Does Porsche Need To Build An R8 Style SportsCar?

And now that its in the family, its like Porsche making an R8 competitor, which would be a 911 competitor, which would steal market shares from the R8 and 911, which is essentially one company... SMART!

WHY????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Yes. BUT....

It would be nice to see a successor to the Carrara GT. We know Porsche understands its brand and can continue to pump out new models that remind us that Porsche seems to have been cool since...for ever!

It would be nice to see a specialized, short run (per year) hyper-car that makes you forget about the muscle and panache that is Bugatti and Ferrari, and epitomize the legendary brand in a single lustful halo-mobile.

your acting as if the VW Group isnt doing that now with its overlapping product portfolio......

i think its not a bad idea to have another CARRERA GT type mid engine super car to sit above 911 to compete with MURCIELAGO, and have an front engine GT to compete with 599/612/DBS.
And leave 911 wherever it suppose to be.

CGT successor - yes
Front engine 599/612 competitor - yes
911 - leave it and refine it.

poor pissed porsche, now they have to get off their arse and make something -- which should be easy as you pointed out, it is in the family.

Uh, no, they have the R8 for that. Porsche has it's share of fans and won't be hurting anytime soon.

yea, really...

Now that Porsche is owned by VW they probably will. VW will badge engineer a R8 and call it a Porsche and sell it at a 40% premium. Wiedeking, sucks.

Don't mess with the 911 formula. It is a classic. I would love an 911 4S.

For some reason when I think Porsche badged R8 I shudder at the thought of frog eye shaped lights on a beautiful car.

I'm 21 and the GT3 RS is my dream car. I worship 911's. Evo just drove the car and said it rivals anything... yes anything...

there goes 001 again just saying bs to stir of site traffic.

I didn't say EVERYONE under 40, just most.

For every five I interview, 4 prefer the wedge shape vs. 911.

I personally LOVE the way 911's drive (I've personally owned 8 in my lifetime) but if I were buying something now, no question it would be hard to say no to a used R8 at a going street price in the mid-80's with under 5k miles right now.

That is IF, you know how to negotiate.

2nd choice would be a 2009 911S PDK.

A very CLOSE second.

001

Why not? Slap on some $10 Porsche badges and charge $50k more. Sounds like good business to me.

Yes, and now that Porsche is losing more than gm they need all the help they can get.

to be honest , i like the R8 style look more than the 911, but porsche should not change what made them great in the first place...

I never said change, I said add a new model to the product lineup and let customers choose

001

yes, I think Porsche should make a 911 competitor! What idiot thought up of that idea!

I'm with OO1. A slightly used R8 is much more compelling a buy than a new Turbo. Porsche is stuck in a dysfunctional product hierarchy, where the unbalanced 911 must be kept above a more balanced and inherently more capable mid-engine design. A turbo Cayman would blow away most or all 911's but they wont do it. This rigidity did not serve other manufacturers well in the long run and will not serve Porsche well either. First the R8 and now the GTR. If the GTR was more elegantly styled the inevitable woud come more quickly.

So what you're saying is that a used R8 (and I'm assuming the 4.2 V8 since you stated "used") which is absolutely no performance match for a 2010 turbo, is the car you'd prefer. I guess this means that the looks have won you over, because it sure couldn't be the performance. BTW, any of you see the videos of the runs between the GTR and the 2010 turbo? If not, it's one-mississipi, two mississipi, three mississipi, oh yeah, here comes the GTR.

Love my R8..I have a friend with a 2008 turbo and seriously there is no comparison, in the R8 you feel like you are in a supercar, and you get the looks from people that match the 599's and the LP560's. The porsche? no one looks twice..infact no one looks once..

So reading your post and taking it in the most cynical way possible. Are you saying the R8 sucks cause it's made with terrible "vw parts" and the Porsche can get away with sub optimal looks because of the price tag on the emblem inserted onto the car? To say any sports car doesn't have a ton of engineering put into it would be ignorant. Just about as ignorant as it would be to say that the 911 is the perfect sports car. It's merely another interpretation, an expensive one with it's own quirks.

The reason why many of us love our Porsches is that you get an incredible driving experience and no one cares but you, the lucky driver. You know who gawks at cars? Mostly teenage boys. You interested?

you hit it on the spot... Most people who drives Porsches, myself included, do not care about getting looks or what other people say... Its an experience that if you are not an owner, you would know nothing about. While I love Audi and the R8, it just does not have the aura that the 911 instills on its drivers...

LOL I think the R8 is a beauty queen, however I don't think it's a good car, everything from the plastic bits scattered throughout its interior, to the underwhelming gas guzzling engine, to the keg shaped bling shifter knob. I was merely playing devils advocate.

What are you smoking? do you buy a car based on how many people look at the car as you drive by or how it satisfy your driving needs?. I just sold my R8 not too long ago to order my new 911 turbo and I don't care if people don't look at me as the car I buy is for myself and the passenger I decide to take along with me.

If you're buying cars based solely on looks and what people think of you then you shouldn't be driving at all because no ones going to ever be satisfied with you. All I cared about with the R8 is its radical styling, mid-engine placement, and awesome build and that v8 sound that made the hair on my back stick up everytime I drive it. With the 911 it will do the same and I'll be going even faster. The build quality on Porsches are awesome and I won't be disappointed. It's no Pagani Zonda but it's amongst the elite cars on the road that brings quality, balance, fuel efficiency as well as it being very green compared to other cars like the Gallardo and F430. Just because it doesn't have the pizazz like Ferrari and Lamborghini doesn't mean it doesn't deserve respect.

Also if they drive Porsche and not a more expensive car it doesn't mean their pockets aren't deep. The exterior means nothing. Damn folks tainted by that Hollywood image thing. LOL WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

Agent 63..I never questioned the turbo's power or technical engineering..The new turbo is infact superior to the cars you mentioned (F430 and Gallardo), and by a big margin...But the article clearly asks a question of STYLE...Which the R8 wins hands down, no questions asked!I am not conceited in any way to only care about peoples perception and beg their approval, but within the context of the article the R8's styling is superior to the 911 and GETS YOU MORE LOOKS..Lets just face reality its time for 911 to match performance with style..

Lots of good comments on this one. Should Porsche add another R8-like model? Probably not. Might be received the same way the cayenne was as in, not very well if not done exactly right. With so many compelling options out there it seems like that niche is a bit more difficult to stand out in now. Could they do it in good business sense, financially? Probably now that the merger is done, yes.

Don't know if the shape is the end all, be all, but at some point they may need to make a mid engine car just to stay competitive. The 911 is already starting to move forward between the axles.

Wow, talk about R8 envy by Porsche owners. Seriously, 204E60, you sound quite ignorant by trying to knock Audi and the R8. Porsche has and will benefit quite a bit from Audi technology in the future. Interesting how the Audi R8 LMS GT3 spanked Porsche quite a bit this year in head to head races. The technology in the R8 easily outpaces that of the old 911. Just the placement of the engine in the R8 makes it superior to the 911. Stop crying spilled milk because you're some dumbass fan boy.

...and you porsche fans who think the acquistion of porsche by VAG is a merger should be buying swamp land. Porsche will have to answer now to its Audi overlords. Don't forget Winterkorn is the previous Audi CEO as are many VAG's top executives - all from Audi. Audi rules the roost. Why do you think the Cayenne and the Panarama have been cut in the future? Audi gave them ax. You should know your automotive business news a little better. Audi is already designing the successor to the R8 and it will be even more of supercar. The V10 used by Lambo was designed by Audi which Audi owns anyway. Get a clue 204E60.

Yes but VW is not going to disolve Porsche. They would not have paid all those Euros for it if that was their plan. I do think that VW wants Porsche to flourish. Most probably VW will let POrsche do most of the engineering for the premium sports cars in VW group. Further I do not think that the Panmera chassis will vanish. It could easily be adapted to Bently and Lamborghini. The four door may not be made under the Porsche banner but it will be utilized. I believe the herr Piech wants to keep the uniqness of Porsche and the 911. Therefore I do not see in the near future Porsche making an R8 style sportscar(as in future 911).And let's face it-The 911 is the face an identity of Porsche. Every Porsche product that comes out has some styling cue from the 911. The Boxster and future R4 may share a chasis and VW new mid engine car will serve as the the cheapest Porsche.

Of course Porsche is pissed because they made car perform better than the 911 Carrera S with the V8 and better than the Turbo with the R8 V10. It shows you how over priced the 911 is and how its a rip off especially since the Cayman S is a better car dynamically and 80% the cost.

Pennfootball - FYI, a 2010 Carerra S with PDK will demolish a R8V8 (and cost less) and the 2010 turbo will do exactly the same to the r8V10 (and also cost less).