I think Porsche lost its damn mind regarding the pricing of the 911 Turbo S

"Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
12/10/2016 at 12:00 • Filed to: Porsche

Yesterday I was reading my favorite French car magazine, when I discovered something frankly unhinged about the 911 Turbo S pricing. The base price is € 206k. Now, in isolation like that, it’s hard to see anything wrong with that ginormous price tag. The Turbo S is a fantastic car, no doubt, with incredible performance and day to day usability. But let’s compare that with a few other offerings here in Europe.

First off, let’s take Ferrari, historically Porsche’s arch rival. Ferrari’s offerings are always perceived as more exclusive, more expensive. A different social class of cars, shall we say. What was great with Porsche is that they constantly delivered rivalling performance and driving fun for way less. Well, no more, fam. If the 911 Turbo S is priced as € 206k, the 488 GTB starts as € 208k. Both of course before you drop € 50k of options on them, per tradition. What the hell? Now, the Turbo S is, again, no doubt a fantastic car. But I think most here will agree that the Ferrari is in another class altogether. I love Porsches, but if you’re gonna sell me Ferrari’s latest and meanest mid-engined supercar for the same price, let me tell you that I won’t hesitate long.

credit: Auto Express’ YT channel

But we’re not done here yet. Enters McLaren, whose range of cars has been described as at least Ferrari rivalling, with high tech carbon tubs, mindblowing performance, etc. And now, they make a car named the 570S, that some journalists described as the best McLaren ever. Well, bad news Porsche, the best McLaren yet is 20 grand cheaper than a base Turbo S. Ouch! Now, sure, you can fit two small kids in the back of the Turbo. But as gearhead, are you really gonna spend thenty thousand euros more to get what I personally regard as one of the least fun 911?

And the Turbo’s pricing troubles don’t stop there. In fact, they begin in house. A base, new GT3 RS costs € 184,925. That’s right, you can get Porsche’s revered track beast for more than 20 grand less than the Turbo S. And not to mention that the fabulous R was priced, when available, 14 grand less than the Turbo S.

So to sum up. If you’re not the greatest, die hard, hardcore Porsche fan, there’s no serious reason to pick the Turbo S over comparably priced cars from other manufacturers (and I didn’t even mention the AMG GT-S, € 60k cheaper. 60!). And if you are, well, why wouldn’t you get at least a normal GT3, for way, way less money?

Maybe you guys understand it better than I do. But this all makes absolutely no sense to me.

Again, this is all for base prices. I played a bit with the configurator, and without going berserk, I went past €230k.

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DISCUSSION (11)

bob and john > Clemsie McKenzie
12/10/2016 at 12:19

here is the thing with de Porsch-uh. you CAN actually use it as a day to day car. It comfy, its got the ground clearance, and MOST importantly, it has a dealer network that ferrari and the brits cant even HOPE to touch. So if something happens to your porsche, you arent waiting 4 months for parts. You aren parking it with the fear that someone will come and scratch it for the hell of it. and it still has the performance to stand toe to toe with the spaghetti monster and the tea drinker.

yes, its more expensive. but its not just the numbers we have to think about.

Clemsie McKenzie > bob and john
12/10/2016 at 12:31

I get that and I agree, but then what do you make of the AMG GTS, 60k cheaper, or even the F-Type, half the price? Usable, ballistic, many dealers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Turbo, I just think that €175k would be more justifiable for an S. But they seem to sell, so what do I know?

bob and john > Clemsie McKenzie
12/10/2016 at 12:34

Lower level of performance and the F-type isnt even REMOTLY in the same class as a 911 turbo.

OKcarburetor > Clemsie McKenzie
12/10/2016 at 12:51

I like pretty much everything about the Turbo S more than the other cars you mentioned. I like that the Turbo S is understated yet will embarrass the other cars you mentioned without a hero driver at the wheel. Even with a pro driver, the “GT” car will probably cause some serious upsets at the track versus the “exotics”.

I see an Audi R8 V10+ as a competitor to the Turbo S really. It’s a reliable AWD car that can act as a daily driver, and ruin other cars at the track.

With that said, the thought of spending that much on a car is vomit inducing. I’ll keep driving my beat up old trash.

Tekamul > bob and john
12/10/2016 at 12:53

Someone who is considering buying a new Turbo is going to own a dozen other cars, on average. Things like dealer networks don’t matter. It’s only going to see a thousand miles a year.

There will be exceptions, but on average, parts and scratches aren’t a concern.

Clemsie McKenzie > bob and john
12/10/2016 at 13:01

I know, but is it half the car? I would understand a 50 or 60k price gap.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > OKcarburetor
12/10/2016 at 14:08

Aye. This, exactly. My friend has a Turbo S because he’s a crap driver and knows it and wants to go fast but with enough aids and gadgets to keep him from killing himself. It might sound like I’m talking smack here but I’m not. This was his logic with the purchase as he explained it to me. He’ll never turn traction control off. He won’t even see if the button even works.

Of course, being the size that he is, I have no idea how he even gets in or out of the thing but that’s just my jealousy talking.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Clemsie McKenzie
12/10/2016 at 14:13

Here in the US, a 911 Turbo S will run you about $190,000 base price. A 488 GTB starts at $245,000. So at least in the states, the price difference is more than enough to keep people in the Porsche.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Clemsie McKenzie
12/10/2016 at 15:06

As someone else pointed out, in the u.s. there is a price disparity between the Ferrari and the turbo S.

But more to your point about it being half the car, the returns on any given car purchase are pretty diminishing after arguably somewhere around $25,000 depending on who you ask. Just as a point, is any car around $50,000 two times the car of a WRX?

Liam Farrell > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
12/10/2016 at 15:49

Kind of crazy how they took a car know for killing people and turned it into a car that is considered the safest in its class

Vicente Esteve > Clemsie McKenzie
12/10/2016 at 22:28

I’d have that Porsche over any of those pretty much always.

To me, it’s the mix of embarrassment of the competition when possible, and at the same time the years after years of dedication to building the best all around sports car.