Quote:
Crash said:
I know it hasn't been publically released, but the information from a few months ago indicated that the base 997 would have at least 340 HP, with the Carrera S receiving over 360, if I'm not mistaken. You can see that Porsche has seriously understated the power figures by simply looking at the Nordschleife ring times. A heavier car, lacking 60 HP completes the 20 km lap in only 5 seconds more than the current 911 Turbo. Suspension upgrades by themselves don't do that. I hope I cleared it up for you RC
1. Porsche hasn't released ANY information regarding the 997 power figures before May 11th. Period.
2. The first GT3 (MK I) with "official" 360 HP (a lot of people know that most cars had around 345-350 HP!) did the Nuerburgring Nordschleife in 8 min. 03 seconds (the 7:57 time is the "official" time done by Walter Röhrl on a closed circuit).
So I think you're missing a lot of facts and you're also mixing up a few things.
3. On the paper, the 997 S is only around 55 kg heavier than the 996 C2. It is 25 kg lighter than the current 996 C2 Cab.
And it is 70(!) kg lighter than the C4S. If you're checking the road tests done by various car magazines in the past, you'll find out soon that there is almost no dramatic performance difference between these cars.
4. As far as I heard, the 997 S has done that "fantastic" Nordschleife time with the 20 mm suspension/LSD and PSM turned off.
For me, the 997 Carrera and even the 997 S are "entry-level" 911 models. If somebody feels the need for more power or a better track setup, the 997 GT3 is rumored to be available too in the near future. Not to speak about the 997 Turbo and a possible 997 GT2 and even 997 GT1.
Is it about money and a good value? Well, look what Ferrari is charging for the 360 Modena, you pay mostly for the looks and not performance.
What did you expect? A gift from Porsche, a 911 with 400 HP for 50000 bucks?
They did a clever thing by offering a 997 S and at the same time keeping the price for the "base model" almost the same. People who barely can afford a 911, can go for the 997 Carrera and others can choose the 997 S or even the more "advanced" models like GT3, Turbo and GT2. This strategy sounds perfectly right to me.
The whole discussion reminds me a little bit of the time of the 996 introduction. The 996 got 14 HP more than the 993 and it blew it off the street anytime performance-wise.
Regarding wings and spoilers and that stuff: there is the Exclusive department, there is Tequipment and there will be the GT3, maybe GT2/GT1 and the Turbo. So what's the problem?
Mostly you just read complaints of car manufacturers overstating their performance figures. 
...) but life is life, and there are no shortcuts. We will have to wait...........
