thegent

I keep wondering what makes the 911 so special as a car and how come Porsche as a company is praised by everyone. I know a Ferrari has the latest F1 technology under the hood, a Honda will last decades, Rolls-Royce makes heavy, imposing cars which also last decades... What's so special about Porsche?

As a total Porsche noob, I don't know why I would pay high dollar amounts for a 911 when I can have a G35 coupe for half the price? Any Porsche maniacs on this site who'd like to show me the extra premium is worh it ?

MajinB

iTrader: (21)

status symbol dude. thats about it.

CuRiOuSfIsH

iTrader: (13)

i'm not a Porsche maniac but ppl that buy a Porsche 911 and G35 are no always the same croud. Ppl that buy Porsches to DRIVE them, get a simple driver oriented car. Ppl that buy Porsche for the name well...... status symbol as MajinB said. Porsche is by no means the fastest car for the $, but Porsche heritage, exhaust note of a flat 6, design/style may be worth it. It's kind of like explaining why someone should buy an NSX.

EuroEMII

Like any absurdly priced vehicle its about status, but also the 911 is a beautiful car, it combines luxury with performance and all that standard stuff...also, people who buy porches usually don't have to think about whether or not they are getting a bargain or if they can get a car thats maybe just as good for half price...

frdeffscrbrd

name think about it
ex: What u Drive....
g35 Coupe
Porsche 911(more girls)

RHCP0801

iTrader: (3)

i dont turn my head if i see a g35 going down the road, but if i see a porsche 911 i definatley do and say damn thats a sweet car

MajinB

iTrader: (21)

yea i think the same thing except i add "damn i hope that old *** 90 year old driving it don't have a heart attack and kill the car and others too"

LiKEaFeRiO

iTrader: (29)

1948, June 8: First Porsche car had a 1086cc 30kW VW engine.

From http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/ecars/Porsche/History.html

Who knew it started out with VW engines?

The only porsche I'd ever give a right nut to drive is the 959...the rest are just status sumbols.

spoonJDMlX

iTrader: (1)

cuz porsche is german made and g35 is made in japan for all i know.

last time i checked, german ingenuity > anything

spoonJDMlX

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=LiKEaFeRiO]

Who knew it started out with VW engines?

QUOTE]



i did!! they started off with the vw bug engine and worked up.

speedster0011

Nothing comes close to the carrera gt. If you disagree then your a ****in moron and should keep driving your civic.

ironchef

porsches are real drivers' cars. The technologies developed by Porsche in endurance racing (Le Mans, American GT series, etc) are now used in their engines.

SOME people buy them as status symbols, others buy them to drive. Nothing aginst G35s, but a 911 is a sportscar, not a grand tourer.

The new Cayman has been getting rave reviews for its driving dynamics.

For the guy that mentioned that the first 911 had a VW engine: The original VW (the Beetle) was engineered/designed by Ferdinand Porsche.

kasimmmmm

iTrader: (13)

its simple....

Its all in porsche's pricing and product! Check out their pricing compared to any of its competitjion and you'll find out why everyone praises them.

TheSmuggler

iTrader: (11)

Eh, I like to build em not buy em

jhonsok

The 911 is also one of Top Gears favorite cars.
I guess maybe you'd have to drive one yourself to see how great it is.

Cptn. Slow

Porsche kills both birds w/ the 911. It is one of the greatest driver's cars out there and it is probably the best status symbol in that price area. As far as the company I think that: A) the Cayman should be equal or less the cost of the Boxster B) they should put out a Turbo Cayman to kill all the talk that the base Cayman is detuned in order to not compete with the 911 market

ramcosca

I do turn my head when I see a G35 going down the road...
But when I see a 911 it rises my chances of crashing to 97.15%...

MajinB

iTrader: (21)

right, so i shouldn't but a g35 to mod it, or even a stock skyline cause its less expensive than the porchse. right. im a moron, cause the carrera GT > skyline. or even a viper for that price. its not worth it, no matter how "cool" or "nice" the car might be. there is always better for less

ramcosca

Well... they can't really offer a real powerful version of the Cayman (the would-be Cayman RS). Why? The Cayman is much better than the 911 on curves because of the balance the car has... and if they make a fast verison of the car that will compete with the 911 on the straights... wouldn't be so fair for 911 owners, would it?

texascivic2k1

iTrader: (10)

Exactly. People buy it because of its heritage and history. One reason you see a lot of the older generation (grandpa) is because they know Porsche goes way back making history. Porsche was a racing symbol back in the early 20th century (WWII era). So if your grandparents are the ages between late 50's -70's they more than likely know about Porsche and it heritage. Then the other thing is because they can afford it.

Now in the typical young male only sees the Porsche as an expensive luxury sports car. And also the typical young male with a large bank account will buy a Ferrari or Lambo because they are better known to the younger public and more "flashy". But if you now your cars it's more than just another expensive luxury sports car... It's more of a fine tuned racing car with a lot of history about it.

(Referenced by the History, Discovery, & The Speed Channel. Also the Official web-sites of Porsche and Ferrari.)

texascivic2k1

eye_see_you

iTrader: (13)

its about how big your ..... is.. oh yea its the car too

texascivic2k1

iTrader: (10)

^LOL Yeah that too...

texascivic2k1

Cptn. Slow

I know, but I'd still like to see the comparison b/w 911 and Cayman "RS". I guess it will come down to one of the many tuning houses that work on Porsches to show us what the Cayman is really capable of

CivicsRdBest

Porsches are by no means the fastest cars out there, but they'll outhandle 95% of the cars out on the road.

Porsche has the latest technology in their cars too. It might not be obvious, but the classic shape of the 911 hasn't changed while essentially everything in and under it has. If I ever make it into the automotive industry, I would like to work with either Porsche, BMW or HOnda.

CuRiOuSfIsH

iTrader: (13)

some Porsche purists dont buy the 911 and leave it stock........ of course most of the ones on the road are stock.... but there are a # of ppl out there that mod em.

white2K2EX

My dad has a 911 - a real 911... not a 993 or a 996 or a 997... A real 911 from 1973. I've only driven it once, but that short drive was a BLAST.

As for the handling statement, yes, they will outhandle most of what's out there. With that said though, if you get overzealous and want to show off, you will get your *** kicked and your taillights will be pointing the direction your headlights had been.

XxJDMCivicxX

iTrader: (1)

I guess status symbol varies from person to person but 911 are all around here like no-one's business. Ferraris are the status symbol, Porsche are meant to be driven 4 seasons a year unlike most and a porsche i'll outlast most supercars. Rear Engine/AWD-RWD is what makes them what they are, used to be air-cooled which was pimp but they're water cooled now.

thegent

According to your replies, most people associate Porsche with a status symbol as well as excellent handling.

I won't deny the status symbol argument, but on Top Gear's track, the 911 does not even show up, in base form in the 50 best laptimes. They have a GT-3 and a Turbo, but not a 911. Note that the S2000 is in the 1 min 37.4 secs, on a wet track. Also, the Audi S4 seems to lap a 911 turbo on their track. I doubt the 911 excells in the handling department when compared to other cars. If I'm wrong, the small lap time difference doesn't justify its higher price, as some of us pointed out.

So far I think the Porsche 911 is more of a status symbol. One needs to spend significantly more $$ to get real performance i.e. the Carrera GT or the GT-3 with the Porsche badge.

CuRiOuSfIsH

iTrader: (13)

well, the Porsche is a drivers car, not everyone can bring out to a track and expect fast times.... I have never driven a Porsche, only been in a few, but it seems like the driving feel and "oneness" with the car is a thing to look at when talking about Porsche. Also, Porsche cars have brakes that definately put them in the top 5 for manufacturers.

diskreet

iTrader: (1)

Porsche is like Ferrari and Lamborghini, in the fact that they are extremly well built, proper sports cars. Thats about where the similiarities end, but you get the idea. The RR layout may be kinda odd, and somewhat stupid, but those crazy Germans really perfected it. And on top of the good performance, and good name, the build quality is excellent.