Debate: Porsche 914/6 or 911 development?

[v8thunder]

Or, did Porsche choose to develop the wrong car? The major criticism of the early 911 was oversteer caused by a rear-mounted engine, so surely developing this, the same engine in a mid-engined chassis, would have lead to a better handling variant, saved weight, and an even better 911 today.

Look at the Europa/Esprit Lotuses and the Dino-Modena Ferraris - they can out-handle a 911 on track without the need for all the electronic engineering evident on the Carrera 4 Turbo.

I know the Boxster could be seen as a return to the 914/6 formula, but imagine how it would have gone with over 20 years of development behind it.

[nmlowe]

I didn't know what a 914 was until a couple of years ago. If i'd seen one before that, I would have thought it was some kind of kit car copy of a Fiat X/19
I'm not a fan of the looks of the 914, but I know nothing about it's driving statistics.

[unlicensed]

seems like the wrong forum to me. i have no idea of an answer for the actual question though.

[Bodo]

v8thunder said:

Or, did Porsche choose to develop the wrong car? The major criticism of the early 911 was oversteer caused by a rear-mounted engine, so surely developing this, the same engine in a mid-engined chassis, would have lead to a better handling variant, saved weight, and an even better 911 today.

Why the 911 survived, and the 914 didn't?

The power of aesthetics.

[mikeylad]

although the 914/6 was slower than most 911 variants, it feels much more the racer to sit in. It feels about an inch off the ground, and with the window right behind your head feels (to me, at least) much more intense.

the 911 does look better, no argument from me there, but it is also the more civilised, practical, 'mass-market-appeal' car.

[v8thunder]

mikeylad said:

the 911 does look better, no argument from me there, but it is also the more civilised, practical, 'mass-market-appeal' car.

I think that's it - unfortunately the 911's vast incarnations (I'm looking at the C4S, sportomatic and 912 cars here) suggest to me that as well as being a sports car, it's also a generic cruiser, sold on comfort and optional extras. If you go to Lotus, you get an Esprit V8TT, or an extreme Sport 350. Ferrari will give you a 360 Modena, or a Stradale if you want something more raw. Alongside the competition, although the 911 turbo and GT3 can be seen in these leagues, it's 'mass-market Immediate-choice-for-expensive-sports-car' variations just show how the 911 formula has been milked just a little too much. The 914 came with 4 or 6 cylinders, and they did a rally version. If they'd developed that, I can imagine the 914 product we'd have today to be vastly superior to the Boxster.
The Boxster S seems like a good place to start...