you know i love & respect the engineering in the 918, it looks marvelous on paper. i just don't see the character as of yet, the "specialness". the older i get, the more i look to the bespoke. also, the personal relationship pagani owners have with the manufacturer, you are not only owning a fantastic car with immense depth, talent, and beauty but are also a part of horacio's extended family. this is something the large manufacturers just can't replicate.

the lack of involvement in these modern marvels has also become quite grating, i don't feel this way about the CGT at all btw. a car that can be a lifelong challenge, an instrument to be played, not something that can be piloted at 8/10's by a douchebag on a cell phone whilst the electronics do all the heavy lifting (certainly not referring to you ) is just not appealing to me.

maybe i've got it all wrong, maybe i simply need to be given a ride in a 918...maybe one located in england??

 

you are absolutely right! But I do think it will be a great driver's car

 

If I'm not mistaken I think Porsche ended Carrera GT production early because of the U.S law that you can't sell a new car with fixed bucket seats, because they were deemed "unsafe". Who knows though, maybe Porsche won't be able to secure 918 orders in the 2 years of production. They did say they will only build 918, and will build them upon request. Even though Porsche announced the price, I think it's possible it could drop a bit once the car comes out in late 2013. Maybe Porsche already factored in inflation for the 845k figure so we're not all shocked if it costs 1 Million in 2013 because of inflation.

IICR, Porsche built 75,000 356s, so it's not like Porsche ever was like Pagani, where you become an extended part of the family. I think Porsche does a great job treating their customers though.

The 918 will be a great car, and you all know it (just LOOK at it!).

Even if it is packed with unnecessary electronics, this isn't the first time Porsche has done this. Maybe their next supercar 10 years from now will be more like the Carrera GT, with on;y the basics you need.

 

its all speculation at this point but as of right now i see complication for the sake of complication, an engineering exercise if you will.

where is the purity?

 

I never speculated on the (already well known) reason why Porsche ended CGT production early, so I'm not sure what your point is.

Securing deposits is different from actually selling 918 cars, as some members who were actually considering buying the car already pointed out. And even with inflation factored in for 2013 (not sure how they could calculate that) 845k will still be expensive in 2013.

Let's be clear: Porsche does not do a great job treating their customers. We are all Porsche fans here but I'm betting the good majority of us love the brand because Porsche knows how to f--king make cars. I doubt most of the forum buys P-cars because of outstanding customer service. They are a business and know they will do whatever they can to make money - they aren't making these cars out of the kindness of their heart.

Speccing my car was honestly one of the most annoying experiences because of how many arbitrary rules porsche sets up to prevent you from getting exactly what you want on your car - ie you are not allowed to get carbon airvents without getting a carbon shifter. Why? Good customer service? Ask any people who have 2011 RSs how they felt about the 4.0 RS being developed while they purchased their cars. Ask GT2 RS owners how they feel about 2RSs sitting in the lot?

Compare Porsche's "individualization" services to companies like Ferrari or Aston Martin or Bentley. Say what you will about these brands but you'll have a much easier time speccing what you want versus Porsche.

 

RJ; defiantly sounds like you're frustrated. And for that I'm sorry...... Sincerely.

on the flip side, you DID pay substantially LESS for your Porsche than a Bentley or Ferrari. So to be fair, if you want that level of individualization, Porsche would have to sell the cars at a higher price.

Bentley saves $$ by utilizing existing platforms and VW power plants a La Phaeton AND lower volume; Ferrari you pay a premium for a much lower volume car- double the cost of a new Porsche in most cases. Porsche has positioned its self in a difficult place in the market if you ask me. Because good clients such as yourself and many others feel the same frustration- as Porsche USED to do that. But we're talking 2 generations of 911 and a completely different era in the autoworld. Porsche had to make adjustments to be a profitable, and stable company.

You can't have a lower price point, and complete customization. Financially, it's not do-able.

If you want total control of the options on the car- be prepared to pay a lot more.

 

Chris - I completely agree with your sentiments and don't want any good Porsche salespeople to feel like I'm slandering them. In fact my salesman himself was excellent, but he was being fed terrible/inaccurate information and was meeting a lot of resistance.

You're right about price point - for performance the RS represents an absolute bargain and certainly I can't complain about that. I think what frustrated me is, while you're right that low volume car makers have more flexibility in terms of individualization, I think I get more annoyed at seemingly illogical barriers put up for customers willing to pay more for personalization. For instance, there is a beautiful riviera gt2 rs on this forum, but when the gt2 rs was first announced I remember some buyers getting resistance, saying PTS wasn't available. I cant imagine it being any more of a hassle than PTS on any other 911, and I bet even if they charged more for it, more buyers would opt for it if they knew they wouldn't meet any problems when speccing.

Sorry for the OT. While Porsche is more of a volume carmaker, I certainly hope anyone buying the 845k 918 won't have any problems getting it exactly how they want. As far as porsche never having had the "extended family" feel of pagani, Chris has pointed out that the brand used to (according to my father) feel that way, and with the price of the 918, I hope it'll go back to that way for the lucky customers.

 

The world will end on 12-12-12 so who cares!! I am going to buy a new Koenigsegg Agera R before we all die!!! HAHA!!

 

last week we were still discussing whether GT2RS is overpriced, now the GT2RS suddenly becomes a performance budget. Group buy anyone?

 

You bring up valid points mate. As a dealer we've been frustrated TELLING you the either mis-information we've been told or, telling you that we CAN'T do "that". I want to tell you that I "CAN" put option x, y and z on the car. And we shall see about the 918.

The GT2RS event was amazing and my comments to Andreas was that what they did at that event - NO amount of marketing $$ could replicate in terms of value. Clients LOVE feeling close to the Parent Company- makes you 'feel the love'. Right?

Porsche would be much more successful and we'd hear much less criticism if we could somehow -bring people closer- to the Mother Land LOL. Those moments are absolute gold!

I'm not trying to devalue the experience that I, or say, Geoff or Brian or Casey would bring to you; but man, it just goes over the top for someone who is just picking up their new baby Porsche, if somehow PAG was a little more accessible.