997 turbo... Supercar or sports car?
 

What're your opinions?

Similar debate with the cheaper GT-R. It doesn't really matter, but arguably neither are supercars IMHO. OTOH, what most would consider supercars are now called hypercars. There is something otherworldly and frankly unaffordable for most people that do stuff paid by the hour. Lots of folk paid by the hour in ordinary jobs can afford a 997 Turbo, especially now they have been around for years. 997 Turbo also probably isn't wide or low enough, if it can go over a bumpy B road with aplomb it might not be a supercar?

You need to be more specific about what your question is. Sports car, supercar, hypercar are somewhat subjective terms. And to complicate things further the goalposts have changed over the years ie a top end hot hatch today will out accelerate a Ferrari from twenty years ago.

Porsche have unfortunately never slipped in to super car territory.Nice fast car.But yup,that's about it :)

Just will never get there.Just too sensible IMHO. lovely, but no

Interesting.

Regarding height, a lot of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Koenigseggs - cars most people would surely consider supercars - are 45 inches or less in height. The 40 in the Ford GT40 represents its height in inches. Next time you're using a tape measure, check where 40 inches comes up to on you and imagine how difficult it would be to get in and out of a car so low.

Regarding imperturbability on a B-road, this would probably be a relevant test of most supercars, although the McLaren F1 - arguably the greatest supercar ever - is by all accounts as docile around town and composed on a bumpy B-road as cars with a fraction of its performance. Everyday usability was one of the key requirements in the remit of the chief engineer, Gordon Murray.

Personally, whilst a 997 Turbo isn't what I would consider the archetypal supercar, its performance certainly puts it on the cusp, even if its styling, exclusivity, and price don't.

The 959 was a supercar by 80s standards. The 918 is a hypercar by today's standards.

But they are never a pin up dream car .Maybe the 959

It never matters what Porsche do. They will never be in Ferrari,,Lamborghini,Bugatti territory

They just won't.Maybe a supercar/hyper car,but never seen as one apart from afficianados

I getcha - little boys had/have posters of the F40, Countach, Diablo, Aventador, Veyron on their walls, not the 911 or Carrera GT.

996 turbos could make some crazy power with some mods are the 997's the same? Not that it changes anything really but I can remember seeing some really high BHP 996T's.

Is it because the 997 carrera isn't considered a supercar there for it makes the turbo look a little bad since it's on the same platform?

Does anyone consider the R8 v10 to be a supercar?

lol

Supercar performance but still a sports car to me.

Surprisingly boring to drive too. Very quick but not at all involving.

So would we say a GT3 RS is also just a sports car?

Personally I'd say that even the 997 TT is a supercar, it just doesn't have the usual supercar quirks ie it's not too wide for UK roads, you can enter a shopping centre car park, go over speed bumps and people don't think you're a Saudi prince when you're in it.

Do you think that it could be made more interesting to drive with a different set up?

Yes, by making it rear wheel drive only.
Like the GT2

I wish I had GT2 money, they are out of the budget, I need rear seats and widebody, so the turbo seems to be the one.

Imo a good quality practical sports car that you can drive everyday and still give the super cars a good run.

The consensus seems to be that to be a "super car" it has to be inherently flawed

Too low, too impractible, too everyday undrivable

The Porsche turbo is simply to good to be a super car!!!!!

It seems a bit snobbish tbh

just looked at the straight line times for a 997t
60 in 3.6 seconds
100 in 8 seconds
125 in 10.5 seconds
186 in 40.5 seconds
times for a completely standard car ,under 500 bhp 450 odd torque 4 wheel drive no turbo lag -torquey smooth flat 6 that pulls like a train with huge brakes.
up untill 18 months ago they could be bought for 28-40k, i was seriously tempted(no chance now prices on the UP UP AND AWAY lol)

too much dough for what i needed at the time as i was only buying a sunday nutter car-but good value any way.
in the end bought another tuned scoob for a third of the price ---noisy loud and hard suspension lol i love it .
the two early cars that i test drove were both highish miles but quiet smooth and squeek free,,very nice cars and definately a super car

Yes but then you'd never put that sort of power down onto the road. No point having that sort of grunt if all you do is spin your tyres for 90% of the year.

Even a 2wd 911 has an inherent advantage because the engine is over the driven wheels but beyond a certain BHP 4wd becomes essential.

i think the GT2 and GT3 are in a completely different market sector to a turbo which is a top of the range touring model,,, heated seats, 4wd , sat nav and all the toys add a good chunk of weight to the car.

You could be describing a Lotus there, and they're certainly not Supercars

I guess that's why there hasn't been a 991 GT2 as it'd have to have more power than the turbo, and wouldn't go far before it slides into a hedge.

Is it price thing? Although the 911 turbos are expensive I don't think they compete with Ferrari's or Lambo's do they?

It just lacks a certain je ne sais quoi

Very true. I think you're right, the turbo is neither sports car or supercar, a 'super GT' would probably be the best way to describe it

The labels mean little though, either the car ticks your boxes or it doesn't.

I think so. 4wd seems to be the way forward as power outputs increase. The new e63 amg is 4wd (has already been so in LHD for some time already) and its very likely the new M5 will also be 4wd.

Sports car with super car beating pace.

Not sure buddy, speak to Frayz he's driven a few and he is of the same conclusion.

Supercar or not, with any Porsche you can put daily driving miles on it and it remains very saleable. A year or two back I sold my 996 Turbo for more than I paid for it, with 60,000+ miles on the clock. It seems no one wants a big mileage supercar though; a Ferrari with that mileage (if it lasted that long) would be difficult to shift for decent money.

True, I would prob add a minimum engine size, say 4.0