Quote:
Originally Posted by David70
Agree. BMW Marketing decided 50/50 was perfect (and it is really good and better than most) but I don't believe it is ideal. At the same time a rear engine 911 doesn't have the weight (engine) in the ideal location either.
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Exactly. The 911 design is inherently flawed. They get around this with more engineering, R&D and ultimately, cost. This is one reason you can take something like a Z/28 and spank a Turbo S, because one of these has the chassis going in it's favor, rather than trying to make up for the chassis with outrageously wide track and and tires. 325s on the GT3 RS, but the issue is you can't put tires that wide up front, or the car will eat you alive, while the Z/28 can run 305s all around. Not saying that the Z/28 is the ideal car, just that you can see the effect of having a better chassis to start with.
The Cayman GT4 on the other hand, that's really exciting IMO. That's the pure Porsche experience. Sure, the 911 can go fast and in some cases, faster, because Porsche has decided to produce it in trims that do just that, but the Cayman is a better chassis, because the rear engine isn't hanging behind the rear axle.
The 911 is flawed just as much as the turbo subaru platform, which is kind of the opposite situation, engine hands out in front of the front axle. Sure, you can do all sorts of things to improve this and make it handle better, but at the end of the day a better chassis is a better starting point, everything else being equal.
As we move forward, it's getting harder and harder for Porsche to match the competition IMO, at the very least for any kind of comparable pricepoint, with the idea that Porsche is inherently premium and will always be more expensive. It's getting to where you have to spend 2-3x more to get comparable performance...
None of this means I wouldn't rock a 911 4S or similar, but I'm also realistic about the chassis. Not ideal. I think a lot of people can't seem to grasp having to give up the non-seats in the rear, but a 911 body fitted on a cayman would look almost exactly the same to anyone (in fact it did when they had the prototype caymans). I say do it and get it over with.