Oh -- Porsche

Porsche has officially lost its way – so wrong in so many ways. I thought is was an April Fools joke.


I’m a longtime Porschefile and so sad!!!

from pca.org … ‘If you wish to sign up, it is highly recommended you call a special hotline for this exciting new car: 1-800-APR-FOOL.’

That’s the coolest thing I’ve seen from Porsche since the 993.

Is it just me, or is it an improvement on the Pana? It looks less fat with the wood appliqué.

I hope it’s customizable, maybe you can change the applique color or material…maybe carbon fiber, felt or space grade aluminum…
Awesome, what was the phone number again?

993 is the last great aircooled porsche… but their design has been anything but lacking.

as for the pana… the saying ‘You can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig’ seems fitting.

Their design has become gaudy and ridiculous. MHO.

if that isn’t the most blanket statement about design… :wink:

You can ask yourself what became of this sports car maker, but in the end it is business. And if you want a real sports car you have to go to one of the really small companies or to Mazda :slight_smile:. I was driving for a few years a Porsche, a great car, and I drove also a Audi A2, also a great car. And I asked myself at the time why nobody builds a car with a light aluminium frame like the Audi and a small but powerful turbo diesel? Could be really fun, what do you think?

Done and done. Well, no alu. frame, but still, pretty close.

I do agree, it’s business. Some people are willing to spend unlimited amounts of money for more power and more pretentiousness. Very few are willing to pay a modest sum for a well built simple car.

because a smart roadster isnt ‘gaudy and ridiculous’ :laughing:

at least pick something semi-decent looking like TTrs

Interesting. I think the current Porsche language is really nice. I think some of the special editions get a little out of hand (looking at you GT3). While we can debate should Porsche make an SUV (which I don’t like but it saved the brand) or should the 911 be so large, for me, the core design executions are very on brand. When you see a Cayane, Macan, Panamera, or Cayman you know it is a Porsche. Good use of surfacing and detailing to create a design language, both exterior and interior. In a way these models feel much more Porsche than a 928 (a car I love) or a 944.

Yo: I agree, but I don’t need to like it:)

Winslow: I think the Smart Roadster design was driven by it’s platform and manufacturing techniques (plastic panels bolted to a steel frame). Moreover, the brand DNA was always different than Porsche.

When I talk to my dad and other car guys his age (65+), they talk about the 356 as being the sportscar you buy if you don’t want to show off. A '62 corvette had gaudy style and 250+ hp. A 356 looked almost as pedestrian as a VW and had at most 95 hp. That’s the Porsche that I liked:/ Albeit, they would be bankrupt today if they hadn’t changed.

oh, but stick a couple of surf boards on top, and you’d all eat your words!

It’s hard to ask for a better budget sports car than a Miata. Unless you’re 6’4 like me in which case, larger cars suddenly make a lot more sense.

The Toyota 86/BRZ had a lot of potential, but it feels very stale already.

The 86 was kinda like the FJ-cruiser. A little off target.

The original 86 was a dorky square box that could handle well. Kinda like the original Mini. They were both designed to be utilitarian, but they were fun to drive too. The new 86 is not utilitarian, it’s just a sports car. If you were going to build a sportscar, why start your inspiration at the original 86? It’s confusing.

I’m 6’6", so my next car is still gonna be a CTSv wagon with a stick (long live the manuals). It’s big enough, it’s a monster sports car on a level above my M3 with 'Ring handling and 556hp, it’s a utility vehicle equal to my X5 and it’s a family & dog hauler! The design language was kick ass in that second gen CTS and since the wagons (and manual tranny wagons in particular) are so rare, I’ll be able to sell it later at a minimal loss if the next awesome thing comes along.

The CTS-V Wagons in a stick are unicorns, be prepared to hunt for a while or drop a pretty penny. They’re sweet though. The MB E63 wagon is also a beast if you can live with the automatic (which for a brutal family hauler makes a decent amount of sense).

I was literally a day away from buying a supercharged 328i 6spd wagon but we ended up getting a house instead so I settled on a GTI (cheap lease vs cash). That car would’ve met all my MTB hauling practical needs. The GTI is fun, but as exciting as a dentists appointment.

The real unicorn is the CTSv wagon with a stick AND the panorama roof AND the Recaros, but even still I’ve found a few (and they were only made from 2011-2014), just not the right one yet. My next door neighbor has an E63, very nice but no, I can’t do the automatic (he can’t every other day either, so he has anM5 with a stick as well). Good choice on the GTI, they’re fun - and you might be happy not to have bought the 328 - I’ve heard aftermarket superchargers can be suspect down the road.

Of course, there’s the unicorn of unicorns…