Verde, do you actually attend any track events? You obviously couldn't with statements like that. I still watch 996 GT3's with guys that can drive running circles around people with tons more hp. And don't mention the 997 GT3's. A guy that can drive in one of those hurts a lot of feelings. You have to know how to drive, but you do NOT have to be anything near a professional. And there are probably more Porsches at DE's across the country than any other vehicle out there (except maybe corvettes).


There are so many Porsche entries in ALMS because they are the best chance at winning and cost less than the Ferrari's. But it's not like Porsche puts all the cars in there, privateers buy what they want to. You saw Tafel switch from Porsche to Ferrari last year and there were EXACTLY as many Ferrari's as Porsches. Now this year a few teams have gone belly up in the economy so both are lacking entries, but there are still about as many Porsches. The only concept for the Porsches that isn't street relative is the gearbox from the spyders. Other than that, it's all about front DF and rear traction, all of which, if you listend to the recent interview on the GT3, are trickling down into the street cars.

 

Hey, I think you're a little over the top there dude. You make some fair points, but there is another factor here which, though implied by my last note was not explicitly stated. It's called 'the tipping effect'. In other realms (computers, telecommunication, etc.) the dominance of a brand or specification ensures the continued growth and dominance of that item in its market. Porsche has had 40 years to establish an ecosystem that feeds and fuels itself. Yes, it wouldn't work if the product was horrible, but like MS Windows, it needn't be the best to ensure a market-tipping effect that is almost impossible to displace. Much has been written about it and it's very clear that the same has happened here.
How good would the R8, for example, have to be, and for how long, before there would be the number of racers, parts ecosystem, aftermarket upgrades, etc. to counter and compete with the situation that Porsche finds itself? Answer is that it is almost impossible to imagine it happening, unless there is a radical market-changing force (e.g. fuel economy, hybrid mandates, weight change mandates).
So look, I hear you. There are lots and lots of Porsche-powered entries in racing. Capable but not expert drivers can garner some great lap times. Fueling all of that are the plentiful parts, tuning expertise, and driver lore to greatly amplify the value of an already capable product. But if you omit the behavior of market dynamics from your analysis, you're almost certainly going to be wrong. And since this is a thread about Porsche's future and how they and the market interact, I suspect you're missing something here.

 

Porsche has survived independently for 60 years because they do make changes when they need/have to in order to survive, even when they have said they would never make a particular change beforehand. Porsche doesn't make changes quickly, they think about them for a while, which is just good practice. I suspect whatever they need to do to survive and remain competitive they will eventually do. Look at what they are focusing on now: being green, developing more horsepower at lower fuel consumption and polluting less at the same time. That is what every sportscar manufacturer needs to be focusing on right now if they want to survive but many are not, and right now Porsche is best at it. Several manufacturers are still working on developing prodigious amounts of horsepower or circling the ring faster than anyone else. If you ask me, Porsche is focusing on exactly what they need to in order to survive and prosper in the coming "green" era.

 

Porsche has said before the limits of the flat six is 4.0 liters, and there already at 3.8 even for the GT3. So I would imagine they already have the product planning at least 5 years out, but I wonder what they are planning to do. There is nothing wrong with the engines now, and I would assume there is still some weight to lose on the normal production 911's.