride into the sun along the street, just for fun?
Nahhh, we're just a bunch of rich and spoiled wannabees and whenever these people see a crashed Porsche, it actually confirms their prejudice. So what do I care about these people? To be honest? I don't care at all. But: I care about other sportscar owners and here's where the trouble starts. In the past, sportscar owners were looking upon Porsche drivers the same way. We were the hardcore sportscar drivers in the past. Of course with the exception of those Morgan, Caterham, etc. drivers but thats another story. When the 993 Turbo showed up, this car shook up the sportscar world at that time. It was fast, it was mean and I can't remember any Ferrari, Lamborghini or any other brand driver who had no respect towards this car. It was the 911 Turbo, the monster.
When the 996 Turbo showed up, people were pretty disappointed with the power figure and with the performance specs. Not much better than the 993 Turbo, only the highly improved chassis and the better aerodynamics made the 996 Turbo actually faster, especially on the track. And by that time, Ferrari just put the F360 on the market, a 400 HP car. No real competition from other car makers at that time, the Mercedes SL 55 AMG which took many customers away from Porsche (and I'm not sure if they even realize that) was still not available. So the 996 Turbo was somehow satisfying, it was a worthy successor to the 993 Turbo but not really the update everybody expected. One reason why I took my 996 Turbo to RS-Tuning over a year later, I wasn't really happy with the performance, especially since this car felt like it had a lot of unleashed potential.
Even during the 996 Turbo times, the competitors like Ferrari but even BMW and Mercedes started to gain terrain. I remember seeing a video in which a stock S 65 AMG left behind a 996 Turbo like nothing. Of course on the straightline but thats not the point here.
Owners of other sportscars started to make fun of us, they started to provoke us and some of them were even doing some pretty stupid things to make us race against them, even on public streets. Never had this experience before in my life.
It was like suddenly, a whole generation had access to high power cars and was just waiting to "show" it to those "dumb" Porsche drivers. Just look at the many Corvette Z06 threads we had and how many Z06 owners/enthusiasts registered just to provoke us or to make fun of us. In reality, this happens pretty often. Even a friend asked me just a short while ago if I saw the specs of the new Mercedes S 65 AMG. Yes, I saw them and I also read the performance figures. I was shocked.
To get back to my "story:
When the first rumors of the 997 Turbo came in, I was very excited, like a little kid. The first time I got an official confirmation of the Turbo, it was back in 2004 during a very exclusive Weissach visit. It took some begging and some "approval" to get the 997 Turbo confirmed and they even mentioned how great this car is. Then, another time, I saw it live in front of me, stupid people forgot to put the black velvet over it and during those 30 seconds, I had a first glimpse. Yes, I liked what I saw and the black colour made the car look even more mean. I was getting hot or no, I was actually hot for this car already.
A few months later, we heard the first specs from a friend. Apparently Porsche didn't want to accept the Mercedes/BWM power provocation anymore and 500 HP, minimum, was the rumored power figure. When I heard that, I was happy. What happened? Had Porsche finally come to their senses? No more need to go to RS-Tuning or any other tuner? I was so happy to get from my favorite car manufacturer exactly what I was asking for. Then, over a few months, the news were really exciting, one even indicating a better or at least at par acceleration time with the Carrera GT. I couldn't believe it, it sounded like Porsche heaven. Then some fantasy performance figures were coming up, under 3.8 seconds from 0-100 kph, around 7 seconds from 0-160 kph and way under 12 seconds for 0-200 kph performance. I liked more and more what I heard and went to my dealer to order a Turbo S because at the same time, rumors came up that Porsche might offer the Turbo S at the same time as the Turbo. So if the Turbo was supposed to be that fast, how fast would be the Turbo S? I started to hear power figures of 530-540 HP and my head started to turn around, I was in pure ecstasy.
A few weeks later, a phone call came like a cold shower. A friend told me that he saw the specs on paper...480 HP. I couldn't believe it, I even called him a tease because I thought he just tries to make fun of me. Then I started to think about the 996 GT2 performance, a car with 483 HP and at around 100 kg less weight than the 996 Turbo. I started to feel like crap, I had hoped for my absolute dreamcar and I was getting just another Porsche marketing toy. Earlier rumors indicated that the 997 Turbo is going to be around 50 kg heavier than the previous 996 Turbo, so I counted one plus one and I was sure that with 480 HP, the 997 Turbo wouldn't be able to cope with 996 GT2 performance, not even being close to it. I was disappointed.
So I asked myself: what the heck is Porsche doing? They put a 996 Turbo with 483 HP on the market four years ago (the GT2 is basically a 996 Turbo on steroids, there aren't much technical differences besides the missing AWD and some chassis parts) and the brandnew superduper VTG technology 997 Turbo has even 3 horses less? This can't be. And still: looking at Porsche's model policy for the past few years, I was realizing that it could be true. Even more: it was very likely to be true.
So now, here I am. I'm a lucky bastard, waiting for one of the best sportscars in the world, due June 24th. And what am I doing? Bragging, complaining, whining? Yes, exactly. This is what I do. Because this was supposed to be my dreamcar, my perfect 911 Turbo, my "top" model. All Porsche has given me is "just" one of the best sportscars in the world but for me this is not good enough. What I expected and what I wanted was the Holy Grail, the TajMahal, my Dreamcastle, my Dreamcar. All I get is a product created by marketing strategy and future model planning. You BET I'm disappointed.
Yes, I'll go for the new 997 Turbo but Porsche beware...the nice times are over. If this car is not up to even my lowest expectations, you better don't sell it to me. Because my expectations have never been so high and I will write here exactly what I think about this car after I drove it a few days.
And I still can't get over the whole Tiptronic/Manual thing.
What is the reason behind this strategy? To promote the upcoming PDK? Doesn't make sense to me.
I promise, this will be my last "bla bla bla" regarding the 997 Turbo, I'll give it the same fair chance I'll give the Z06 when I have the chance to drive one. But spending around 150000 Euro for a car I have to live 4-5 years with and not being entirely happy with, is a pretty heavy thing to swallow for me. Honestly. I just hope that while driving the 997 Turbo, my opinion will change.
I'll never understand the Porsche marketing strategy, never. Is it some sort of psychological thing, getting more customers by making them furious? Or creating some sort of emotions? Give me 520 HP, 50 kg less weight and there is no need for any kind of marketing game. Just give the people what they want, loyal customers they'll stay forever. Why is such a logical thing so difficult to understand?!