I just read the title on Jalopnik, and I have no interest in learning a single thing about a new "special edition" 911. It's getting a tad ridiculous.
It's the same parent company that thought putting out 3,412 different versions of the Gallardo was a cool idea. What's next? The GT2 Black Edition? The GT3 Black Edition? The 911 Carrera 4S Turbo Black Edition Plus?
Over 9000. But seriously, first Bugatti abused the term "special edition", and now it seems like Porsche is doing the same.... Maybe the next one will be the 911 Carrera 4S Turbo GT Speedster Pink Edition S? Hey, at least I get some new wallpapers to add to my wallpaper folder.
Couldn't you just spec one out like that? I thought that special editions were supposed to be a more meaningful type of special.
ALMOST as bad as the Gallardo special editions I think it's hot... After what I can figure out it's based on the standard Carrera.. Sorry, but for the 997 the Carrera S is a minimum...
The sentiment posted here about the endless variants of 911 getting out of hand is pretty similar to a column in February's Excellence magazine. The author felt that the 911 has lost it's feeling of "specialness." The only models which are lustworthy (for him, and for me too) are the GT ones. Not that I have the income to plunk down $70-130K for a new vehicle. But I don't even dream of owning a modern Porsche short of the GT2/3 family, even were I that economically-blessed.
Even though Porsche has been very active lately with all of these marketing created special editions, the company is still coming up with some truly focused driving machines. The current GT3, GT3 RS and GT2 RS models belong on the list of 911 all time greats. However, even outside of the 911 range there are still some fantastic Porsche cars that I lust after - Boxster Spyder and upcoming Cayman R.
I read that column and agreed with it completely. You could replace "Porsche" with "Ferrari" and it would have been just as applicable. But IIRC (and I might not) it was primarily about how the newer 996/997 have become so technified that you can really drive them like any other car. The engine being in the back is just trivia these days.