Some of us spend our lives chasing our dream cars. Whether a photo clipped out of a magazine or a poster stuck up on a childhood bedroom wall, sometimes the cars we loved as children are still the ones we covet as adults. Some of us are lucky enough to eventually acquire some of our dream cars, but if you’ve been putting a little bit of money into a rear-engined German sports car fund for decades, you might be saving for a while longer. Porsche just raised pricing of its models again, and the 911 sports car seems to be carrying the biggest increases.
If you’re thinking that this story seems familiar, that’s because it’s only been a few months since we saw the last Porsche 911 price increases come with the changeover to the 2026 model year. However, things in the sphere of global trade are a bit topsy-turvy right now, so it’s clear someone at head office thinks another price increase is necessary. The brand officially attributes this latest round of price hikes to “market conditions,” and while it’s possible tariffs were one of several factors behind this latest round of price increases, Porsche isn’t blaming it on changing import taxes. Here’s what Road & Track reports:
“With our customers front of mind, we keep a regular watch on market conditions, absorbing costs where we can and making adjustments only when it’s absolutely necessary to do so,” Porsche spokesperson Frank Wiesmann said to R&T. “Recently, an adjustment of between 2.3 and 3.6 per cent was determined to be required. This is a routine step that is being communicated to our dealers and to affected customers.”
What does this mean in retail numbers? Well, the base 911 Carrera now costs $4,700 more than before with its new starting price of $134,650, and the stick-shift 911 Carrera T costs $5,100 more than before at $146,050. Meanwhile, the 911 GT3 will lift an extra $9,800 out of your bank account with $234,550 on the window sticker. From those numbers, it definitely seems that the 911 has been hit with the 3.6 percent price hike, with other models in the Porsche range featuring smaller price increases.
Can the sort of person plunking down nearly a quarter of a million dollars on a GT3 afford the price hikes? Probably, but for the person who’s been saving up for absolute ages to get into one of the more affordable 911 trims, a few grand could be a significant setback. Are disciplined savers and dreamers the bulk of new 911 customers? No, but for the regular enthusiasts that fit this description, being a few thousand dollars further away from your dream car than expected kinda sucks.
It hasn’t been a huge secret that the price of the Porsche 911 has recently outpaced inflation. A 2020 911 Carrera started at $98,750 including freight, which works out to $123,074 in today’s money. That’s $11,576 less than what a new one actually lists for. While the Porsche 911 is a hot item, and luxury sports cars are relatively price-inelastic, I can’t help but wonder how much longer these price increases will be sustainable. With the mid-engined Porsche 718 likely on hiatus after production of the combustion-powered model wraps up in October, the 911 will likely be the entry point to a new Porsche sports car, and there’s not a whole lot entry-level about a $134,650 car.
Top graphic image: Porsche
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I don’t understand the up-pricing of the base model. If a GT3 goes up $50k, it is what it is. They’re always in high demand and have cutting edge technology and designs. But if I was Porsche, I’d want to keep the base 911 somewhat attainable even if it means charging more for the higher trims.
The base 911 does not have the performance of a $135k+ car, they’re leaving themselves open to another brand swooping in for $90k-$100k and stealing their lunch. Corvette is basically there but Lexus or Genesis (Hyundai) could easily make a MR GT car that would make someone question if a base 911 is worth the $30k premium.
A Lexus 911 fighter at a slightly lower price point would really hurt Porsche.
If you’re the person who’s been saving up for absolute ages to get into one of the more affordable 911 trims, I have some bad news for you when the first service is due…
I mean if you’ve been saving and plan to pay cash for it, the service won’t be that much if you don’t have a car payment, but also, everything I have seen suggests that Porsches are not all that crazy when it comes to maintenance. Yes it’ll be more than a Camry, but far less than other high end sports cars.
Along with so many others here, new Porsches hold no lust or appeal. I loved air-cooled 911s when I was in my teens and 20s. But they were out of reach to me then and the new ones are even further away. And I guess that was one point of this article.
And I can’t fathom the maintenance costs of the new ones.
No cars in this price stratosphere appeal to me. I mean none.
I drove a 2001 Jetta TDI for 16 years. I’m eight years into a ’17 Accord V-6 and will likely drive it until I die or at least shouldn’t be driving any more. Another eight years from now, I will be 76.
Maybe I’m not part of the demographic this site is going for anymore.
I’m glad YOU get to drive some perhaps cool stuff on someone else’s dime, but it’s of little interest to me.
I also don’t want to drive any of David’s rust buckets.
That’s not to say I won’t keep reading, but I’m happy to be in what I think of as a sweet spot in automotive evolution. At least while I’m in the driver’s seat.
Silly Thomas. It’s not the new one that I want.
That makes two of us. MANY old 911s I covet, the new ones can die in a fire.
Will this be beneficial to Aston Martin,Maserati and such or are they in a different price bracket altogether? I feel like,here in Europe at least,this would help the smaller brands.
Flame suit on: I never got the appeal of modern 911s. After the last air cooled ones their only differentiating factor is having the engine at the back. Their design is boring, and they are not that luxurious or special. They are too clinical, too sterile and lack soul.
I know they drive well, but so does a Cayman or a Boxster. Sure they are slower, but with EVs everywhere, fast became less relevant. You can buy so many great cars for $135k, even multiple cars, and that $135k is for a frickin’ base model and you’ll forever remember you had to settle for the poverty spec of a glorified VAG product.
I think Porsche is raising prices just because they can. The customer base is OK with it just as Apple buyers are fine with ever increasing iPhone prices. I think it’s a bubble and I only wonder how long it’s going to be until they price themselves out of the market and it all comes crashing down.
I respect the older ones even if they’re not my thing, but the new ones can’t even elicit a shrug of interest, the prices are laughable, and the things you have to pay for that come standard on some basic shitbox is insulting. They’ve become a passionless, cynical, money-grubbing douchebag of a company like a blander, cut-rate Ferrari that scores fewer points in the country club parking lot.
The new 2025 911 start button and nearby buttons have been ridiculed for being cheaper looking than what you find in a base Kia. They are clear cost cutting, especially when you look at the previous model. This is a 6 figure car that can’t even add a touch of style to a button you interact with every single time and that had many recent price hikes to boot: https://imgur.com/a/6jRzSWq
Modern 911s are cars for the most boring, risk-averse rich people.
That is the kind of BS that pisses me off—Porsche’s overpriced stuff (or almost any POS from Germany) gets practically worshipped by every reviewer with the most common complaints being “it’s too good, so it’s almost boring” (though I read it as: “it sucks, go buy an old Saab Sonett and invest the rest”, it’s intended as praise disguised as faint criticism), while an affordable, incredible value vehicle that by no smart business means should exist or that has to cut corners somewhere to hit a low price and chooses to do it on minor things like switchgear (that still work well and are designed for decades of life, it just doesn’t look high end) rather than important stuff, like major engine components whose common failure results in blown engines, gets continually mentioned almost for that cheapness as if the criticism is part of the official name of the vehicle model.
This sounds like an old grudge, though I remember it more because it’s a good example of bias, but back in the ’90s, Subaru still made frameless doors (which I prefer to frames) and they were criticized for “cheapness” while POS Audi—like the one my aunt had whose crankshaft broke in half just out of warranty—had them and they were called “elegant” for having them. OK, criticize that the Subaru’s door doesn’t shut like a bank vault and allows more wind noise and that would be a valid point, but they went with aesthetics. IIRC, that was Car Magazine and, while I generally enjoyed that publication, you’d think German companies were British for how much ass they kissed of them (and that was before they took over half of their industry). Of course, the Japanese were still struggling for respect. Any good design out of Japan was some “poor man’s” [insert Euro model] car even when the comparos were either quite the stretch, ignored all the Euro competitors that also had a strong resemblance because form follows function, or the Japanese design hit the market first (Datsun roadster/MGB).
I rode in a late 90s Subaru Legacy wagon and was pretty impressed with its seeming integrity despite the frameless windows. But we didn’t get up to freeway speeds, so I dunno. It rode nicely over crappy pavement.
I like the framed windows of my Accord, and it sounds like an old Mercedes when I shut a door. It is a solid thunk and not something tinny sounding. At all.
Apparently, there are acoustic engineers, whose job it is to ensure that.
Mine was a ’90. Wind noise got worse over time as the seal compressed, but could be renewed with a piece of tubing stuck between the folds at the A pillar so that you could hear the engine and tire noise better. I don’t think they had budget left for acoustic engineers as it certainly wasn’t refined, but it was made to be worked on infrequently and easily with minimal tools and the ride/handling compromise was impressive. I put 15% stiffer struts in when the originals wore out, which is what it should have had and it was as perfect for a general purpose car as I’ve experienced—long travel with good ground clearance, yet it cornered fairly flat and gripped well enough to keep up with more cars with less versatile suspensions and a lot more power in turns (helped by good balance and communicative chassis and controls) while still riding well. I bombed gravel roads so trashed the PO stopped delivery on them or I could go over curbs or traffic islands without issue. The GR86’s chassis is a development of it (same wheelbase, even) and has a similar communicative feel, but the Legacy had better feel through the controls (albeit with aftermarket wheel and a wood knob). The interior was typical cheaper plastics of the era, but they held up fine, the ergonomics were great, and the car as a whole took abuse I’d challenge any of the usual German suspects to take 1/2 of with so few issues, never mind ease and cheapness of repair.
Nothing wrong with cheap plastics as long as they don’t decay and get sticky. I found a cheap Canon Rebel DSLR owned by my wife’s ex in the (hot humid TX) attic and its fake leather plastic grip was so gross. I had to use Dawn to get that black stuff off my hands. Camera still worked perfectly though!
My ’01 Jetta had some soft touch coating on the door handles that started peeling from the harder plastic underneath within a few years. It felt okay while it lasted, but textured surfaces of stuff that will last forever are adequate for me.
It was before (I remember seeing) soft touch, but I’m in complete agreement—it might not look as fancy, but if it looks the same after 20 years, I’m good with it. I remember when VW came out with those soft touch plastics and I thought that was pretty great and they did get companies to wake up about making nicer interiors. Unfortunately, that stuff was not resilient.
The US is now a divided economy. There are folks who buy what they want without much notice of the price tag, and those who can’t even afford to aspire to anything.
Most of the younger folks I know (under 35, say) don’t aspire to home ownership, or buying anything but a basic used car. They don’t aspire to getting married or having kids. They’re happy if they can afford to keep a roof over their heads and pay for their phone, gaming, and streaming subscriptions.
I’m curious when you think the golden age of new Porsche 911s being available to the common man was?
Home prices are obviously a separate thing, but most basic consumer goods have become cheaper in recent decades, relative to wages. The price of flagship sports cars is not a relevant one to any reasonable cost-of-living discussion.
Probably about 1968, when they cost about the same as a loaded Buick.
I admit to being surprised at how cheap the early first gens were. It’s funny that they were ~50% higher than a Corvette even then.
That New
Porsche 911Everything You Wanted Just Got Even More ExpensiveFTFY again..
That New Porsche 911EverythingYou WantedJust Got Even More ExpensiveFTFY
Are you saying the prices on my used food will be going up??
Hmm. Selling used food to THAT part of the internet may just be my ticket into a 2.7 RS.
pain
So I couldn’t afford is less affordable. OK.
In other news, “Demand for used 996 models expected to surge”
I hope so – my 996 manual cabriolet is a great car and if it appreciates it is easier to justify doing repair work properly.
Raise your hand if, in your head, you just thought a base model 911 was still under $80k 🙂
$135k or so the last time I checked, but that was a couple weeks ago…I do miss the idea of the stripped models of 911 and GT-R being well below the century mark. It seems like only Corvette has held the line on pricing over the years.
Wait, a base 911 is $134k??? I’ve been here all along, and didn’t notice that.
TIL.
PNA Press Release 15 July, 2025:
Porsche North America is proud to announce that for the first time ever our most popular models will be built in our new plant undergoing construction in Normal, Illinois. Synergies in production will be achieved through strategic partnership with nearby Rivian Motors. Many of our German plant workers are excited for the opportunity to consult with and advise our new American workers. More details to follow.
I mean I know its not as bad as Ferrari, but how likely is it a first time Porsche buyer will be “allowed” to buy a 911 or anything higher than that ? The typical 911 customer won’t blink at these price increases.
Porsche also isn’t on the same level as Ferrari even though they think they are. I love Porsche, but let’s be real here.
I don’t think they pretend to be, though. I think the more that Ferrari does Ferrari Things, the more Porsche (despite their price increases and notorious options list) still wants to be approachable.
Case in point: They run not one…not two…but THREE separate driving experiences in the US alone. LA and Atlanta for HPDE, and here in Birmingham (Barber Motorsports) for more track-focused training.
I was just reminded of that when I bumped into their head US instructor a couple weeks ago, super nice guy you’d never guess was a former IMSA champ who spends all week doing triple digits around the track.
I know, Porsches are actually reliable 😀
Modern ones sure as shit are. They’re shockingly reliable by sports car standards…but what people don’t seem prepared for is the cost to maintain them. It’s unlikely that anything goes catastrophically wrong but consumables are going to cost you like 5 times as much.
If modern is defined as 991 and later, yeah I think so.
The bore scoring issue on 997s has me worried about ever picking one of those up.
If I recall correctly early ones are affected by the dreaded IMS bearing issue as well. The last few years of them are regarded as being pretty solid though. My non mechanical issues with the 997s is I’ve never found them to be particularly attractive and the interiors are kind of notorious for falling apart.
There’s a chance that 992s are just never going to dip within my price range, but I personally really like the 991s. I think they rectified some of the odd styling of the 997s, Porsche finally started taking sports car interiors seriously around that time, and I’d personally be content with PDK/happy to take the 5 figure discount that comes with it.
You can find decent ones in the 60s if you’re willing to be patient and at that price point it’s a lot of car. But then again…the C8 is always lurking in the background making V8 noises.
I think the 997 is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. 991 looks like a 997 with an unnecessary BBL.
To each their own! There’s a 911 generation for everyone.
My thought on it is if you’re going to take the DCT anyways you might as well save the money and get the Vette.
Unless, like me, you might actually put a couple small children in those back seats.
For me though, as much as I look at 911s, and as much as I enjoyed my brief time with my cheap 996 project, one of the conditions of my wife agreeing to the BW was that she got to pick the next car, and I don’t think it’s going to be a Porsche when the time comes.
I was looking at how much an intake air filter is and jesus fucking christ
An oil change at a Porsche dealership is a $500 affair. If you have a PDK car god help you if the transmission goes bad, because a new one or a rebuild are $10,000+. Tires, brake pads, stuff like that are nearly exotic car expensive.
If you’re a skilled wrencher some of this isn’t as much of a concern…but if you’re not planning on working on your own Porsche you absolutely need to budget for maintenance. Like I’ve said…the odds of something going catastrophically wrong on post 2010ish ones are refreshingly low.
But that doesn’t mean maintenance is affordable, and if something does go catastrophically wrong there’s a nonzero chance that mechanically totaling the car is your best option fiscally. Basically…always read the fine print. Porsche ranks quite high on most reliability measures and people see it and are like WOW IT’S LIKE I’M BUYING A TOYOTA!
It’s uh…not. It’s going to be a lot less trouble than trying to keep an aging exotic going, but it won’t be cheap.
Yeah, reliability vs cost of maintenance is not always proportional. Some BMWs are not very reliable yet parts are not that expensive, especially if you DIY. A Maserati is both unreliable and expensive to maintain and it seems Porsche is reliable but expensive to maintain.
Like I said in another comment, I just don’t see the appeal of water cooled base 911s, much less at $135k. They don’t even sound good.
If you can afford the price of entry in the first place, you can afford to pay to maintain/fix the thing. But no car with six figures in the price tag is EVER going to be cheap to keep.
Yeah, my dealer is great and I have not found an independent Porsche mechanic I trust enough yet so I still take mine there. Both the Macan and Boxster so maintenance cost is basically the same as car payments. Luckily they’re both paid for but still…
They do a great job and for anything they find that is recommended I get videos from the service tech showing me everything they find and what they recommend and I have to sign off on it first. The last time I was there they found a mouse nest under the battery (which, my Boxster is a 2016 and still on the original battery, shockingly they said there’s no reason to replace it yet). Fun! But I approved paying that one because the doctor bills for the inevitable hantavirus I would get cleaning that myself are more than the repair (about $1K).
They tried to get me to pay $475 to replace the frunk support struts. I looked it up and the OEM parts are $120 and it’s a 15 minute job. There are plenty of knock offs that fit on Amazon with good reviews for $40 or less.
Same with the rotting rubber radio knobs (say it five times fast). They wanted me to pay $80 for each knob but a set of OEM is $80. Which is also insane but I can do these things.
My oil changes aren’t $500 but it’s close. I probably average $4K per year for both cars and probably drive less than 6K miles per year. Combined on both cars.
There are things I could do myself but while I can afford I will and continue to search for a trusted mechanic.
It’s as bad as Ferrari if you want a limited edition. Have a pile of money and want a GT3 RS, but own zero Porsche products? It’s not going to happen. But they’ll sell you the base/unlimited versions fairly easily.
I was curious about this too.
The dealer where I bought my Cadillac was a new Porsche dealer and I asked the sales manager about the possibility of someone like me even getting a GT3 or similar.
One anecdote, not data, but he implied that he didn’t have much of a list if any at all, and while he wasn’t committing to sell at MSRP, the hype for some of these cars isn’t where it was a couple years ago. In short, other than ultra-rare stuff, you can probably get most Porsches, even GT3s, if you’re willing to wait.
3 years ago a GT3 started at $161K, and it’s now $235K. I know it’s fashionable to assume that anyone rich enough to afford one doesn’t care, but that is an absurd price increase for what is basically the same car. Not surprising at all that demand shrinks.
I never bought that “too rich to care” argument, personally. Yes, there are people like that out there, but for most Porsche owners it’s a lifelong goal that they achieve in their 50s or 60s, probably with some arguing with their family over practicality vs fun, and when they finally get it, it shouldn’t come with insane maintenance costs. To be fair, I’m talking sub-GT3 models, more daily driver/weekenders that never see a track.
That’s always how I’ve seen Porsche and I think that a more volume-based approach would actually serve them better. More cars = more shops, more awareness, a deeper used market. If I were running the show in
StuttgartAtlanta, that’s the angle I’d push for: Too fancy for a Corvette, but don’t want to mess with British and Italian exotics? Here’s Porsche. We’re just a really fancy VW with better quality!I don’t either.
By any reasonable definition I’m doing ok, but I don’t just wave away spending an extra $750, let alone $75,000.
Most people, even 1%ers, don’t conceptualize themselves as “rich”. Unless someone is born to wealth and is surrounded by it since birth, they’re going to still look at prices and instinctively react to increases.
I know at least for my part, I spent most of my adult life barely getting by until just recently (and that’s working, with college degrees). The good thing is that will give you a solid sense of value. Even though we’re doing better now, our grocery trips are still 90% BOGO items (cheaper than Costco or Walmart), and our cars are 10 and 24 years old…even though I’m working to change the latter.
I guess the idea from an early age was that you either have nothing left at the end of the month; or if you do, there are ways to make it grow instead of blowing it. I’m seriously looking to retire early (mid-50s?), and now I found those habits from being broke are translating well into actually helping us save and invest.
If I’d come out of school with 2 degrees making $80k instead of my actual $23k, I think my life trajectory would have been a lot different…and arguably worse, and more stressful. It’s a hamster wheel that’s hard to escape from when you start out very comfortable.
To borrow a line from Warren Buffet when talking to his grandkids, “Sure you can have a dollar. But I know a magic trick that will turn this dollar into a hundred dollars.” 🙂
I would also argue that being frugal sends a message to the broader market against inflation. That is, even if you can afford it, everyone’s duty as a consumer is to put some downward pressure on the company selling the good or service — not to be a cheap jerk, but to find a happy medium.
I am right there with you. I was borderline poor for a long time before I got the right job and my career took off. But my Inner Yankee Cheapskate is a powerful influence on me still. I had a deal negotiated to do European Delivery for a Cayman for my 50th birthday present to myself, and while I could certainly have afforded it, that Yankee wanker just wouldn’t let me sign the papers for the best part of $75K for a very lightly optioned car by the time the taxman was paid. The $39K and $52K I paid for my two new BMWs 14 and 10 years ago seem to be the outer limits of what I can stand to pay for a car, even though I make a lot more money today than back then. The ’11 wagon was definitely a stretch – but I still have it and love it just as much as when I first laid eyes on it at Der Welt in Munich.
There is definitely a happy medium, helped for me by the fact that I think cars have well and truly jumped the shark in sooooo many ways that I don’t find ANY new cars particularly appealing.
Trust me, as someone who knows these buyers and aspires to be one himself one day these buyers absolutely have a budget and they buy the most they can afford.
I think living at (or just beyond) one’s means is not just for people making a household $80-100K/yr. Most everyone does it. Those that pay with cash and keep themselves in good credit worthiness are the rarity in all income brackets.
I’m a nobody to Porsche dealers and I’m 90% sure I could get a GT3 Touring allocation if I was willing to wait towards the end of the run.
I probably can’t get PTS, but if I submitted a “heavy” build I could probably have one built towards the 992.2’s run-out in 2027.
Market started closing its purse around April 24, and by January 25 the GT ADM’s were largely gone with rare exceptions. You might have to option it out the nose, and you’ll have to talk to a lot of dealers, but it’s a different situation from even a year ago, and a totally different planet from 20-22.
A lot of it is they are producing more GT cars than ever. If you want one early, you’re not getting one, but if you’re patient, you can get one.
I was hoping you specifically would weigh in on this.
Glad to know I’m not totally off base. January 2025 was when I bought my car and spoke with the manager so that timing lines up perfectly with what I was told.
Motorsport division ADMs were mostly gone by January ’25, aside from dealers in markets that felt they had enough potential buyers that were “functionally captive” as they weren’t motivated to put in the effort to find better options throughout the US. GT3 RS and GT3 Tourings are still functionally supply constrained, but in January ’25 I was asking around about a theoretical future Touring and I wasn’t getting an instant, “no” like I normally would.
Things really were shaken up around mid-April this year. EV Macan interest tapered, 1st gen Taycans are tough to move, you had cars sitting in bonded storage. You add all that on top of the uncertainty on cars that hadn’t yet left Emden, and some stores saw their cash flow winnowing as they were running out of product to sell. So there was a lot of incentive to get folks to churn to bring in used inventory that was unencumbered. Then 992.2 GT3s were priced to disincentivize ADMs, and here we are.
I considered this possibility since late 2023. I was dead right.
I’ve purchased two different Boxsters at 2 different Porsche dealers. I wasn’t even buying new, CPO for me. I never got the feeling that if I wanted to custom spec a base 911 with crazy options and custom paint colors and whatever crazy stuff they offer, that both dealers would not give me really great service and the full service treatment. One thing those dealers have is a truly great customer service mindset.
So, while they are not Ferrari, they are also thankfully not Ferrari.
If you want something super rare like a GT3 or any of the more limited spec options you likely can’t get your hands on it but it’s just because of the rarity. The Porsche dealer will still treat you with respect and make the attempt to find one for you or offer to help you with something that will suit your need/desire instead of spit on you and tell you to buy a leftover Panamera or get out.
Just my experience at least.
I remember trying to buy a CPO 3 Series several years ago. It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t afford the car, I could…and could technically afford much more BMW if I wanted to, I’m just not someone that recklessly buys cars because it’s unwise financially. But the price they were asking was a little bit over market and I figured I’d try to talk them down.
They more or less told me they weren’t going to negotiate or waste time with me on a 3 Series when they had people coming in and buying six figure cars every day and that the price was the price/if I wanted a BMW I should try having more money next time.
It was an awful experience. I’m not going to sit here and claim that I’m an easy customer, I usually know more than any of the salespeople do and I’m a very good negotiator who isn’t going to put up with any of their scams. But like, holy shit….at least give me a little respect lol.
For a while I wanted to go back, find the salesman, buy an M2, and throw his line back at him. Obviously I didn’t do that, but it would’ve been rad. Anyway it’s good to hear that the Porsche dealership doesn’t treat the customers of more normal means any differently. If I buy one it’ll almost certainly be CPO and well under 100 grand…
I had a 2001 325i bought new and the dealer was amazing. Traded it a few years later for a 525i and had to go to three different dealers to find one that wasn’t a bag full of dicks (do you know what the difference is between a BMW and a pinecone?). I’ve heard from friends the dealers have only gotten worse and searching for good ones has been nearly impossible since the whole pandemic shortages.
My theory is that the expanded leasing terms and included maintenance for the intro period has brought in a more… average clientele and they have lowered their standards to match it.
Buying luxury used to mean not having to deal with the bullshit but I think it varies a lot more than it used to. Porsche still caters to people that expect better on the whole so they’ll approve cater to it. I guess?
Ferrari was historically massively supply constrained. 20 years ago, Ferrari’s global production was about ~7,000 cars for the entire planet.
For perspective, at about the same time (2006), Longo Toyota in El Monte, California sold 25,070 new Toyotas in a single year. Yes, one Toyota dealership in California sold 3.5x as many Toyotas as Ferrari’s entire global sales volume.
Even now in 2024 with much higher production volume, Ferrari sold 13,752 new cars in 2024. Again, not in California. Not the US. The entire planet.
Porsche is selling more than 300,000 cars a year nowadays, ~50K being 911s.
—
Why Ferrari was a pain is because they literally didn’t have enough to sell relative to demand, to where a dealer keeping the lights on could be a challenge. I had a dinner about this ~20 years ago with the guy that currently owns my area’s Ferrari dealer. He explained how that dealership worked by the books, and I “got it.” I understood why it was so ridiculous, because it’s what let the dealership actually be worth bothering with (relative to all the other dealerships he had).
Yeah, Ferrari purposely kept production low to keep values and demand high. They didn’t up production until they expanded to newer markets (China was a big one). At least that was back then and I don’t know if the current CEO is following that or not since I lost interest in the product.
As I mentioned above, 13,752 sold last year, which is a big step from the 7,000 limit they held to 20 years ago. Purosangue is probably 30+% of their current volume, and was ~20%-ish of 2024.
That’s part of what is expected with them being a public company. The expectation of volume was there, but even Montezemolo had pushed things up close to 9000-9500 cars 10-15 years ago.
I can’t see myself with one (too wide), but I do appreciate the 812. The F140 V12 goes back to the Enzo, is reliable, and… Cosworth craziness, BMW S70/2, AMG-built M120 (Zonda, etc.) and other ultra-wackiness aside, I can’t think of any other modern V12 I’d want to own more. Though an amazing 2-seater liftback coupe GT is something I’ve always wanted since I was a kid.
Yeah, that’s right, I forgot all about the SUV. They also allow themselves more production by introducing additional models, which I think is pretty smart long-term strategy. For me, the modern regulations have really neutered the glorious sound of V12s. It’s not just a volume thing, they sound less complex to me. Not that they’re bad sounding, but the old Lamborghini and Ferrari V12s cause goosebumps when I hear them.
Blame noise regs (EU more than US) more than anything for sound, as well as modern cabins just being so refined.
The F140 V12 is still mental (at least the GA variant in an 812, far less so in the Purosangue) in terms of exhaust, but again, in-cabin there’s not as much induction noise as there should be. Part of the change in sound was in the transition to direction injection, as there’s an obviously different staccato to the exhaust note in the port injected setups. You also lose pitch as displacement increases.
Though the old Bizzarini V12 in particular absolutely had a resonance to it you could feel. Even as a pedestrian, you could FEEL a V12 Lamborghini coming, even if it were only at 40mph!
There’s definitely a distinct feel to them and wide changes in tone and layers of sounds throughout the rev range. Back in the ’90s, I was in my friend’s car behind a Diablo along a beach area. He’s not much of a car guy, but all on his own, he turned the stereo off to listen. I love those engines.
As a penny pinching enthusiast who’s dreamt of a Porsche sports car since childhood I appreciate your takes on this Thomas. I get that I am not the target audience for a 911 and never have been. I also get that they’ve always been expensive and always will. They’re made by the ultra wealthy for the ultra wealthy and Porsche doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone buying a 10+ year old car near the bottom of its depreciation curve.
…but it’s still a bummer. They feel less attainable than ever and the constant price hikes/ensuing dealership shenanigans have brought the Porsche Tax to levels never before seen. Unless you’re an accomplished wrencher who can deal with a roached out one or want to buy a “lesser” 911 (996, automatic, etc). you’re still looking at $60,000+ even for meh examples.
I recently saw a 996 C4S listed for $70,000. It’s just ridiculous. I love Porsche and will one day be in the market for a weekend car, but there comes a point when the badge tax is hard to reconcile. 981 Boxsters and Caymans are appreciating and becoming $50,000+ now. Unless you have fuck you money, is it really worth it anymore?
I mean you can get a C8 or M2 for the price of a shitty 911 or an S2000 for way, way less money than a 981. You could get multiple Miatas for the price of a decent used Porsche and they’ll cost approximately 97% less to keep running. The SUVs depreciate, but not as much as their competitors because Porsche and be honest with yourself…is a base Macan or Cayenne REALLY going to satiate your Porsche dream?
I haven’t driven either so I can’t speak for them…but I can’t help but think that within a few months I’d be like “hey this is great for what it is but it’s not a 718….” and we’d be back to square one with significantly less money.
The other thing to factor in is that the sports cars are nearly bespoke, with an options sheet that will almost deviate some (or a lot) beyond MSRP. I don’t have fuck you money, but saved up to finally get a 22 Boxster GTS. But even with lower prices then, I still probably add 10% to MSRP on options.
But I have my dream car and will do my damnedest to keep it in great shape until my left leg or eyes get too weak to pilot anymore.
At that point I hope I can find a buyer who will truly love (i.e. drive) it.
Literally nothing is standard on them. You’ll pay 4 figures for shit that’s standard kit on a goddamn Elantra in 2025…and it’s not like Porsche or their dealerships can really even get you a “base” car. What they happen to have has at least $10,000 in option, and usually more.
There was a moment, at the start of inflation/hard covid where Porsche didn’t seem to have raised their prices yet, and some like Ford/VW or whatever had. And that gap made it seem like “hey someday”. Well we know how that looks now.
Porsche is my aspirational car, that I know I’ll never actually own. Like you, there is a point where I can’t justify it, even if I could afford it. Hopefully the guys driving them are enjoying the shit out of them for me and not keeping them caged up.
I hope the cheap insurance and registration of my 996 come with low depreciation to make up for the maintenance costs.
(You want a 996. The secret is that they are light. A 3.6 manual c2 coupe weighs 3000 lbs)
I’ve had my eye on a 991, and I’m a sicko who’d be perfectly content with PDK (but not Tiptronic). But they’re still $70,000+, and 996s are already going up so the time to jump on one may be now. I’ve always thought they’re over hated.
That’s the secret to 911s. They are constantly appreciating just out of attainable range.
I’d be perfectly happy with a 718 that’s PDK with a 4 cylinder. As of right now they’re hovering on the edge of attainable and I think they’ll see a decent dip in value because they’re a “lesser” Porsche without a flat 6 or manual.
That’s my current Porsche Plan…aim for a model that the purists deem undesirable and strike when it’s near the bottom of its depreciation curve. I figure non flat 6/PDK will probably do some of the work for me.
You’re not wrong.
After having both generations of BRZ, I think I’m done with 4 cylinder boxers. That was enough garbage disposal experience.
For how much bigger the 992.1 physically looks compared the 996 gen, its only ~10% more in weight. Not too bad for 25 years of difference compared to what (albeit not Miata) most models/brands have done over the same timeframe.
My spicy take is that I’ve liked the 992 from day 1.
Agreed!