Throwback--Porsche in 1996

[JST]

Came across this interesting NYT article as a result of that RS2 that was for sale on BaT:

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/20/b...-the-pink.html

It's fascinating for a couple of reasons, both for the insight into how hard Porsche was struggling in the early 90s (when many of us might say they were hitting the high water mark on their classic designs), and into the state of the market in 1996:

But the Boxster will be the true test of Porsche's campaign of self- renewal. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Fiat and Rover have all introduced new two-seaters in recent months, or plan to soon.

"It is entering a very crowded market segment," said Steven Reitman, auto analyst for Union Bank of Switzerland in London. "The whole roadster market will be very crowded by the time Boxster hits the scene."

[robg]

Originally Posted by JST

Came across this interesting NYT article as a result of that RS2 that was for sale on BaT:

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/20/b...-the-pink.html

It's fascinating for a couple of reasons, both for the insight into how hard Porsche was struggling in the early 90s (when many of us might say they were hitting the high water mark on their classic designs), and into the state of the market in 1996:

Nice find! Fascinating on many levels. I remember reading about how Porsche had hired some ex-Toyota people to implement lean manufacturing practices, but this article is the most detailed account of that process that I've seen. Fast forward 20 years and I think all european manufacturers have adopted Toyota-like (lean) practices, although Porsche seems to be the best at it given that they regularly achieve Toyota like quality according to JD Power.

Also interesting to remember that the roadster segment was so crowded back then.. we live in very different times now.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by JST

Came across this interesting NYT article as a result of that RS2 that was for sale on BaT:

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/20/b...-the-pink.html

It's fascinating for a couple of reasons, both for the insight into how hard Porsche was struggling in the early 90s (when many of us might say they were hitting the high water mark on their classic designs), and into the state of the market in 1996:

Who remembers this 1993 Autoweek cover?



IIRC, the promise of the Boxster upon its introduction was the return of an entry priced *new* Porsche. When they didn't deliver, I was so disappointed. OTOH, the success of the "used is the entry price model" model they executed is inarguable near 30 years later.

[FC]

I still have that 1:18 die cast car and I saw the real thing at the Porsche Museum. Man, I could have spent days there. Family forced me out after a couple of hours. Boo!

[JST]

This is Porsche in 1992, but if you want a really interesting rabbit hole on a very obscure model, this auction and the thread accompanying it are fantastic.

I knew about the ROW 964 RS, of course, and the still-cool-but-substantially-less-cool RS America, but I did not remember the 964 Carrera Cup USA, which was basically a ROW RS (but US road legal) brought to the US to be converted into cars for a racing series that never materialized. Several of the cars had already been converted into racing spec and were re-converted back to roadgoing spec and sold.

Fascinating!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...rrera-cup-usa/

[lemming]

Originally Posted by JST

This is Porsche in 1992, but if you want a really interesting rabbit hole on a very obscure model, this auction and the thread accompanying it are fantastic.

I knew about the ROW 964 RS, of course, and the still-cool-but-substantially-less-cool RS America, but I did not remember the 964 Carrera Cup USA, which was basically a ROW RS (but US road legal) brought to the US to be converted into cars for a racing series that never materialized. Several of the cars had already been converted into racing spec and were re-converted back to roadgoing spec and sold.

Fascinating!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...rrera-cup-usa/

What an amazing car.

Drool.

[Nick M3]

Wow. 7 owners and none of them drove it.

[JST]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Wow. 7 owners and none of them drove it.

Yeah--the fact that this is a low mile car doesn't shock me, because it makes sense that something like this would find its way into a larger collection and be driven only occasionally.

But it is kind of nuts that it's been owned by 7 different people.

Someone in the thread has the right idea, which is that if you're looking for the "ultimate" 964 experience you can build one for far less and actually drive it (though even that is probably getting harder these days).

These cars, like the E36 LTWs, fall into that weird space where there was a window to use them as intended, but that window has now closed and they exist primarily as curiosities to spark conversations amongst marque nerds. Even driving this to a Cars and Coffee won't spark much interest unless it's a PCA sponsored event.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by JST

Yeah--the fact that this is a low mile car doesn't shock me, because it makes sense that something like this would find its way into a larger collection and be driven only occasionally.

But it is kind of nuts that it's been owned by 7 different people.

Someone in the thread has the right idea, which is that if you're looking for the "ultimate" 964 experience you can build one for far less and actually drive it (though even that is probably getting harder these days).

These cars, like the E36 LTWs, fall into that weird space where there was a window to use them as intended, but that window has now closed and they exist primarily as curiosities to spark conversations amongst marque nerds. Even driving this to a Cars and Coffee won't spark much interest unless it's a PCA sponsored event.

Exactly. Getting collected? Unsurprising. Getting collected and traded around like this? Surprising.

[equ]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Exactly. Getting collected? Unsurprising. Getting collected and traded around like this? Surprising.

Momentum traders flipping and taking profits? Bubble indicator?