https://carbuzz.com/news/future-of-the-porsche-718-boxster-and-cayman-isn-t-looking-too-good Sales are down... Must be the exciting 4-banger... and those fantastic SUV’s. Robb
Works for Mazda, Subaru and Toyota. The real issue, I believe, is Porsche is no longer a sports car company. Go talk to a Porsche salesman. He'll probably tell you the SUVs are flying off the floor. Panameras are next. It is rare to sell a 911 manual. Most of the hard core have gone for the boy racers. Boxsters sell relatively well. Caymans have never sold that well. Nothing stays the same.
Many Porsche fans are very sensitive to their "sound" - as in it's more important than acceleration. They constantly bash the (mostly all Turbo'd) and much quicker 991.2 because of the sound and turbo lag. .. while their entire car - with them in it lags - behind. As someone who has three of them I just don't get it. You want to talk sound? Listen to an F355 at 8500 RPM. Or a C6 Z06 at 7000. But whatever, if that's what floats your boat. As far as the Caymans and Boxsters go. If you haven't actually tried them and - you actually care about handling - you are doing yourself a diservice. They feel like they could do a U-turn in you garage.. at 60 MPH. And are amazing at the track. Very different from a 911. I don’t think I'll one instead of my 911 but will as a track/autocross toy. And they do produce fantastic SUVs. I used to totally have to adjust my driving style when switching from my Porsches/Ferraris to my ponderous Yukon. Not necessary anymore with my Macan Turbo.
Maybe that’s a good thing? I will never understand this love for 993s. If God meant for engines to be air cooled, he would have never let Porsches be sold in Texas. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
In the past 4+ years, my garage have consisted of SUVs, wagons and race cars. No traditional sports cars. When sports cars have become too capable to be driven close to their limits on busy public streets and yet are not trackworthy enough (with proper safety gear, etc.) for me, then I don’t find much use for them. I don’t mind SUVs as I grew up riding in them (before they were known as SUVs i.e. old Land Rovers, Land Cruisers). I have found Porsche’s capable SUVs more fun being driven close to lower limits while enjoying the drives with more friends/family plus gear. Those SUVs have even been known to tow a race car or go off-road. A lot more practical yet still capable. Then if I want to or can go faster, go to the track with a properly setup track/race car. That’s just my side of it. I think there are bigger reasons why sports cars are on the decline: millennials’ overall decreased interest in recreational driving relative to other recreational activities and other more practical priorities. For those who still like a sports car, there is also the supercar category which has further sub-segmented this space. Speaking of sub-segmenting, Porsche’s 911 has become a much bigger brand with all the 911 variations. I like Porsche’s approach of renaming to “718” in an attempt to tap into its heritage; but for those who appreciate the 718s of the 60s, the new 718s lack credibility. Even Porsche seemed to have neutered them to protect the 911 brand. I’d rather buy a used 911.
Was at our annual PCA all-members party yesterday. Tons of Porsches of all ages and models. I was struck at how big the 718 Cayman is relative to the previous generations. Also, $100K for a new tricked out Cayman is a lot IMO for a 4 banger turbo. As for Porsche now being largely viewed as a luxury SUV company, I fear that's true once you're outside of the enthusiast crowd. I drove my 997.2S for some errands about 2 months. Your reasonably affluent Dallas suburbs, I saw 8 Porsches, including my own. Mine was the only 911 - rest were Macans, Cayennes, & a Panny. Only mine was in a color other than white, black, silver's T
But the Earth and sky! On the bright side, you have to think all those SUV allow them to produce a lot of great GT cars. Will be interesting to see what happens with that line, once they go turbo as some have hypothesized. T
I was also at a PCA event yesterday. One thing I noticed in every local PCA event is that the attendees are mostly baby boomers. Come to think of it, I’m not sure those folks are keenly interested in Boxsters and Caymans. OTOH, FCA seems to be a younger group on average, but maybe this is just a Seattle/tech town thing. Even if Porsche is largely known as a luxury SUV company, I hope that Porsche races their SUV in cool rallies such as Dakar or Transsyberia like they did a decade ago. I’ll buy the homologation or street version like the 957 GTS/Transsyberia.
I bought a 718 Cayman S, (it was a highly optioned one that I was able to get a significant discount on), for my girlfriend. It is her first Porsche, she likes driving the 4C,but it is a bit too raw for her to be a non winter daily driver. I have only driven the car a couple times and the sound I can deal with (though my hearing without my aids is not exactly good). I have long history with Porsche's (I have gone over 35 years of always owning at least one), and yes at first I was resistant to the whole Boxster idea, but it along with the SUV & sedan (both of which I have owned), saved Porsche. As a drivers car I like the Cayman, and I would probably like it even better if it were a striped down gearshift car. My only reference is the one I bought which is too optioned out for my tastes and it is a PDK, which I find a bit too perfect. It would be a shame to see them go away since the never 911's (other than the more driver focused special editions) to me have become more of a GT car than a drivers car.
At the last OPC champagne event their promotional video concentrated on the Panamera's interior connectivity and creature comforts. For many new customers a comfortable multi-purpose vehicle with a Porsche badge is enough. I see a time when it will just be Porsche SUV's and hardcore road legal racers.
Lags behind? As in speed? Who cares....to me the visceral experience is top priority. Been driving for a long time and fortunate enough to own some cool cars.....never been in a race.....I’ll take the screaming NA to 9K RPMs over speed and quickness. As we all know they won’t be around for much longer. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sad, my 2010 Cayman S was a super fun car. My wife would really like a 718 Boxster. I was pretty sure you could still get them with a flat 6. is that not true?
Just sold my 07 Boxster today and replacing it with a 2014 Cayman S. The feel and balance of these cars on the road is unparalleled. My 355 feels like a shot of Novocain by comparison. My 308, well, like an old car. But I love them all for what they are.
Like I said, whatever floats your boat. Never raced, doesn't care about speed, we're just too far apart to continue this discussion.
True or not, that's for every driver to decide. However, that Subie is likely one third to one half the price, even if fully tricked out. Is the Cayman/Boxster a better car? I'd like to think so. As a value proposition, is the Porsche 2-3x better? Not so obvious, at least to me, especially as Porsche becomes recognized more as a luxury brand, less as a sport car company. Happily, these are first world problems, and I got my 911, which both my wife & I love! T
Sound is definitely important to me. I get most of my fix with our F355's. But I would say the new 4 cylinder in the 718 doesn't do much in that category for me. If I wanted pure lap times and speed on track, maybe it wouldn't matter for me that much - but for a street car, I need good sound. Robb
Bottom line is the car is too expensive at $80K - $90K with options. The market speaks and for that money Porsche has priced it out of the market. Hell I paid $93K for my GT4 2 years ago, and they couldn't build enough of those. How Porsche expects to sell a lousy sounding 4 cylinder variant with less equipment (as in lesser suspension, brakes, etc.) for the same money is beyond me - no matter how well it performs.....
