Porsche

[Kentf14]

BTW, here's few pics of my non-bike baby. Pushing the pedals on this one gives an entirely different sensation. ;-)

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[Too Tall]

Kent, that's smokin' hot.

[Kentf14]

Thanks Josh. It's not as tough as the 935s etc in this thread, but it gets the job done

Kent

[seankanary]

Very clean Kent, love the early ones. They are becoming quite valuable. We have a 73 RS that's on the build queue in the next few months.

[SteveP]

A high school friend of mine worked on classic restorations
Gullwing was the Co but they did everything.
They worked on Ralph Laurens fleet of classic cars and had bunch of them there all the time
I sat in Ralphs bugatti Atlantic but he wouldn't let me test ride it...surprsingly.

They had a complete woodshop there for interiors as well as framework.
Bugatti had wood undercarriage.

This work is painstaking.
I thk the company has changed names. Now mark russell...but it's in the same location.

Some years ago the museum of fine arts in Boston had a special exhibit of classic cars.
Fantastic take..I sat in on a tour with mark russell who happened to be leading a group when I was there.
So much extraordinary detail.

[MarkC]

Very clean Kent, love the early ones. They are becoming quite valuable. We have a 73 RS that's on the build queue in the next few months.

Restoration or race prep? '73 RS has to be worth an absurd number of beans now.

[Kentf14]

The long hood prices are pretty crazy at the moment, however the later series are gaining value at a god pace also.
I had a chance for an RS when I bought mine, but didn't want to stretch the $$$ too much. That said, a few friends have RSs and are getting to a point where they worry about driving them.
My lowly '73 'S' still gets flogged regularly.

[seankanary]

We're going to make the RS from an 87 Carrera. The customer has a real one, but is slowly turning it to a garage queen due to it's value.

About 6 months ago we found a 73 911s for $15k that's been sitting in a garage for 20 years. I think it was a good deal.
Price Guide Report

[MarkC]

Yeah, you ought to make a profit on that find. Lucky bastards...!!!!

Am enjoying the spike in value on the late 80s cars that started in 2013 and then went a bit nuts in 2014. If I hold onto this thing long enough (I will) will be afraid to drive it on public roads.

Honestly, I love the old P-Cars but have a serious jones on to get a lightly used Cayman to drive regularly. Those seem fully sorted and not hard to find at a decent price.

[MarkC]

Thread stretch, but any P-Car fans following the speculation around Porsche doing a lower cost "entry" sports car?

Lightweight, tight handling, minimal creature comforts, 200 HP +/- from a simple four banger.

The discussion comes up now and again amongst aficionados. I could get into something like that as a daily driver and smile inducer.

[jitahs]

I held my tongue (I know...) about the Cayman for weight reasons. Of course I have no inside knowledge of the lightweight with hp, but that's the sweet spot no one is hitting, including Mazda.

Of course the obvious answer to that question is always M*#%@
At under 2300 lbs., defeatable TC and a dialed chasssis with strong (presumable) internals it's the perfect mule for an FI DD.

Perhaps Sean has a surfeit of P-emblems for pasting.

[seankanary]

The only cars that come to mind would be the Boxter or Cayman. Neither are very light and both are north of budget friendly.

[MarkC]

Exactly. The Boxter and Cayman are (very very very) nice cars but having driven them I think they encroach more on GT territory than "sports car" territory. Not to get too picky on definitions of "GT" and "sports" but they are a bit too heavy and a bit too costly. Both are fun cars to go drive but thinking of something that is higher on the fun to dollar ratio.

I'm sure its just rumor or P-Car nuts asking for something they can't have: an under 50K very lightweight, moderately powered, mostly stripped down, miles of smiles, Porsche. I'd be all over something in the mold of the original Lotus Elise. Small, fast, fun but a modern drive train.

Anyway, back to Sean's awesome work and the appeal of 70s and 80s air cooleds. I apologize for the thread drift :-)

[SteveP]

Don't apologize for thread drift
This place is thread drift central.
You get 1 free month at V-s for your drift.

[jitahs]

I looked it up - Porsche's response to it is that program is DED. "Use our CPO program." Hilarous.

Porsche simply can not build the car you're asking for, nor is it desirable. A stock Focus RS will simply stomp a moderately-powered Pcar or even a Cayman on the right roads...now what Porsche owner wants that?

[Kentf14]

I think that Porsche has suffered from an identity issue in the recent past. Coming out with yet another (low end) model really only serves to dilute the brand even more unless they do away with another line to make space (i.e. Panamera, Macan, Cayenne). The market for the cars these days also cares less about absolute performance and more about status/exclusivity. I went to look @ a GT3 RS and was totally appalled to see that it comes stock with satnav. Getting this removed from the car is an up-charge! Who needs satnav in what is ostensibly a street legal track car with a friggin roll bar?!

Of course there are other faster cars out there.. the Focus or the Nissan GT-R, but I'd like to think that people buy a Porsche (Ferrari or any other impractical sports car) for reasons beyond the cold specs.
You can get a watch that tells perfect time for a heck of a lot less than a mechanical Swiss watch, yet the mechanical watch still has a following.

OK, rant over.

[jitahs]

Hence the market value of a '73 RS!

[Mr B]

I'm sure its just rumor or P-Car nuts asking for something they can't have: an under 50K very lightweight, moderately powered, mostly stripped down, miles of smiles, Porsche.

The 968 came in a shade under fifty grand when new. I like them (and 944s) a lot, but I can't see Porsche producing something similar again without dropping the Cayman & Boxster.

For now, the BRZ/FR-S/GT-86 is as close to 'the answer' to the question at hand as you're likely to get, I think.

[jitahs]

Except the BRZ is still 400+ lbs. heavier than it needs to be, has a giant hole in the middle of the powerband, has slippy tires to compensate its lack of power and it's a Subaru.

[Mr B]

You're allowed to mess with these things, you know! Take a look at SpeedHunters once in a while, proof if it were needed.
Whilst there are a few things not to like about Subarus, they do make rather good engines that can be pushed way beyond their original power.
Porsche are struggling to make a reliable GT3 right now.