Discussion
I read the very lukewarm reception that this car received in the porsche specialist press, and I believe that not a great deal of the 996 variants were sold, but I saw one today and it looked great.
I popped into OPC Reading hoping to sniff out a GT3RS and saw the black (Basalt?) Targa in the showroom. The metal detail along the roofline looked smart against the black coachwork and the hatchback, which was open looked really useful.
I admit I wouldn't have one as my first/only 911, I'm too much of a narrow body 2WD purist for that, but if I owned something a bit more serious already (993RS and a '72 2.4s perhaps) then I'd love one. I think it would be a fanrastic car to live with.
I popped into OPC Reading hoping to sniff out a GT3RS and saw the black (Basalt?) Targa in the showroom. The metal detail along the roofline looked smart against the black coachwork and the hatchback, which was open looked really useful.
I admit I wouldn't have one as my first/only 911, I'm too much of a narrow body 2WD purist for that, but if I owned something a bit more serious already (993RS and a '72 2.4s perhaps) then I'd love one. I think it would be a fanrastic car to live with.
The 996 Targa is really easy to live with. The glass roof makes in nice and bright inside and daft as it sounds the rear hatch is a real boon and make the rear storage very accessible. Isnt really open air motoring tho with the roof open , more like a big sunroof. Also when the roof is down rear visability is compromised, otherwise lovely and im sure the 997 is a step up.
rob05 said:
L.A
Some good points but i have generally found the snobbery is mainly down to Porsche owners and the hard core forum goers rather than the your typical petrol head.
Some good points but i have generally found the snobbery is mainly down to Porsche owners and the hard core forum goers rather than the your typical petrol head.
I dont entirely agree. I currently own a Carrera and have never looked down on a Boxster driver. I had one for three years and have highly reccommended them whenever anyone asks on this forum.
Similarly I love all cars and would never look down on someone who owns a different car to me. At the moment I am using a lot of hire cars in my job. They are all the cheapest hire cars I can find, and I genuinely look forward to seeing what I will have for the week shortly after leaving my pork at the airport.
Yes there is some snobbery - I particularly dislike those idiots who look down on others especially when they spout sermons along the lines of if you cannot afford to buy it outright you cant afford to own it.....
If a turbo owner sneered at my car in person they would very swiftly get a hook kick to the head.
The reality is there are only a very small number of elitist t
ts on here but unfortunately they tend to shout their opinions far too loudly which gives the impression most people are like that which is not the case. 
I had a 997 Targa for a few day from our Porsche Dealership and i've got to say i enjoyed the car very much. There are some Porsche owners the like the cars for their performance (myself being one) and others who just enjoy owning porsches and the targa suits the later. The wide body real gives the car a hole new look over the 996 targa and the chrome line does add and extra edge to the car that the 996 didn't have.
I can also assure you they sold all the targas that came into the country although they are produced in far smaller numbers that c2 and c4 models.
I can also assure you they sold all the targas that came into the country although they are produced in far smaller numbers that c2 and c4 models.
Wetwipe said:
rob05 said:
L.A
Some good points but i have generally found the snobbery is mainly down to Porsche owners and the hard core forum goers rather than the your typical petrol head.
Some good points but i have generally found the snobbery is mainly down to Porsche owners and the hard core forum goers rather than the your typical petrol head.
I dont entirely agree. I currently own a Carrera and have never looked down on a Boxster driver. I had one for three years and have highly reccommended them whenever anyone asks on this forum.
Yes there is some snobbery - I particularly dislike those idiots who look down on others especially when they spout sermons along the lines of if you cannot afford to buy it outright you cant afford to own it.....
The reality is there are only a very small number of elitist t
ts on here but unfortunately they tend to shout their opinions far too loudly which gives the impression most people are like that which is not the case. Right you are
. Most annoying type are the people who were just about able to afford the car they are driving and think they turned into some sort of God by doing so (or they have the nagging feeling that they were stupid paying a massive premium for a car that performs only marginally better than others in the Porsche range - see banter between 911 and Boxster/Cayman). They can be easily identified by not having a clue about the cars they dismiss let alone having driven one personally.Not everyone of course..... but i do think Dr.s
points out nicely what most of us have found to be true already.
When i drove a boxster the then never ending line was that i couldn't afford a proper Porsche and when i bought a so called proper Porsche that was no good because it was left hand drive and it didn't have a turbo!
All from this from various forums specialists and Porsche owners,sad but true.
points out nicely what most of us have found to be true already.
When i drove a boxster the then never ending line was that i couldn't afford a proper Porsche and when i bought a so called proper Porsche that was no good because it was left hand drive and it didn't have a turbo!
All from this from various forums specialists and Porsche owners,sad but true.
Los Angeles said:
What I'd like to see is, "Buying the base car saves you a wad on price, running costs, and devaluation. Only a fool will throw his savings at the top model."
Mind you, no-one has been that shy in dissmissing the base Cayman as a pile of crap. On topic, I'd like to add my voice to those that think the Targa is brilliant - though I'm not so keen that the 997 variant is only being offered in muppet-spec wide-bodied 4 wheel drive form. I've had 2 993 Targas, and loved them to bits.
Edit - In terms of my views on the Porsche range Re: what I look down on, I don't think I look down on any Porsche at all. Boxsters kick ass. The Cayman is a great car, if a little overpriced. 928/944/968 - love them all. Cayenne - love what it does but hate what it stands for (it's a nice car to drive, but is crappily styled/built and cynically priced relative to its VW version). My only Porsche snobberies are that I'm cynical of 4 wheel drive (not on TTs) for those that don't need it, likewise the wide-bodied cars (apart from TTs) irritate me a tiny bit if combined with 4WD, and I think Tips are flat-out retarded.
Edited by loach on Thursday 7th December 15:33
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