Yeah yeah yeah....I was waiting for the first guy that would throw the GT3 or RS into the mix but what I am NOT talking about is a 100K plus 911 due to limited production and overly expensive technology. No, I am talking about a base 911 with a 3.6L engine, 6spd, no sunroof, no sound deadening, no AC/Stereo, no rear seats, cloth buckets/shells, a roll bar and LSD. Think 964 RS America. That was really just a stripped 964 that was actually CHEAPER than the base 911 (at the time). Whats funny is that in these times, the only manufacturer actually producing "stripper" versions of their sports car for LESS than their base model is Hyundai with their Genesis 2.0T R.

There are rumors of a 911 GTS coming down the pipe but my bet is that it will actually cost more than a standard 911.

Jason

 

Actually, like I stated earlier the RS America was actually cheaper than the base 911 at the time of its sale. Of course RS America's are expensive in the used market.

But, if Porsche did a "RS America" or something, and sold it in the 70's, that would be fantastic. Or maybe just offer weight saving/delete options as no-cost alternatives.

Either way, I hate the idea of the base 911 getting relegated to a GT status and getting loaded up with more heavy gizmo's that only take away from the cars performance.

Jason

 

-short shifter kit
-LSD
-Sport exhaust

IMHO

 

do what Gomez and Mobonic have done, they are lightweight.

 

To extreme for my blood but I appreciate what they have done. Goes to show how much just the carpet and sound deadening material weigh. At over 400 lbs it makes you wonder what what just some light weight carpeting could do?

Jason

 

Agreeed, their cars must feel totally different afterwards.

 

A stock exhaust that sounds like a Porsche, not a hairdryer!

(Why should we have to keep spending thousands of $$$s/£££s to make our cars sound like they should from the factory)?

 

How about a coat hook that actually holds a hanger? I've got coat hooks on the rear of each seat, and 2 more above the rear windows, and none of them are capable of holding a hanger. Pretty funny, actually.

Maybe a new thread should be: what is NOT german engineering at it's best/ what makes no sense in the 997?
CATTMAN

 

.....please tell me why in the world do people want reverse cameras or parking sensors in a car like a 911?

This is a small car and easy to park...I don't get it.

What I want to see in a new 911 is a lot less....pretty much like JEllis posted. Porsche needs to get into the sporting light weight part of a sports car. Something a few more people car afford. The cost of a GT3 or GT3RS is getting out of hand.

Personally I'd like to see a little more leg room in the drivers position and have the steering wheel extend out a little further. Porsche please do not make the car bigger but work on the seat tracks and extending he steering wheel out a few more inches. The 997 version is the 1st 911 I've been able to basicially fit in. I am 6'5" tall. I do not fit in a Boxster or Cayman.

 

I'd really like some sort of seat back storage (pouch or net) for maps or other thin stuff. This would be particularly useful on the passenger side so that the contents could be accessed by the driver. Ideally, it would be high enough so that it would not interfere with the backwards seat movement. It would also be nice to have a net over the carpeting under the rear window to hold light stuff in place behind the rear seats. And I'd also like some sort of a strap on the rear seat back to hold down luggage when the seats are folded down -- which mine always are.

Other than that, I agree with the need to make a locking chirp at least a user-selectable option.

I'm not sure if a rear facing camera is much better than the current park assist option.

Finally, I'd like to make the ashtray optional. Space near the driver is too precious to waste it on something that I don't need or use.

 

it would be extremely nice to be able just to order essentially just a frame and engine/gearbox assembly from a factory and put your own suspension, seats, cage, etc.

But it is not on what Porsche as a business makes a profit, I would even assume they are loosing some money on manufacturing costs for transmission and motor but gain it back on those 'whistles and bells' which we would like to strip off. essentially when you order a cup car you get to those real unabsorbed production costs and it shows.

In a long run I am still a fan of a base 3.6L 997 car. Motor is cheap. My mechanic says he can put in a replacement for $9K, total. It is reworkable and can be machined to racing specs.
Frame is same as on GT3 so essentially a rebuilt suspension puts it in pretty much same ballpark. It is not a GT3 RS by all means but it is a good budget solution - a potent compromise. not an ideal solution, but a good compromise.
996 gt3 still would be much better, but, again, i see those cars going for $70k+ and my rebuilt 997.1 base will be still much less than that. new 996 gt3 engine is a $35-$42K expense. it is considerably more money to support it in a long run and you will have to rebuild this motor after some 150-200 hours one way or another, it is inevitable.

 

This may be coming from way off in left field but:

-hatchback for the rear window combined with rear seat delete.

This will enable golf clubs to be loaded without having to fiddle with the passenger seat and provide a flat surface for the clubs.

The pre-requisite is that the stiffness of the body remains.

 

rather than to strip 997 car it makes more sense to get 1985 frame with 1995 3.6L engine. no matter how you strip 997 you wil not get it down to 2200lbs.

the are some limits of what any platform can offer and IMHO it makes sense to swap suspension on 997.1 car but do go further is a waste of resources. rather than to go mobonic way one should simply bite a bullet and get real gt3 rs. it is all about budget. suspension, whole thing with jrz rs pro, gt3 LCAs, gt3 mounts, dogbones, thrust arms - it all fits so-so into $10K. it is reasonable. if you want to rebuild m97 engine up to racing specs - new rod bolts, balanced crankshaft, max revs at 8.5K, etc - another $10K roughly. at this point you got to stop as you are already at $40K for car plus $20K for mods. at least it is how i budget my builds on my cars - all mods should never go way above of 50% of what I have paid for a stock platform.

and the most important factor there is - where do you arrive? if you are after stripped cup car you do have club racing in mind. what class will your frankenstein 997.1 rebuilt stripped heavily modded car put you in? who will you have to compete against?
i can tell right away that right now with curent rules to be competitive you got to get 996 gt3. or 997 gt3 rs.

 

smaller key, and I'm all set.

 

I can only speak for myself.

The 911 is a small car that has great sightlines (for the most part) and is extremely easy to park.

But I live in a neighborhood FULL of kids and no matter how slowly and carefully I back out of my driveway I'm always afraid that I'm going to miss something in the area behind the car that I can't see. Unfortunately that area is just about the perfect size for a small child. I'd happily take a little extra weight for that extra safety measure.