[slicrick]

Porsche plots back-to-basics GT-badged 911 with a focus on driver involvement rather than lap times - autocar.co.uk (http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/pure-porsche-911-gt-planned)

The new car will have simple driving pleasure as its focus, meaning it will be radically different from the track-based RS models and the standard GT cars that are designed to be usable every day.

The new GT car will not be engineered specifically to set competitive lap times or provide a sensible means of daily transport. Instead, it will be set up to maximise feel, response and driver interaction. Crucially, it will mark the return of the manual gearbox to the 911 GT range for the first time since the demise of the 997 generation in 2011.

:bowjerk:

[flagella]

Hopefully more auto manufacturers will be doing this. At some point you'd realize enthusiasts don't give a shit about being some tenths of a second faster but rather being able to connect with the car and shift through the manual gearbox.

[westopher]

Hopefully the bottom falls out of the 997 gt3 market with these in the future.

[Traum]

The problem is, unless you are a manufacturer at Porsche's caliber, you really don't have the option to do things like this.

Toyota-Subaru did this with the FRS/BRZ twins. Even within the niche enthusiast market, only a fraction of people bought them new -- the rest are cheapa$$es that will only buy them after 5-6 years when depreciation makes them dirt cheap. Same deal with the Miata. That is probably as back-to-basics as a car can get. But the car just doesn't sell well enough at the dealership.

Yeah, I feel like a cynical old geezer today...

[heleu]

I wouldn't hold my breath. There's nothing defined in that article stating what differences the car will be. It's all subjective.

There are umpteenth iterations of the 911 and this will undoubtedly be a badge and bolt-on parts (e.g. seats from the GT3) exercise which will be produced in limited numbers and make lots of $$$ for Porsche.

[twitchyzero]

Toyota-Subaru did this with the FRS/BRZ twins. Even within the niche enthusiast market, only a fraction of people bought them new -- the rest are cheapa$$es that will only buy them after 5-6 years when depreciation makes them dirt cheap.

i didnt bother looking up the sales number to back this up but

they seem pretty popular around town? Every few blocks you will see one like the commonplace Celica/Prelude/Integra back in the day.

[Energy]

Just put a manual in the current GT3 and its all good.

[tofu1413]

and then they will proceed to sell that car more than a standard 911.

oh Porsche, you so coy. :troll:

[westopher]

I'm not really sure how the current GTS doesn't fit into this category anyways. Its not like its a family sedan. It may not be as raw as the porsches of old, but lets be realistic, nothing will ever come close in the current car market short of making them a technically "shittier" car.

[Timpo]

Driver involvement rather than lap time? Mazda Miata has been doing this for whole time, it's nothing new.

Porsche won't be able to do it, their market/customers are rich people looking for luxury sportscar with all the cool features.
It is not likely Porsche will ditch leather interior, high end sound system, heated seats, A/C, ABS, traction control, rev-match, stability control, and all the other goodies.

Same with Lamborghini. I think they sold only 1% Murcielago with manual transmission. Although car enthusiasts were saying how Lamborghini should be building "real" sportscars with stick shift, people who actually make enough cash to buy Lamborghini weren't looking for something with stick shift.

[tofu1413]

I'm not really sure how the current GTS doesn't fit into this category anyways. Its not like its a family sedan. It may not be as raw as the porsches of old, but lets be realistic, nothing will ever come close in the current car market short of making them a technically "shittier" car.

I think the current GTS line cars are essentially fully loaded, "enthusiast" pack cars with a mild power bump.

[jasonturbo]

I wouldn't be shocked if the new 911 "GT" car will be something of a throw back to the older generations of 911's - smaller, lighter, stripped down, slower.

Porsche is smart, they are watching the market on older 911's, given the conditions of the market, why not build something of a nostalgic tribute... something like Dodge did with the Challenger... but obviously 1000x better... more "singer" like.

Rumor mill is strongly leaning towards a 991.2 GT3 being offered in MT.

[westopher]

I think the current GTS line cars are essentially fully loaded, "enthusiast" pack cars with a mild power bump.
Thats true, but as far as new cars go, that is pretty damn "driver oriented."
Like I said its not like they can build a 1973 rattle box 911 and expect it to meet modern safety/efficiency standards. I just don't see this being what people want to believe its going to be.

[tofu1413]

I wouldn't be shocked if the new 911 "GT" car will be something of a throw back to the older generations of 911's - smaller, lighter, stripped down, slower.

Porsche is smart, they are watching the market on older 911's, given the conditions of the market, why not build something of a nostalgic tribute... something like Dodge did with the Challenger... but obviously 1000x better... more "singer" like.

Rumor mill is strongly leaning towards a 991.2 GT3 being offered in MT.

They kind of did... but it wasnt exactly a sparse light weight, enthusiast value pack car.

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20130603-porsche2_800.jpg

http://guides.programming4.us/image/uploads/2013/10/Porsche-911-50th-Anniversary-Edition-Interior-View.jpg

huge fan of the interior though.

[brrrz]

Just put a manual in the current GT3 and its all good.

-Add manual
-Change wheels
-Minor interior changes
-+$50,000

They will come

[Traum]

i didnt bother looking up the sales number to back this up but

they seem pretty popular around town? Every few blocks you will see one like the commonplace Celica/Prelude/Integra back in the day.
Popular around town, yes. But what makes for a common sight in Vancouver doesn't necessarily mean it is popular among the greater N.America.

A quick bit of googling shows:

Scion FR-S Sales Decline: The Life of an Ultra-Niche Product ? News ? Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog (http://blog.caranddriver.com/why-scion-fr-s-sales-have-plunged-the-life-and-times-of-an-ultra-niche-product/)
Everyone Is Wrong About Subaru BRZ And Scion FR-S Sales (http://jalopnik.com/everyone-is-wrong-about-subaru-brz-and-scion-fr-s-sales-1540661520)
Scion FR-S Sales Volume In Freefall Mode In America - GOOD CAR BAD CAR (http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2015/01/usa-scion-frs-sales-decline-2014.html)

Sales across N.America is basically in free fall mode after the initial 18 months or so. It is a niche market car, and what basically happened is, everyone who wanted one already bought one, so new sales are not coming in.

Vancouver is unique because at least 8/10 times when I see an FRS/BRZ, it is being driven by someone young / young-ish looking. For that matter, there is no shortage of BMW M cars, Mercedes AMGs, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, GTR, etc. rolling around in "certain parts" of town. But being popular around town and seeing them every few blocks doesn't make them high volume cars in general, does it?

While we're at it, given the number of high end super cars that we see in Metro Vancouver, I am really quite surprised that we don't see more Porsches than we do (not counting Cayennes here).

[vitaminG]

More speculation on 911 gt.Report: Porsche will build a stick-shift 911 GT (http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a25852/report-porsche-will-build-a-stick-shift-911-gt/)