MattMerce did the Dodge & Ford Aspects, Ghalos did the Lotus Aspect, so now I’m doing the Porsche Aspect. [excluding the 911 which I will make later]
Porsche has always been my and millions of people’s favorite car company. For some it’s the timeless design, for others, it’s the amazing performance, others, the handling. For more recent fans, it may be the utility of the Cayenne, and for some, the trend setting super cars that Porsche has manufactured.
This thread is dedicated to showing the vast improvement of Porsche cars of the last 57 years.
It all started in 1948, with the 356/1

http://img20.exs.cx/img20/4387/PA356.jpg
The 356/1 was the first real Porsche car ever made. Based on an aluminum roadster body, the car was designed by Erwin Komenda in April 1948. In all, the 356/1 was attractive, sporty, aerodynamic, and different from anything else on the road. The car captured a 1000-1200 cc road race in Innsbruck, Austria - the first of many 356 victories to come.
The 356 continued for 17 more years, until 1965, when the last of the 356 C’s were built.
Other models have included: the 912, 914, 924, 928, 944, and 968. The are Porsche’s Four & Eight Cylinder models.
There has also been the famed Porsche 959, possibly the greatest exotic car ever.
Also there is the Porsche Boxster with world-renowned handling and performance
This now brings us to modern times, were I will show you the two most modern, yet most different of the Porsche’s.

http://img20.exs.cx/img20/9636/PACGT.jpg

First the Carrera GT, The fastest Porsche ever built. It was first introduced in 2003. The 2 seat roadster is powered by a Naturally Aspirated 5733cc V10 engine. This monstrous engine produces 612 HP and 435 lb-ft of Torque. With this insane power, the Carrera GT is able to reach 60 MPH in just 3.8 seconds, and is able to reach a top speed of 205 MPH

Next is the Cayenne

http://img20.exs.cx/img20/5728/PACTT.jpg

We will look at the top of the Cayenne line, the Cayenne Turbo.
The Cayenne Turbo is currently the only ever Porsche SUV and the fasted SUV in the world. The large 4500 cc Water Cooled Twin Turbocharged V8 engine is capable of producing 450 HP and 460 lb-ft of Torque. The Cayenne Turbo is Capable of reaching 60 MPH in 5.1 seconds and has a top speed of 165 MPH.

This Concludes ‘The Porsche Aspect’, and just shows how drastically Porsche has improved since 1948.

[Note: Specs, Photos, and Other Information taken from www.flat-6.net, and www.rsportscars.com, and www.fast-autos.net]

I will try to make ‘The 911 Aspect’ Next week.

Nice writing, I'd choose the 959 as the best Porsche ever, period.
The fact that I've seen one of the some 20 in the US LEGALLY, doesn't hurt either. 8)

yea that is nice writting. I just state my posts/topics, bluntly.
I dont know what I would choose. but the GT looks bad ass with the hard top on.

yea that is nice writting. I just state my posts/topics, bluntly.
I dont know what I would choose. but the GT looks bad ass with the hard top on.

yeah, i tried to get what i thought was the best angle for each of the cars...and i do love the gt with the top up/on

yea that is nice writting. I just state my posts/topics, bluntly.
I dont know what I would choose. but the GT looks bad ass with the hard top on.

yeah, i tried to get what i thought was the best angle for each of the cars.

yep very nice job on the pictures and topic.

I love to see grammar and spelling errors and big posts like that.

The only Porsches I like are the 911 Turbo and the Carrera GT.

For me Porsche is mainly the 911 series, and definetely the 959 too.. :twisted:

And the Carrera GT without doubt, brought porsche into today's supercar realm.

Easy, 917K Short Nose Short Tail (in pink pig colours). Nieghbour used to have a 959 which got driven down to the hospital (his place of work) and back everyday. That was it apart from the occasional car pool down to the local school (over the road from the hospital).

Excluding the Carrera GT which is on another level, the Porsche that impresses me the most is undoubtedtly the 959. It was soooo ahead of it's time that IMO it will remain as a legend. And so rare btw... :shock:
Guess what... there is one 959 in lil' Greece... :)

Porsche has definetly come a long way from the 356/1. However, i believe they maintained their charisma and charm throughout the whole process. Unlike other high end companies like lambo or ferrari, porsche has always remained at the top of the performance ladder. Who would have though a rear engine, RWD car would work so well? Who knows. All i know is that it does work and it works amazing. Porsche is totally individual in everything they do. they are the pinnicle of sports cars, and if anyone disagrees, lets hear it. I dare you.

What have I started with these "Aspect" topics :lol: lol :lol:

Anyway good topic, good info. The 356 is a legend in my mind and I loved the Cayenne from the start (what's not to love about an SUV that can smoke all those ricers), and the Carerra GT is just an awesome super-car.

P.S. I'll come out with a chevy soon, I've just been busy not too mention having the flu has been slowing me down.

they are the pinnicle of sports cars, and if anyone disagrees, lets hear it. I dare you

You're on whitey...Front-engined GT cars, they sure as hell don't have that section locked up.
But that's not fair, Porsche isn't known for that, how about full on racing, well, right now Porsche's got it pretty well secured. But look at the first and second year attempts the 360's made against the GT3's at Sebring, and LeMans. Also, take the 575 GTC into account, Porsche may not have a car in that class. But I doubt they could make any current 928 or 968 esque car that could "hang" with the 575's and C5R's... 8)

And as for customer cars and the whatnot. The Corvette will absolutely slaughter the current N/A 911 Lineup bar the GT3. And even then, the GT3 would baaaarely beat it, SCI did a track test taking a C5 Z06 and a GT3 and the GT3 lost by a half second. As for the GT2 and 996 Turbo, how about an SRT-10, with brakes that don't break, or fail on the street. The Ferrari 360 CS can hang with a GT3RS, the 997 series of 911's look promising though.

But the new offerings from Aston Martin in the form of the AMV8, and Vanquish S, or the Ford GT, which can hang with the 300% more expensive Carrera GT, or how about the Saleen S7?? That which is race proven, unlike the Carrera GT (which, IMO would be sooooooo cool on a starting grid)...
So, I ask others, oh Porschephiles, prove me wrong. :P

Very good argument. But not good enough.

Yes, many companies such as aston martin, chevy and ford have all built cars that surpass some of porsches finest. However, your looking at this strictly from a performance standpoint. Ok, so a Z06 is faster than a GT3. But your kidding yourself if you think the corvette is going to be half as solid as the GT3. Porsche builds very solid and very strong cars. It's hard to break a porsche. The corvette is nice and all, but it just won't match the quality of a porsche. Unless they want to raise the price to that of a porsche.

Next, we have aston martin. Your kidding yourself if you think the AMV8 or Vanquish S can come even close to the carrera GT. No way. They're both front engined GT cars. If they can match the speed of the carrera GT (which is quite a challenge), they'll also have to match the handling, which is never going to happen. And lets not forget, aston martins are pretty damn expensive too. But your looking at this the wrong way. Take a 911 GT2 and a standard Vanquish. Who would win around the track? It's a no brainer, and the GT2 is less than a Vanquish. Overall, sports cars are supposed to be fun. I think we can all agree that a porsche in general would be more fun to drive than those big tanks that we call aston martins.

As far as racing, thats a given too. Sure, currently porsche isn't #1. But look at their history. They've always been racing. They have an amazing racing record, rivaling ferraris and definetly surpassing the corvettes. They not only participate in road racing events, but have a long history in offroad too. They even won the freaking paris-dakar! They have numerous wins at lemans and porsches are still going strong today.

Now, ferrari. This is a toughie. Yes, they make faster and prettier and better handling cars. But think about price. It's all about price. A simple GT3 could probably school a 360 modena, and we all know a GT3 doesn't even touch the GT3 in price. I sometimes think ferrari goes a litle over the top with their cars. Look at the enzo. Perfect example. Put it next to a carrera GT, and who would win styling wise? Obviously the carrera GT.

So, case in point: If you want a solid, realiable, fun, pretty, individual, price efficent and fast car, go to porsche. And if you want the best sports cars ever made, go to porsche. Done deal.

Guess i won that argument. 0wn3d!

HEY! I haven't read this thread in a few days, but I gotta admit, I got pwned.

But on a small note:
The Ceramic Brakes Porsche whores, have been breaking, as in, CRACKING ALOT. Because they aren't being used that much. Alot of 996 Turbo owners are ticked off and Porsche isn't refunding their money.

So like I said, the Corvette will trounce the 911 Lineup bar the Turbo'd models and GT3, but look at that GT3, which is half as expensive? As for the AMV8, it's a GT3 competitor, and the Vanquish, eh, I was on a roll... :P

But Ford is racing it's rear off, in WRC (though that's changing). :x
Ferrari, you answered...
Aston Martin is getting back into racing currently with the DBR9, and seems to want to school the 911's with the oncoming AMV8 and Vanquish S (which can't take a Carrera GT-but can use it everyday of the year). 8)

So Porsche may hold the racing crown currently, but it's not going to stay that way, I'll guarentee it, over the next 5 or so years.
And customer cars, product reliability, etc...I won't bring up Porsche's lack of funds 6 years ago. :)
Ahhh...It's a good time to like cars. 8)

The Ceramic Brakes Porsche whores, have been breaking, as in, CRACKING ALOT. Because they aren't being used that much. Alot of 996 Turbo owners are ticked off and Porsche isn't refunding their money.


ya, they are like $8,700 option aren't they?

yes, it's ridiculous.

But in response to ghalos.

Porsches racing crown will never fade, second to only ferrari in my opinion. Sure, porsche may not be winning all of the races that they're in, but next time you watch a touring car or GT race, i bet you a big percentage of the field is outdated GT3's. Old GT3's can keep up with the vipers and BMW's that they currently compete against, and they do it well. Wait till that new 997 GT3 cup comes out. It will put porsche back on top of the touring car/sports car racing ladder.

Whenever you think of fast race cars for the road, you either think of ferrari or porsche. I can't argue the fact that ferrari is the king of sports car racing, but at times they focus too much on their racing efforts and not enough on thier street efforts. Porsche has kept a good balance between the two, and in my opinion, porsche makes better street cars than porsche.

And i dont know what to say to that ceramic brake thing. I think people are misinformed. It's more for track use, not just an option to say you have them. Damn rich people never read up on what their buying.

Good point on the GT3's owning some races, but the new 997 will have some other competition to run with, the new Vipers, the New F430 will no doubt have a racing version, the new M5 will likely be in there also, TVR is getting into racing, Panoz has a number of racing cars.

But true, no one company owns every facet of racing, so it's not fair to say that Porsche should do it.

As for street cars, the Porsche problem imo is they charge too much for god knows what little you get extra. Metallic paint on a 996 Turbo was a $3,000 additional to the asking price of 115grand! The 40th??(I can't remember the number now) Anniversary Porsche Carrera was 95 THOUSAND, what'd you get? Special paint, wheels/tires, about 345bhp, and a little more exclusivity. It wasn't even that "cheap" once dealers marked them up and you add taxes. The Special Edition Boxster was over 60 grand!!! It came with a different style interior, a few exterior tweaks, a different sounding exhaust and about 5 more horsepower. For Sixty-two thousand dollars?! You could buy a fully loaded, every option Corvette 50th anniv. for 5 grand LESS. And that'd beat the Boxster day in day out on a race track or on the street.

Now, I love Porsche's, I just don't agree with their company practices and some of the "hubbub" surrounding the marque. Principally because I think they've lost their super, "screw the trend" aura. They've got tiptronic's, SUV's, AWD, high weights on some of the cars, and high prices on all of the cars that IMO aren't worth as much as that. Plus, trying to get repairs and replacement parts for just about ANY Porsche can take weeks. WEEKS!!! There's a 996 Carrera owner near my house that owns a really reputable bodyshop and he said once that he was put off by the time it took to get his front bumper replaced, at a cost of 4 grand.

So, while I like Porsche's, and their is no direct "substitute", I would only want the Turbo'd models new, or a much lower priced used 911 Carrera. For the money of a Carrera, there are a number of other manufacturer's that have just as much soul, passion, racing heritage, and speed as any 911.

BTW, ceramic brakes are a $9,000 option...And yes, they're meant for track work. 8)

POrsche charges loads of extra money for those special ediditions because they're just that, special ediditions. They're made in a much smaller volume than the normal cars> they made what, 1955 boxster speedster ediditions. thats a very small amount. You see, your looking at this way too close minded. Basically from a performance standpoint only. Ok, you get a couple little upgrades here and there, but those are the upgrades the other guy with his plain old boxster S or 911 carrera wont have. People are willing to pay the price of being just a little bit better than the other guy, and porsche is simply capitalizing on that. You also have to remember porsche is competing with it's very very high priced italian counterparts. and compared to them, porsche is a bargin. True, metallica paint on a 911 turbo might be $3,000, but that little white and green stripe on the ferrari 360 challenge stradale is also $3,000! It's a little stripe! Now thats nuts.

So sure, yuou could buy a car with just as much soul, passion, racing heritage, and speed as any 911. But, it'll either be 2 as much or one of those traits. So, no, they're still the kings and will always be the king of everything sports car.

BTW, what is this business with the M5 going into racing. I dont believe there were any M5's in racing before, what makes you think they'd do it now?

Ok, perhaps I'm close minded in my fascination with 3 grand for paint, and 10 grand extra for limited edition cars that don't outperform cars half as much. But I'm coming from the standpoint that cars like the Boxster commemorative which they made 1,954 (year they made it I believe) that performance for alot more is ok, not cosmetics
ESPECIALLY when that car doesn't justify it's price to begin with...

In pure sports car production the 911 Turbo is the only car that truly astounds me in performance. It's a car that justifies its price. And from your point and well, all of ours, that also buys exclusivity. But when another full on sports car costing 2/3's or half as much matches you and passes you on the track, there's not much you can do except take comfort in your exclusivity.

So no, Porsche doesn't have the sports car market locked up, they're contending with Jaguar, Ferrari, Dodge, Ford, BMW, and Mercedes Benz...
The major reason I can say this is look at their last ten financial years...According to customers their cars weren't what the enthusiast wanted. While yes the cars were pretty good, they couldn't match pace with some of the newer machinery that came out.
And I feel, that the same thing is going to happen very soon with the new cars coming out from numerous manufacturers...

Try not to misunderstand, we all know, or most of you know I like Porsche's alot, I just don't think they're the number one historical sports car company. They're definitely a cool one. But the cars they sell right now (996) series isn't terribly performance heavy when compared to the other cars in the segment. They are less expensive and keep up almost perfectly with the 996's. In my humble opinion.

Panoz has a number of racing cars.
BTW, ceramic brakes are a $9,000 option...And yes, they're meant for track work. 8)

2 things... panoz will never be a competitor for porsche, or anyone for that matter, they make a total of what, 1000 vehicles per year, and only like 1/15 people have ever heard of panoz....

as for the ceramic brakes, why do they sell them on the cayenne turbo? thats what i dont get.... :?

Big weights on brakes equals lots of heat, soooo...Ceramic brakes actually makes more sense on bigger and heavier vehicles. On sports cars they work amazingly, but only when hammered on alot.

As for the Panoz thing, I was referring to their racing variants of the street cars.

only like 1/15 people have ever heard of panoz....
You probably mean car people, because if you meant people in general you'd better make that 1/100 or even less... (in my country at least)

ya, i bet you're right, like at my school, NO ONE new what a panoz was until one of the kid's dad purchased an esperante

Panoz in the car world is starting to make a name for itself, principally because the racing cars own in lots of races. And the production models are incredible...Note, I still wouldn't get one if I had the money for one. :?

Last check Panoz source components from australia so a few people have heard of them out here