We have it on VERY good authority (please don't ask, I can't tell you) that Porsche will soon announce a lightweight 20 inch wheel option for certain models. I know this will be sacrilege for some, but it is true. There are a number of technical reasons to support this decision, such as increased brake diameter and improved steering response. However, I suspect this is just another step up the marketing ladder by a highly competitive company. Naysayers will likely bring up issues like ride quality, unsprung weight, etc.

However, one has only to look at the performance of the mighty Nissan GT-R to see what can be done with 20 inch wheels and tires. I'm old enough to remember the brouhaha when 19s were first announced. And 18s. Progress or sacrilege, it's gonna happen.

 

Interested to see what they come up with, and what Porsche's idea of 'lightweight' means...

 

Damn tire prices.............

 

From what I've heard, these wheels you're talking about won't be offered until the 991 generation. They will be optional on the Carrera, and standard on the Carrera S. They're modeled after the Boxster Spyder wheels. Here is what I think are some spyshots of the wheels.

 

Even more models will be offered with the 20 inch option.
Thats all I can say

 

the day gt cars are standard with 20's is the day I wont buy one. If are they taking after Nissan by putting 20's on their cars that's their first mistake, the second.. not listening to their customers. I have a hard time believing Porsche lost a lot of sales due to people wanting 20's on their vehicles.

 

To be fair, it's not going to be as bad if the car is built around them. And cars like the 458 already have them optional. I wouldn't rule a car out for this, for the same very reason Porsche didn't lose sales due to people's want of 20'' wheels.

 

If I want 20" wheels, I get em. Porsche has nothing to do with that decision.

 

I'm not making a case either way for 20s.
My point is simply this. Porsche would not move to 20s if it compromised the performance of the car. The GT-R's performance is certainly not impaired by them.
And you KNOW Nissan tested their car with 19s.
Porsche has the luxury of doing the suspension tuning as well so the cars will have good ride quality, etc. I am certain they will also do an exhaustive amount of comparison testing with their current 19 inch offering.
But in the end, there will be new cars with 20s. A sacrilege to many. But there were identical cries of "sacrilege!" when Porsche went first to 18s and then to 19s.

Porsche is often driven by marketing, not engineering.
The best example of this is the current Centerlock debacle. While they do look cool, the Centerlock design is a ridiculous design for street cars. Tire changes are an expensive PITA, the hubs have shown excessive wear and prompted a very expensive RECALL by Porsche, and the performance benefit of the centerlock design is a marketing fantasy.

Remember, this is Porsche. We only get to watch what they do anyway. It's not like we're in control.

 

This actually made me laugh. So if a car is equipped, after being tested for hundreds of thousands of miles by a manufacturer who is legendary for building the icon of sports cars, with twenty inch wheels you will not buy it? Show me any point in the history of Porsche having standard equipment for cachet instead of performance. Any point.