Email4 Reasons Porsche is the Benchmark for all other Supercars
October 8, 2008
In light of all the recent press regarding the Porsche vs. Nissan Rivalry, we wanted to broach an old, but still relevant subject. It seems that every time a manufacturer releases a new or updated hi-end sports car, it is compared to Porsche (heck even Hyundai is comparing itself to Porsche now.) In the past, these type of comparisons were limited to the 911 model range as per the examples below.
Recently, however, the comparisons have expanded to include the Boxster and the Cayman models as evidenced by recent articles regarding the new Nissan 370Z and the afore mentioned Hyundai. We’ve always felt that these comparisons do nothing but lend credibility to the Porsche brand.
More and more it seems that Porsche is the brand, standard and benchmark that all others compare themselves. Ask yourself why?
- Is it because Porsche cars are such an accessible and user friendly supercar?
- Is it the 60+ years of racing heritage and experience?
- Is it the timeless design of the 911 (first penned by Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche?)
- Or, is it the quality and driving spirit that has kept the 911 an icon for the ages?
We think it’s a combination of all these things and more. Every time we see another “supercar” compare itself to a Porsche it simply reinforces our choice of Porsche as the superior brand. In the end, competition (real or perceived) will only help drive innovation at Porsche, raising the benchmark that much higher. What do you think?
As always, don’t forget about our ongoing poll in the right sidebar; we would love to have your vote. Here is a link to the post, that went along with the poll about the most famous Porsche.
Porsche 911 as the Benchmark for all other Supercars
Who Caused the Porsche versus Nissan Rivalry
Porsche 997 Turbo versus Nissan GT-R
Is Porsche the Benchmark for all other Supercars?
Competition make the Porsche 911 a Better Car
Porsche GT3 vs Nissan GT-R
Porsche GT2 vs Corvette Z06
[Picture Source: PantherPinkCuda from StumbleUpon]
Comments
5 Responses to “4 Reasons Porsche is the Benchmark for all other Supercars”
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I agree with the above article. When other car manufacturers build their own “supercar”, they have to gauge how “good” it is by comparing it against the best, which is the Porsche brand.
But one does not have to rely on these articles to realize that Porsches are the cars used as the measuring stick. I am sure you have all experienced it when your driving on city streets or on the hightways and some nutbag in a souped-up car or in a BMW, Benz, Audi, etc. all seem to want to race you and see how good and fast their car is against your Porsche.
Anyhow, as the slogan goes: Porsche…there is no substitute.
Amen
John,
I have to disagree with you here. The Porsche 911 was not, is not, and will never be a “supercar”. Not only does the 911 predate the seminal “supercar” - the Miura - by a few years, it is also, as a concept, in strong opposition to “supercars” in general.
Supercars are designed to be impractical, unreliable, outrageous styling statements; the 356 and 911 are intended to be usable, practical cars. It’s perfectly practical to drive a 911 as a year-’round car; you wouldn’t do that with a “supercar”. Many Porsches have more than 100,000 miles on them, but very few Ferraris or Lamborghinis have even half of that.
Finally, the 911 has rarely had “supercar performance” by the standards of any given time. The 3.3-liter 930 was pretty good, as was the 993 twin-turbo, but in general Porsches simply don’t perform to supercar level, and that’s fine.
To my mind, calling a Porsche a “supercar” demeans both Porsches and actual supercars.
@Jack,
Appreciate your comment and your opinion.
You state, “Porsches simply don’t perform to supercar level…”
What exactly is supercar level and who defines it?
I think the one thing we can all agree to is that the term “supercar” is very subjective and defining it may be next to impossible (or at least agreeing to that definition.)
Maybe I would have been better served to title the article differently? The point I was trying to make was summed up in this one sentence:
“More and more it seems that Porsche is the brand, standard and benchmark that all others compare themselves.”
If we lose the term “supercar” in the title and replace it with “hi-end sports car”, as in the body of the text, what are your thoughts then?
What about the GT2?
Thanks again for sharing and hope to hear more from you.
I agree, most Porsches are not super cars. They are sports cars.
That said. They are the most usable, capable sports cars available. Period. End of sentence.
Comparing one spec of a car to one spec of a Porsche is like saying, “Hey, my wife’s nose is prettier than Nicole Kidman’s nose” when the rest of your wife is a size 18.