Hulking 911

I don't know if its just me and, if so, whether its because I saw a really nice 1964 356 coupe yesterday, but I saw a 991 parked here in D.C. today and, although I love the lines, it just all of a sudden seemed to me to be a hulking, un-sportscar-like brute. I know 911s have never been TR3s or MGBs (or Mia-- I mean MX-5s), but suddenly this car struck me as just too damn big. Anyone else have this sort of reaction? I'm not sure why, because early 911s weren't tiny, but they don't seem to be the same.

2001 Base, purchased in 2004, replaced engine at 130K+, RIP 2017

No doubt about the hulk of the 991. The 981s seem very bulked up too. My '08 Cayman seems small compared to the 2015s. But look at the Jags and Aston Martins and they have that bulk too. Honestly the 986s seemed big compared to the air cooled
911s but they now seem nice and small compared to the new cars.

[image.superstreetonline.com]

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

One of the (many) reasons I chose a Boxster over a Nissan Z when I bought my car was that I realized the Z was as big under the bodywork as a sedan. This is beginning to remind me of that.

You never got to drive my fathers 240z, did you? Now the Z series was a car that did suffer from bloat, but the 240 was just amazing. (Oh, and it was a Datsun!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2015 07:04PM by TheFarmer. (view changes)

I agree that I like the appeal of a small, light vehicle. I greatly prefer to rent a Suzuki Samurai in the Caribbean rather than a Range Rover (yes, the latter do take up the entire road. And yes, you can't really get a Samurai anymore). On the other hand, I am so happy with the handling of my 987 that I feel that it is light and tiny. The physical dimensions don't matter as much as the mass and inertia (and grip of the tires). But notice that the larger size of the modern car is sheet metal ballooned out from the driver cabin, and is mostly light metal of a lot of air, and much wider tires.

Oh, and BTW, I would much rather be inside of a modern cage when something goes wrong. -- OK I know that is inconsistent with my preference for a Samurai, but nothing ever, ever goes wrong in the Caribbean... so far as I know.

Well, it is a trend across many cars. If you notice the side by side pick above, the car isn't taller, but definately wider, which doesn't that help in handling? Also, the engines are more complex, but the side effect is more power, better fuel economy, and better emissions, but a bigger rearend to house it. Did old cars pump out 100 hp/litre and get 28 mpg on the highway? I don't think so. Then you toss in all the saftey standards, including crumple zones, side-impact saftety, airbags, ABS, etc., which requires space Top it off with suspension upgrades, which again improve safety. All in all, I'd take a new 911 over a 50 year-old one any day. Your older, "sportier" 911 is basically a death trap on small wheels, and not necessarily from your agressive driving, but all the other idiots on the road with their Urban Assault Vehicles (aka SUVs).

Here's a video showing the two cars side by side. It reminds me of the difference between the original Ghibli vs. the new one.
[www.youtube.com]

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?