David S. Wallens wrote:neon4891 wrote: I want the GRM '84 when they sell it.Thanks, but it might be a long wait. I do know of another Carrera for sale, though. I'm almost positive that it's a G50 car. Guards Red with polished Fuchs. It looks brand-new.
That's fine, it will be a long time before I could afford it.
I wanted to hate it too, mostly because I will never afford one and I can soup up an old Nova to beat it at the stoplight. But that is before you sit in it. The word "quality" takes on a whole new meaning, especially to someone used to Hondas and Kias. (which ain't bad IMHO) "German Engineering" is totally cliche..until you drop that top. (which has switched from steel bows to magnesium panels to provide a smooth look with better security) The price is crazy, until you nail the throttle.
The truth is that the 911 is an amazing car, and each iteration gets better and I want one and I love it.
Yep, 991 is pretty awesome.
If grassroots means DIY then these cars are not for you. Otherwise the ability to drive to the track, rip off some scary fast laps, and drive home undamaged is their claim to fame.
Was not a 911 fan until I rode in an OLD one. Looked at Wayne Dempsey's book and figured for 20k I could beat it on most counts with a 3rd gen F-body. My first attempt fell through. I will try again 
They have earned their respect. Like is for those that can pull this one off. If you can't buy one dislike is insignificant.
I think you reviewed the right one...the Carrera S has just enough of everything and not too much of anything. With prudence it can be spec'd for under $100k and still have everything I'd want or need to make it the last new car I'd ever buy.
I completely understand why you wanted to "hate it." To me, their design speaks beige, and the universal invisible silver paint does not help its cause. Frankly, with the exception of the out-there GT3 RS, I have never been interested in Porsches.
The GRM review certainly changed my opinion. I want to go out and buy one right now (not that I could).
Would a base model 991 non S without all the options still be as awesome? It's $14000 cheaper than the S. And 50lbs lighter.
B430 wrote: Would a base model 991 non S without all the options still be as awesome? It's $14000 cheaper than the S. And 50lbs lighter.
I haven't driven a non-S, but I have a hard time believing that it would suck.
David S. Wallens wrote: The history of the factory-built, sport-tuned 911s is an interesting one. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the 1967 911R sold so poorly that Porsche didn't offer anything nearly that radical for years. And today, the 911R is worth like a million dollars. Likewise, the Club Sport and RS America didn't sell well. Today, they're becoming collectible. (The 1973 Carrera RS kind of bucks that trend as it sold well back in the day and is now worth a ton of dough.) Today, Porsche has the GT3, and that formula seems to be working well. Maybe the RS America and Club Sport weren't radical or different enough. Maybe they weren't marketed correctly. Come to think about it, I saw a GT3 RS 4.0 at our last PCA meeting. That's a fairly serious 911, both in terms of price and performance. Oh, and someone asked: Yes, you can still get the 911 with a three-pedal manual gearbox. I don't believe you can say that about Ferrari, though.
22 911Rs were built. Initially as an attempt to toss a factory ringer into the GT wars, the R was never homologated and , thus, had to race against the prototypes. It captured a few overall wins and was/is a spectacular example of the 911 ethos. They were never intended to be mass marketed to the public and were meant for racers only. They were labor intensive and expensive to build. Porsche cut the program fairly quickly to concentrate their race budget on capturing an overall LeMans win with a proper prototype.
As to the 73 RS, they were indeed popular with racers and the initial planned run of 500 cars was quickly doubled to meet demand. A very successful racecar, again, they were never intended to sell in large numbers.
No, you can't buy a three pedal Ferrari-once it was determined that a foot operated manual box could never equal the speed of the F1 trans, they were discontinued. Ferrari doesn't build SUVs either.
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