porsche knows that it's not just the engine sound, or the engine balance, or the lines of the car, or the balance of the car, or the big headlights, or the steering response, etc. that makes a porsche a porsche. every time porsche has introduced something new the crowed claimed it was the end of porsche but somehow it all worked out.

now, will porsche with added fahrvergnügen be able to continue that? who knows. as long as vw lets porsche keep doing what it does best, it should turn out okay.

Sad truth is they're forced to make "improvements" due to increased government regulation on safety and fuel economy.

Fortunately they do have one of the world's best marketing department so it's all going to work out in terms of sales.

Now where's my flying car?

Personally, I think a turbo four would be awful.

It won't sound right and it won't go right. You often read about such and such new turbo engine being lag free. But I driven enough of the latest turbo engines, including the new BMW 1M, to know it's bollocks.

The problem isn't so much as the time delay, which is admittedly getting pretty small, it's the way the boost swells the torque. It spoils the power delivery and disconnects you from the car - it feels like the car is driving itself.

I've been buzzing around in the latest MINI Cooper S the last few days and it's crap. Much boostier than I was expecting. Reviews routinely gloss over this kind of thing. The old supercharged model was much nicer.

Put simply, turbos blow ;) (F40 is exception that proves the rule!)

http://www.evo.co.uk/videos/supercarvideos/267334/ferrari_f40_v_porsche_gt2_rs_v_noble_m600_v_jaguar _xj220_video.html

Yep. The BMW engines are "lag free", but I feel that it's the throttle response that suffers. The Boxster's throttle is quick and precise. If you are in a corner, you can drive the car on the throttle and feel every minor change in the throttle through the steering wheel and pedal. The BMW throttle is more like a light switch, either on or off. If you try to take a corner in 2nd gear at 5K RPM, you'll find yourself overcooking it...backing off too much...over cooking it...ugggh.


Also, I found the BMW turbo to be a very "lazy" engine (or I became a lazy driver when driving it). I always seemed to be in the wrong gear @ 1700 RPMs -- and it never really mattered because the car had so much torque. With the Boxster, I always seem to be @ 3K+ RPMs and the car and driver are much happier...





/

Meh. I was in-car with an official Porsche driving instructor the other day and his sentiments were similar. While he thought the current GT2 RS was a lot better than the 996 GT2, he far preferred the GT3 cars for the simple reason of natural aspiration. As he said, you drive the GT3 cars on the throttle. You simply can't do that to the same degree in the turbo GT2 cars. They're not as interactive, as finely controllable. And that's where all the real driving pleasure is once the short term buzz of bags of turbo acceleration has worn off.

The M600 might be the current exception that proves the rule. ANd the xj220 is an interesting car, but not a great driver's car.

In my view, it's not absolutely impossible to make a turbo car that's a great driver's car, you are stacking the odds against you. Unless you think you're about build the next F40, I'd say natrual aspiration is by far the best choice.