ORIGINAL: Hilux
Porsche are suggesting they have gone as far as they can with the 911 configuration
Its only gone that far with PASM and 4x4 etc. Take it all away and its a dangerous beast unless you are a very good driver.
Why dont they do away with the silly seats and reverse the current configuration ie: make it mid engined?
You can say that about any modern car. The Ferarri's are bristling with F1 derrived electronic gadgetry that is keeping you on the road (and they are not much faster than the equivalent 911's - certainly £20 - £40k faster), the Jap cars even moreso and how do you think the recent generations of front engine'd/FWD cars have got so good? On the contrary despite the increase of electronic gadgetry in the 911 it has far far less than the vast majority of it's rivals - look at the GT3 (mechanical diff, conventional clutch/gearbox) vs the f430 equivlent (e-diff, flappy padel gearboxes, different traction control settings, different chassis stability control settings, different gearbox settings - the list is endless).
There are advantages and disadvantages to all layouts. The 911 layout gives you unbeatable traction but dodgy weight distribution
The mid-engines layout gives you the balance and weight distribution but struggles to get the power down and they are skittish on the limit due to the low polar moment of inertia.
This is where the front engines'd rear transaxel layout makes a good compromise. It gives you good balance, higher polar moment of inertia so is more progressive and controlable on the limt, and has the main lumps of weight (the engine and gearbox) positioned right over the axels so you get good traction. Problem is that it makes for a very inconvenient layout in terms of interior space and they will never do as well in motorsport because pro-drviers will prefer and get more out of the more skittish on-the-limit handling characteristics of the mid-engined cars.
I think the poor old 911 is getting a really undeserved bashing at the moment. It is afteral still the car to beat in terms of all round performer. There are cars faster on the track, more powerful cars, more attractive looking cars, but in terms of the blend of speed, performance (especially performance a normal driver on british roads can use), the fact it is the only truly every day usable car (moreso than the R8), the fact it is so reliable and relatively cheap to run. No other car at any price does that blend as well as the 911.
They've been saying that there isn't much more to come from that car, but in every evolution they push it that bit further. It's not the best at any one thing, but I think it is still the best at everything. I think the facelift 997 will be even better than the current model and god only knows how good the 998 will be. I think the 911 will be around for some time yet.
It will be interesting how the Cayman will be developed alongside it. In terms of a motorsport platform the Cayman is clearly the platform Porsche need to develop further, but the 911 has something no other car has got - character and style in abundance (maybe I should become a 911 salesman!). You could say the Cayman is 'just another mid engined car in a sea of other mid engined cars' but you can never say something similar of the 911. Ferrari have managed to successfully market mid engines sportscars along side front engined rear transaxel sportscars so there is no reason why the Cayman has to push out the 911 or visa versa. They can exist alongside eachother in blissfull harmony. A 911 for the daily commute and trans-continental tour, the Cayman as your weekend toy/trackslag!
]). If they produce a "Halo Effect" Cayman this will keep residuals up and mean we will end up buying old cheap 911s [:'(]
