If Porsche made the 914 today, Porsche Vision Spyder is the modern day 914 Options

[Superhawk996]

. . . the sounds, the smells, the simplicity, the fun.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Exactly. That is what has been stolen from modern cars.

Fully agree that cars can't be judged on weight alone (but it is a favorite metric of mine (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) ) and there are many piggy cars that handle much better than the weight would suggest. That is true.

But, in the course of my career as an automotive engineer, the last 25 years only reinforces my personal opinion that the trade offs involved in offsetting the adverse effects of weight don't outweigh the benefits of light weight and simplicity.

Weight begets more weight.


Tires get bigger to support the mass and tire pressures go ever higher degrading ride

Suspension components become bigger to maintain the same durability

Springs get upsized to control larger unspring mass of the suspension and to support the heavier sprung body mass.

Dampers get bigger to control the larger mass and larger springs

Vehicle structures continue to get heavier despite use of high strength steel and hot stamping of parts to maximize form and minimize weight.

Higher HP engine needed to accelerate the mass

Bigger brakes needed to stop the mass which also weigh more themselves.

It is not atypical during a development cycle to find that 1 or more of the items above has gone tilt and exceeded a maximum load and the upsizing goes yet another round on cross functionally affected components.

All the above costs more money, uses more raw materials, leads to more net energy use, higher net emissions all along the supply chain than would have been necesssary had it just been kept light and simple in the 1st place.

We now literally have 5000 - 6000 lb vehicles used as daily drivers to haul around 1 or two people! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) Sometimes it is the very same people that then proceed to lecture me about how I ought to be saving the world by cuttting my carbon footprint. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Yup . . . I like simplicity and light weight.

[VaccaRabite]

Greg hit it on the nose on Post 3 - The Boxter is the modern day 914, and Porsche has been making them for over a decade now.

About 7 or 8 years ago I made a similar statement (either here or at Rennlist) and folks got into an uproar. "You are so wrong, the Boxster is nothing like a 914".

And yet... :-)

Zach