Talks about the shift in Porsche making the 911 much more unobtainable (special editions, GT cars, etc.) and prioritizing exclusivity over getting cars in the hands of drivers. A shame really if you ask me, but profits drive business and low volume sports cars aren’t easy to make money on. Thankfully there is the Porsche used market that’s much more accessible as long as you aren’t after some unicorn like the 918.
Porsche 911s used to be owned by dentists and doctors; now they cost as much as a house.
Porsche is trying to be Ferrari but, who can blame them. Ferrari is totally recession proof and immune to criticism. They post huge profits and sell relatively little cars. Porsche has done a great job with their branding though. 911 and cayman share a platform and are mass produced on an assembly line but dealers can still charge big numbers for all their special edition cars. Corvette and maybe Mustang Shelby can do that in the beginning but, as time goes on it dwindles what they can sell them for. Porsche dealers can seemingly continue to charge more on the entire life of the model.
They post huge profits and sell relatively little cars.
Depends on which manufacturer you’re comparing Ferrari to. Ferrari sells nearly as many cars as McLaren and Lamborghini combined.
I don’t understand any of this premise. You can buy hundreds of Porsches for sale across the price spectrum new or used.
When I was young, I really wanted a 930 Turbo. I’ve reached a point where I make 1990 930 Turbo money. But I’m even further behind in affording a 992 GT3 RS…
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I’m not sure this claim is really born out by reality. It’s difficult to buy a 911 right now because demand for 911s is very high. Porsche haven’t cut production vs previous model years of the 911, they’ve consistently increased it.
Year Delivered 911s 2017 32,197 2018 35,573 2019 34,800 2020 34,328 2021 38,464 2022 40,410 I think this is the much more interesting question.
We are seeing this with every enthusiast car. Is the demand so high because people see the writing on the wall for ICE enthusiast cars? Are they just becoming the next hot thing because of car YouTubers? Is it a result of wealth disparity and wealthy people need more toys?
I’d be very interested at very specifically why demand has grown so much. The only thing any of us can do is speculate, but you’ll always have people who feel they have a definitive answer.
Bring back the 944
The Seinfeld crew aren’t doing the brand any favours. Every new balance wearing geriatric has to have one.
But what the heck man. My kids are the ones with new balances.
Whats wrong with New Balance?
Talks about the shift in Porsche making the 911 much more unobtainable (special editions, GT cars, etc.) and prioritizing exclusivity over getting cars in the hands of drivers. A shame really if you ask me, but profits drive business and low volume sports cars aren’t easy to make money on. Thankfully there is the Porsche used market that’s much more accessible as long as you aren’t after some unicorn like the 918.
Maybe you just didn’t know OP but its been like that for awhile. Maybe im not old enough but getting a GT3 or a limited edition Porsche was always near impossible. It was like buying a Rolex where you had to have business with the dealership to be even considered to get an allocation
I don’t think exclusivity is necessarily bad. It’s not like the 911 is a necessity.
Most people won’t admit it, but one kind of appeal to a sporty car is status symbol.
There’s the obvious example of loud people that want to flash their wealth.
But how about the guy working hard, doing what is asked, and losing his soul as a middle manager, doctor, lawyer, etc for decades? He wants to feel like it actually amounted to something. A sense of status and exclusivity from a car purchase can help with that.
You can still get that if you work for it “for decades as a doctor/lawyer”. Or get a used one, or a 718. Or a fucking Corvette. People are buying $80k pickup trucks, a $120k 911 isn’t out of line. The problem is that there is a growing divide between the “haves” and the “have nots”, the Porsche targets the Haves.
Hurting those of us waiting even for the allocation though — but I understand it
This is a pretty common thread across the car industry at the moment, and it’s not limited to the luxury manufacturers. At least Porsche is doing something about it.
What’s changed? What am I missing?
I’ve never once in my life felt like Porsche was about getting cars in the hands of drivers. In my mind, they’ve always been a brand that’s about exclusivity and status.
Maybe I just haven’t been keeping up with the brand.
Not really true, you used to (over a decade ago) be able to walk into a dealer and order a GT3 for under MSRP
Porsche is now a relationship based sale for the rich kids. You want a 250K car you better know someone
I mean they have lots of not 250k cars too….
that’s not true. It’s also very region and dealer specific. some dealers will do msrp others want an ADM especially if you’re in a hot market like LA. Even with that a base, S, T, GTS can be had for close to sticker, even turbo and turbo S. Its the GT cars which are 50 or 60 over but you don’t need to know anyone, just have money. The way I see it is you have to pay an entry fee. You get a 911, maybe pay a little over but that car will hold its value and when you want to get a GT car you trade in for minimal loss. Now that you have a relationship with a dealer they will lower the ADM or maybe not charge at all because they know they will make money on your trade.
People buying them up to tow with their cybertrucks 😆