McLaren in financial trouble

Ferrari?

 

I personally think it's Porsche's strength: their cars have a halmark that doesn't get outmoded.
I recognise in today's Porsche the DNA of the 911 they launched back in the early 60s!
A Porsche never goes out of fashion; it's timeless, like a Swiss knife.
Not many cars have that! The MINI perhaps?
Many Porsche owners like that, and that's why they keep buying them.

 

The main advantage is price point. No competitor at that price point. Many switched over to Mac once the price point of the .2 gt3rs (and ADM's) started to get into the 570/600 LT price ball park.

 

Hard to tell if it was the chicken or the egg. I think the 911 has become like an acquired taste. After Porsche failed to find another hit they kept building it for so long that people can´t imagine another Porsche that doesn´t look like a 911.

Personally I like the old ones but I´m not a fan of remakes.

 

I, personally, could never see myself driving a Porsche--it looks like an upside down bathtub.

 

I have a 997 and really love the car its small nimble and extremely versatile you forget its a sports car.... the 991's are similar as are the newest ones... they give you a lot for the money... they are not however flashy, or even that "special" but they are just really, really good cars. If I look at the difference between Porsche guys and Ferrari guys - Ferrari folks are more ... artistic - they love the style and impression of the cars... its like Ferrari says Emotion.

Porsche is all about engineering... taking a car that is inherently unstable - and making it perform like a mid engine car... that you can drive on a track or around town with lots of storage etc... with all the creature comforts ... its not beautiful like a Ferrari - and they are not "drama queens either " ... they are engineering on wheels... Porsche folks seem to love the engineering aspect. the quality of workmanship, .... my two cents. as for McLaren's ... they should have never left Mercedes ... or got rid of Ron Dennis. ( as much as I don't like RD - he knew what he was doing.).

 

You know, Porsche tried something different before. No, I am not taking about their "bread-and-butter" SUVs.
In the 70s, they were told that the rear engine layout wouldn't endure, so they brought the 914/6 that were good cars, but the public prefered the 911.
Then, to widen their market, they tried water cooled front engines, with the 924/944 and the big V8 928, but the 911 was still the car Porsche buyers wanted .
The 928 was a brillant GT but not seen as a Porsche. It was a marketing flop
The 911 is unique, the last rear engine flat-6 engine. The purists thought it would be dangerous to increase the power and keep that layout .
But the 911 has excellent traction; it can easily handle 500, 600 and even 900 hp from some tuners and still stay on the road.
It's probably the car that a received the most attention to its suspension over its 50 years of evolution.
It must be an all time best seller.

 

As a former Porsche owner, I couldn't agree more !

 

Each to his own.

 

I used to think the same. Really like them these days however. Not as a replacement for a Ferrari, but an addition. Love the GT3/RS series a lot. Turbo S would be a fantastic daily. What helps for me is that they're so enormous inside that I can fit without any issues or compromises.

 

GT3 Touring is on my wish list.

 

Mclaren entered the market as the anti-Ferrari. Can’t blame a little gloat

At the time the only reason for Mclaren entering the market seemed to be the annihilation of Ferrari. Can’t blame a little gloat now. I’d rather Aston survived and thrived, and see the cars in their pipeline realised. More than another multimillion bodykit for a 10 years old car for sure.

 

718 Cayman GT4 or upcoming GT4 RS is on mine. Porsche engineering finally put the right NA motor in the right place.

 

absolutely. With a manual especially...Offers all the fun a normal GT3 offers, but from the outside looks like a normal porsche to anyone.

Would like black with PCCB, black cup seats with yellow stitching. Simple as that.

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People always says "Porsche is rational, Ferrari is flashy". But a silver 412 is anything but flashy.

That's one of the reasons why Ferrari is my favourite brand: you have a lot to choose from. That's the thing Porsche failed to do. Their 944 and 928 were good cars, with their own personality, I'm missing that.

 

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

 

1964 to today, 911 are still selling..... hard to beat something when it works.

although its not even remotely the same car / design - just familiar styling & layout..... if you drive an early 911 it is much more like a 356 with more power, and if you brake in a corner too hard... watch out, they swap ends easily.

 

I don't know that I agree with Ferrari's are flashy... certainly they are beautiful vs. the 911 is pretty ( in some cases ) .... the only truly beautiful Porsches' in my opinion are the 904, 917, speester, 550 spyder.... with Ferrari pick any car from 1960 through 1995. (Mondial, 308gt4 excepted, but even then they are not bad looking cars ... just more quirky.) they are all beautiful. After the 355 the cars got a bit less pretty... the 599 stands out as classic... 550 is good, but true beauty did not come back till the 458.....

928 / 944 and 924 turbo were all cool cars. I think they could have continued on with the 928 concept but really economically they were not selling well as they were so expensive. Porsche customers seem to be at a different economic threshold ... they will spend up to a point, then I think its more about the value than rarity etc... where as Ferrari's are pure toys - an extravagance... so price is part of the "fun"... for new owners. I would think the Porsche Boxter saved the company in the mid - late 90's .... to where they were big enough to try and buy VW.

 

I think McLaren's problem is they made too many of the same type of car. all super sports cars... one after the other... and the technology was too fresh, warranty claims too high. if they would have stuck with an F-1 successor then a mid price and Ferrari/ lambo price car then they could have withstood recessions. the Name McLaren only means something to people that know F-1, and maybe Indy from the 70's... or Can Am ..... they needed to be more established in the USA to really be their own company. if they could have used MB engines - and badged them as McLaren that would have saved huge R&D $$$ ..... they are essentially just like Ferrari back in 1965.... running out of money for racing and road cars...

 

IIRC their engine is based on an Nissan design and built by Ricardo, so they couldn't have spent too much on R&D there. but otherwise I agree..they have too many of the same product. need a halo car, entry level mid engine sports car, and some form of GT. you know, like Ferrari has done for decades

 

+1 My 944 was quite fun, as a just out of Uni fun car. Never an issue. The 928 is an elegant GT. I would like to see the bold initiative again from Porsche to provide a GT in the theme of the 928 for this modern world.

 

I mean this “rebodied” McLaren looks pretty spectacular to my eyes...I think McLaren has something good going for them, that’s unique enough from Ferrari, Porsche and Lambo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBvzTDyJPuk/?igshid=1tvwayxut1zg9

 

There were talking about a coupé based on a shorter Panamera platform to recapture the market of the 928.

 

Any company that can make a care as ugly as the Senna ... and think its a world beater ... I just don't think they have the right DNA.

frankly if they were smart - they would Hire IGM ( Gordon Murray's company ) and have him design their cars. they need to be playing to their strength... super Halo car like the F-1, then some more moderate $100-150K cars... to keep the machines going.

 

Have you seen the new car Gordon Murray is making? It's everything that a Mclaren should be! Gorgeous, 3 seats, V12 engine....and with that fan on the back, it'll be enormously fast on the track. It's an elegant design, it will absolutely destroy the hideous Senna (what a waste of a name for that car!).

Mclaren started out well, I don't think the MP4/12 was particularly good looking, but the facelifted 650S and especially 675LT was fantastic. The P1 flagship as well, gorgeous piece of design, clean...The only good looking car they made after that was the 600LT.

Imagine it Mclaren was making Murray's T50? Perhaps as a high volume flagship?

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