Will Porsche respond to the GTR?
Will Porsche respond to the GTR?
From 6speedonline: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125216
'' A "Porsche is a Porsche" because it's long been one of the best engineered, most entertaining cars around. That ceases to be the case Porsche will loose brand image just as fast as Cadillac before it.
Make no mistake- the 997 TT loosing nearly 5 seconds a lap to the GTR (R&T), which as you rightly point out is a whole class down, is a serious threat not just to the 997 TT but to Porsche as a company. Obviously there have been cars cheaper and faster than Porsche flagships before (Z06, etc) but never one so much faster with so few excuses. Unlike a Z06, the GTR is a "jack of all trades" like the Turbo, so you can't suggest that it's simply a striped out track specialist (like a Z06 or Elise). It's faster simply due to better engineering, and it's difficult to say otherwise. That's the threat- engineering is where Porsche has built its reputation and how it's stayed at the front of the pack in usable road cars, perfecting passive rear wheel steering, 4wd, PCCB, VG turbos, etc to keep at the front of the pack.
Unfortunately Porsche has cheaped out in other areas over the last 10 years, and it's now coming back to bite them. They are using derivatives of air-cooled blocks from the early 90s in their 2008 flagship GT series cars, with water cooling and 4v heads bolted on after the fact. This leads to engines 100+ lbs heavier than their competition for similar output- if they used CGT technology they could save 150+ lbs in the motor alone, which as it's hanging out the back would be huge. Same story in the transmission- they have stuck with slush-boxes despite the twin-clutch writing being on the wall for years. These decisions saved lots of money; I'm sure the bean-counters weighed eroding their highest-in-the-business profit margins vs staying at the leading edge, and decided to take short-term profit over long-term technical superiority. Good for them- they've made tons of money, but now the bill is due.
Porsche absolutely needs to show that it can answer the GTR and the copycats it will spawn, or it will resign itself to the roll of an ex-pro athlete, trading on past glory and quickly forgotten. In my mind a stripped out 997TT is a half-step band-aid: it clearly won't close a 5 second a lap gap, and it will be open the the same criticism that we all lay at the Z06, Viper, etc's feet (sure it's fast, but...). What's needed will cost porsche real money- a new lightweight block for their GT models, a new transmission (keep developing the manual option) and a chassis optimized around these components. If history holds these will be outstanding components that will last Porsche another 15 years, but they are now overdue, and Porsche needs to bring them out ASAP.
I want to buy a car for what it does, not what the company that made it used to do. Time for Porsche to get it's act together.''
-Pete
From 6speedonline: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125216
'' A "Porsche is a Porsche" because it's long been one of the best engineered, most entertaining cars around. That ceases to be the case Porsche will loose brand image just as fast as Cadillac before it.
Make no mistake- the 997 TT loosing nearly 5 seconds a lap to the GTR (R&T), which as you rightly point out is a whole class down, is a serious threat not just to the 997 TT but to Porsche as a company. Obviously there have been cars cheaper and faster than Porsche flagships before (Z06, etc) but never one so much faster with so few excuses. Unlike a Z06, the GTR is a "jack of all trades" like the Turbo, so you can't suggest that it's simply a striped out track specialist (like a Z06 or Elise). It's faster simply due to better engineering, and it's difficult to say otherwise. That's the threat- engineering is where Porsche has built its reputation and how it's stayed at the front of the pack in usable road cars, perfecting passive rear wheel steering, 4wd, PCCB, VG turbos, etc to keep at the front of the pack.
Unfortunately Porsche has cheaped out in other areas over the last 10 years, and it's now coming back to bite them. They are using derivatives of air-cooled blocks from the early 90s in their 2008 flagship GT series cars, with water cooling and 4v heads bolted on after the fact. This leads to engines 100+ lbs heavier than their competition for similar output- if they used CGT technology they could save 150+ lbs in the motor alone, which as it's hanging out the back would be huge. Same story in the transmission- they have stuck with slush-boxes despite the twin-clutch writing being on the wall for years. These decisions saved lots of money; I'm sure the bean-counters weighed eroding their highest-in-the-business profit margins vs staying at the leading edge, and decided to take short-term profit over long-term technical superiority. Good for them- they've made tons of money, but now the bill is due.
Porsche absolutely needs to show that it can answer the GTR and the copycats it will spawn, or it will resign itself to the roll of an ex-pro athlete, trading on past glory and quickly forgotten. In my mind a stripped out 997TT is a half-step band-aid: it clearly won't close a 5 second a lap gap, and it will be open the the same criticism that we all lay at the Z06, Viper, etc's feet (sure it's fast, but...). What's needed will cost porsche real money- a new lightweight block for their GT models, a new transmission (keep developing the manual option) and a chassis optimized around these components. If history holds these will be outstanding components that will last Porsche another 15 years, but they are now overdue, and Porsche needs to bring them out ASAP.
I want to buy a car for what it does, not what the company that made it used to do. Time for Porsche to get it's act together.''
-Pete
) so driving a customized porsche is far more desirable.
.
