centurion
Well-Known Member
2006 Porsche Cayman S, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Porsche 911 Carrera & S, Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Luxury Sports Coupe Comparison - Motor Trend
Will it win?
What Is It About Porsche's 911? Any wet-behind-the-ears automotive engineer can fill a blackboard with figures and equations proving the venerable Porsche is, by design, an inferior sports car. Just look where the engine is, ferpetesake. It's hanging way out behind the rear axle, which makes for a disadvantageous polar-moment of inertia. That's geek-speak meaning the car inherently wants to handle like a lopsided barbell, swinging all pendulum-like in corners. Furthermore, the engine's mass actually teeter-totters weight off the front wheels, and any C-average enginerd can remember that the maximum grip a tire can deliver is the product of its coefficient of friction and the weight pushing down on it. Less weight equals less grip--another critical strike against the 911's cornering capability. Slavish devotion to a 43-year-old profile leaves no room out back for anything bigger than a flat-six, and unless you lay out six figures and order the X51 power package or wait for next year's Turbo, the water-boxer six only makes between 325 and 355 horsepower--far less than competitors costing a fraction of the 911's $72,095 opening price. Clearly the continuing popularity of the 911 can only be explained by the iconic image it enjoys and projects.
continued: 2006 Porsche Cayman S, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Porsche 911 Carrera & S, Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Luxury Sports Coupe Comparison - Motor Trend
Will it win?
What Is It About Porsche's 911? Any wet-behind-the-ears automotive engineer can fill a blackboard with figures and equations proving the venerable Porsche is, by design, an inferior sports car. Just look where the engine is, ferpetesake. It's hanging way out behind the rear axle, which makes for a disadvantageous polar-moment of inertia. That's geek-speak meaning the car inherently wants to handle like a lopsided barbell, swinging all pendulum-like in corners. Furthermore, the engine's mass actually teeter-totters weight off the front wheels, and any C-average enginerd can remember that the maximum grip a tire can deliver is the product of its coefficient of friction and the weight pushing down on it. Less weight equals less grip--another critical strike against the 911's cornering capability. Slavish devotion to a 43-year-old profile leaves no room out back for anything bigger than a flat-six, and unless you lay out six figures and order the X51 power package or wait for next year's Turbo, the water-boxer six only makes between 325 and 355 horsepower--far less than competitors costing a fraction of the 911's $72,095 opening price. Clearly the continuing popularity of the 911 can only be explained by the iconic image it enjoys and projects.
continued: 2006 Porsche Cayman S, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Porsche 911 Carrera & S, Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Luxury Sports Coupe Comparison - Motor Trend