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Originally Posted by crayzayjay
I was nodding along until i got to:
Cowards? Try genii. Yes, the layout is flawed. But have you ever driven a 911? Thrilling.
Faster does not equal better. Besides, with the 'flawed' rear-engined layout, you make better use of power.
LOL. Doesn't merit a response.
So? Porsche's offer better value. And when you get into the higher price brackets, look at the Carrera GT. More often than not acknowledged to be superior to the Enzo.
Ferrari and Porsche both make terrific cars. Let's leave it at that.
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Yay! someone is finally willing to argue with me. I've been craving a good ole' Car Comparisons debate for a while now.
My biggest problem with the rear engine setup is that I know, that they know, that they could do better. Nobody uses RR anymore except Porsche with the 911. Virtually all modern supercars are variations on MR. They even use that setup on their own supercar, the Carrera GT, yet they refuse to change the all important 911 to MR. The 911 is a great car, but I can't help but think they could be making an even better car.
The N/A 6-cylinder will place further limits on the 911, Boxster, and Cayman. Will they seriously go all the way up to a 4.0L 6-cylinder for the next generation 911 CS, bumping the engine by .2l as they have been? Eventually they won't be able to compete in the horsepower war (some would say they already can't) unless they drastically change the entry level 911 powerplant. I don't know if the answer is a V8, higher revvs (generally reserved for the GT3 and a bit harsh for a regular 911), or forced induction (generally reserved for the Turbo and GT2), but a 4 liter 6-cylinder is starting to get rediculous. Eventually Porsche won't be able to squeeze more power out of a N/A 6-cylinder. BMW has already given up, going from the I6 in the E36 and E46 M3 to a V8 in the E92. Will Porsche be willing to make necessary changes to keep the 911 competitive?
I honestly do think that Porsche is a little weak right now when it comes to motorsports. Only recently has Porsche returned to prototype racing in LeMans/ALMS, and only in P2 (granted, sometimes they are faster then P1). They also don't compete in F1, generally considered the height of motorsports. The entire Ferrari company is dedicated to developing and raising funds for their F1 team, while Posche has no such focus on motorsports. Perhaps it is unfair to say Porsche is weak in motorsports due to all of the 911s racing in various series, but they definitely do not compete at the level Ferrari does and they are definitely not as dedicated to motorsports as Ferrari is at a company-wide level. Somewhere along the line the spirit of Ferdinand has slipped away while Enzo's racing centered philosophy is still very much alive.
I honestly do like Porsche, but I can't help but feel that they are being overtaken by BMW, Mercedes, and Audi as the premier German performance company. Performance cars like the Audi R8 arn't limited by Porsche's RR 6cyl philosophy, and are better off for it. BMW, Mercedes, and Audi all compete in top level motorsports (BMW and Mercedes in F1, Audi in LMP1) where Porsche is nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Porsche gives us a SUV and is about to sell a sedan like car called the Panamera. Porsche is in serious need of a wakeup call, or else they will be best known for upscale roadsters and SUVs rather then genuine performance and racing.