[1JB]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

IMHO, I think there are too many Sports Car owners who don't really know what a Sports Car is.

Traditionally, most Sports Cars were Small, Light, Nimble, Balanced, with high-revving, small displacement Engines, excellent Steering and good Brakes. And, most were underpowered, especially when compared to the Bel Aires, Cutlasses, Galaxies, Furys and Muscle Cars of the day. Mom's Stationwagon would go Faster.

But, the Sports Car elicited a visceral, endorphin-generating Feeling which made it seem that you were going MUCH Faster than you actually were. Few of these cars would hit 125MPH. But, they proved how little Speed actually mattered to the Fun equation - it was the sensation of going fast or hanging out on the edge, as opposed to actually being there which made it Fun.

They also made Driver Skill an integral component to achieving Maximum performance from the car - they were Quick, not Fast.

Horsepower is a cheap substitute for Driver Skill and no substitue for that Feeling. It's the manifestation of the proverbial Dick Contest (which btw, no one ever really wins save for a moment - somebody's always coming along with a bigger one).

I think people have forgotten that it's this Feeling which is most important, not the time interval between 'A' and 'B'. No Chevy or Ford could give you that Feeling, no matter how Fast it was splitting the air...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I agree with you MN. Austin Healey, Sunbeam, MG - all great sports cars with marginal power. I do wish Porsche would offer upgrades in the engine department though such as a 997s powertrain in a 987s. My preference is for the mid engine dynamics. It's clear the car can handle the added HP which leads one to agree with the notion that the only reason they don't offer the 997 drivetrain in the 987 is so that it won't bring down 997 sales where the mark-up must be higher. If the choice was between a Boxster with the 997 power and drivetrain and a Carrera at the same price I would go with the Boxster.