986 2.5L vs 996 3.4L Comparison

[Perfectlap]

As far as mid vs. rear, The Carrera has always struck me as a car that requires the driver to learn a new way of driving to end up with no net advantage on the time sheets.

Some folks find learning how to master a new thing "rewarding" but if at the end of the day the competition are all going quicker in mid engine cars it all seems more like a novelty to me.

If you look at the history, the Porsche 356 #1, the 911's precursor, that rolled off the assembly was at first a mid-engine drop top. But for sales reasons the engine was moved to the rear to allow for a backseat and thus more sales. Function followed form.
OTOH, the Porsche 550 Sypder that came later was made for racing without regard to sales. Form followed function.

Porsche got way too stuck on a car that was pretty late to the party, decades after Porsches were winning races in mid-engine form. There should have been a whole line up of midengine Cayman type cars entering the same races the 911 found success in. It would have shaken out as: Endurance racing to push floor sales of the Carrera and sprint racing to push sales of a mid-engine sports coupe/roadster.
Why the need to choose one over the other if the public today is willing to pay upwards of $1 million for an original Spyder?
Clearly they loved all things Porshce -- done well.