Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Show's your Porsche

It never ceases to amaze me how much people will spend on stuff that they've been convinced is 'exclusive'

I remember when my mate traded his GT3 up to a GT3RS. It seemed he'd spent £50K to have someone rip out his carpet, aircon and stereo, and then allow a 12 year old to paint it....

I bless all those that buy cars spec'd up to the level you highlight. I buy them secondhand at 40% of what they paid and they are wonderful.

The CL600 I owned also had those seats fitted. The side bolsters inflate in line with the cornering. The backs and base also provide a gentle massage. Whilst offering cooling and heating. It feels odd at first but once you relax into it it becomes very natural. A bit like 600 bhp 2WD and a tyre bill that tingles.

The ML I have at present also has them among a list so long it makes me laugh. Rear TV screens, a Carbon Fibre engine cover (really - did that actually save weight on a monster weighing 2400kgs?), TV, Radar, lights in the mirrors.......endless.

Then one day driving up the M6 the computer that managed the air suspension active stuff took a left and it felt like a morris minor with no dampers. You tapped the brakes and it wobbled backwards and forwards. Thank god for the warranty.

I did drive a G63 and it made me laugh out loud but putting a solid booster rocket on the back of a massy-fergy was never going to end in anything but a ditch. Adding more options to that would be like ignoring the fact that the steering is not connected to the actual wheels in the first place.

So why say this on this thread. I owned two Porsches, both 968 Club Sports, stripped of all options. Most of the modern ones seem more like the MB's I own, deeply over complex. Yet that 968CS was a sublime experience. Didn't need anymore.

In the off chance anyone beamed up the Porsche GT2RS link I posted and as the result had interest in the question raised by the presenter by way of How Much Is Too Much..? Strange as it may seem that is one of the reasons I came to enjoy Morgan ownership, for at the time of the 993 launch, it seemed it had become a bit less of a sports car and more..err..comfortable and sure footed than my old 911, and to enjoy it`s advanced engineering I felt I needed to up the rate of progress into areas where conflict with the law could cause issues, which reduced the appeal of the more performant and advanced 993, whereas my old 911 provided more feedback relative to required inputs and thus a more involving driver experience by way of returns with a lesser degree of licence shredding risk..

The chap in the vid lURL I posted seemed to be asking the same question of the GT2RS in terms of on road enjoyment compared to "lesser" Porsches, which may be more suited to road use and licence retention..? Interesting in terms of advancement that one can seemingly select the automatic digitally controlled version of heel and toe down changes when operating the flappy paddles, think he called it Auto Blip...Yeah how much is too much...?

Well for me at the time of the 993 launch and as a self reliant home mechanic, things all seemed to be getting more technical and dealer dependant than suited my personal ideals. Today, with auto blip and so very much on board digitised systems some of which even Morgans are dependant, I have for many years felt more mechanically comfortable with my old +8, physically..? Well, somewhat less so these days..pity.

Back now the the question that seems likely to be that which will ever be asked, if not out loud by every petrol head, at least seems likely to cross their mind at some point, in regard to the levels of enjoyment hoped to be found in their hobby/ recreational vehicle of choice.. How much is too much.. and in so many areas of expenditure relative to performance titivation and general maintenance and repair costs, etc.etc.etc.

Sure, at my age it seems easy to revert back to memories of the cost of a pint of milk or beer when I were a lad, but to be comfortable to pay out almost £2k to just have brake pads replaced on a GT3, is quite some way out of my comfort zone, having bought my first city flat for £1200..! Yeah, yeah, you gotta move with the times and the price hikes that easy money seems to have created, then I tripped over this video which kinda performed a degree of re-set, in terms of the evaluation of much...? (-:

My first car was a 59 Frog Eye.... and at least the wipers worked, even if it had next to no floor when I bought it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99bbIj3xXIE

As per the song.. Memories Are Made Of This........

Not mine, belongs to a friend... nice looking toy.

Yes, that's true. But it's a good excuse to make some exercise.
My combo is:
987 seats for the agility (effort to get out)
AeroSS for the belly (space seat, let, steering wheel)

Until when I can drive both with pleasure, means that I am still in a decent shape

Only just getting to grips with my new toy, previously I thought Porsche were over rated, I knew
the build quality was there, but not the exclusive finish, I found out last night in the dark that
the rear view mirror is not auto dimming, its the old finger flick switch
Tight b$$tards.

Oh and I found out tonight on the way home NO Cruise Control, just have to buy a GTS next time.

Porsche should of put this into production in my humble opinion. Stunning.

Not a Porsche fan myself ..... but that is very pretty .... like a 21st century rework of the Opel GT.


K

Very impressive, nevertheless you can see from the lines that this concept is already almost 8 years old again.

Neilda, all my favourite colours on one Porsche..(-:

Dean, I too thought Porsches were over rated to the extent I judged them as no more than tuned up Beetles, a time when the lovely little Lotus Elan was my premier target in life, other than the girl next door..(-: It took a while but in time I wanted to sample the pleasures that so many professional drivers chose for their personal transport. T`was an article in Motor Sport in 1970 the author`s name of which I can not remember, though he was made aware of Porsche by DSJ (Jenks) the much revered journalist who rode shotgun for Stirling Moss on his rather famous run through partof Italy in 1955. Sure that run was in a Merc, but DSJ`s transport of choice was apparently a Porsche, of which he was very fond. The unnamed author decided to sample Porsche for himself and the article he wrote was titled 50,000 miles with a 911 relating his own experiences. For sure it is in the interests of journalists to stay in favour with manufacturers by enthusiastically presenting new cars to the then readers of the magazines, but from this chaps article it seems he chose Porsche for his personal transport too and stayed with Porsche for many a year..

Today..? Well I tend to think a Porsche has lost some of it`s right to the name as it is entirely a product of VAG thus a bit of the heritage would seem to have been lost, I guess that may be why those with traditionalist tendencies perhaps judge the air-cooled 911`s as THE Porsche to own..? With the obvious (?) marketing value in an established brand name it seems some will pay dearly for the name alone, a situation of which there are many examples, the latest fiasco I can think of is Norton m/cycles.. There are many others of course, though at least VAG have a definite Porsche linkage, the wealth of knowledge and financial backup to maintain some value in a company name which was started by an engineering family who seemingly only employed engineers in all the top positions in an attempt to make the best sports car in the world.... Methinks they did rather well in reaching that objective and for quite some time, winning in just about every variety of of motor sport as wide and varied as the Le Mans 24hrs to the cross desert madness that is the Paris Dakar..?

PeterG, Yup, plenty of Porsche styling queues in that design for sure.

K, there have to be reasons other than practical not to be a fan of Porsche...?

All that aside, it is still an old mid 80`s +8 Morgan that resides in my garage, and for practical reasons too...