There is some irony in this commercial: the 'Vette now snacks and 911s, and eats Ferraris for dinner.

By the way, does anyone know if there are Z06 underbody / diffuser kits out there? I have the idea that the addition of a little downforce would improve or eliminate its stock track deficit.

I dont remember the last time I saw a commerical for a Porsche.

Nice hyperbole. I never lost an autocross event to a 944 in my Che-vette.

That was a very odd version of Hendrix...

I had an '86 944. Wasn't the fastest beastie in the world, but it was a blast to drive!

The 944 Turbo has to be one of the best used performance deals around today. You can pick up a good example for sub-$15k, it's got a 250hp turbo 4, and the brakes are mighty impressive for factory items on a car that inexpensive. And if you absolutely must go faster, there are plenty of places (like Lindsey Racing) that will sell you the parts and expertise necessary to do so.

That sounds like Edward Herrmann's voice.

@elwood: Yikes. Makes a used S2000 look that much better.

Good commercial, tho.

@Retiree: Kronos Quartet, ya dig?

@jrhmobile: No doubt. At 3000+ lbs with major turbo lag the 944T doesn't make for a great autocross car. Plenty of hp once the turbo spins up, though, with a good suspension and excellent brakes out of the box. They come alive on a road course.

The real down side of the car is maintenance costs. When they're good, they're great but when they're bad, they are very very bad. I make it a point to file and never review my receipts.

When you are THE most profitable, per unit, in the industry, with so much cash laying around that you buy your former partner, advertising is superfluous.

Just shows how far the Corvette has come and how little the Porsche line up has come when the current Corvette eats most all Porsches, regardless of prices, vs. when the Corvette competed with the lowliest of Porsches.

Well, you could get a 944T for around $8k, but I'd be wary of going that low. There's also the 944S2, which has about the same power as the Turbo, but it's from a 3.0L NA 4-cyl. He also never had a whole lot of major maintenance issues with it, even though there were a lot of miles on the car. Buying a good used car and preventative maintenance goes a long way to preventing future problems.

Veracity be damned, that's a seriously badass commercial. Gave me goosebumps.

I don't think it's Edward Herrman.

So what are the chances a car company would make an advertisement displaying drifting these days (in the US)? Pretty slim, I would imagine.

Lawsuits from bruised up hoons would be on their way after the first airing.

The 911 does incredibly well in terms of sales for being a $72k+ car as compared to the $45k+ corvette.

In 2006, over 12,000 911's were sold in the USA compared to ~36,000 corvettes.

7 months of 2007 the 911 is doing even better ratio wise, ~8,000 911s compared to ~20,000 corvettes

Which makes sense, because I can't imagine a person who can afford an $80,000 car would buy a corvette when they can have a Porsche.

@jrbd90: Exactly. Comparing a Vette to a Porsche or Ferarri now is silly. There is no sensible person in the world who'd have the money to comfortably pick one or the other and would pick the 'Vette. (That's important. People who are "reaching" for the more expensive car have a different way of doing the calculations...because they're reaching)

Though I'd guess there is a non-zero number of people who can afford both who do buy both, for different reasons.

@JRBD90: Of course no one in their right mind would buy a $45000 corvette when they had $80000 to spend on a car...They would buy a Corvette Z06

How can that ad be from 1994?! Oh well, a string orchestra playing Hendrix is fun no matter what year you're in.

And yes, there's a 944 Turbo in my fantasy garage (black on black, of course).

@jrbd90: People who need to impress others, or that are so effete that touching a piece of hard plastic might hurt them go for the Porsche 911. People that are wealthy but still don't want to waste their money, or that need a brilliant track tool (the Z-06) go for the Corvette.

I think a lot of fat old bald men buy 911s because they're worried that if they drive a Corvette people might stereotype them as fat and old and bald, but younger and fitter wealthy buyers probably don't have the same insecurity.

The fact that Porsche sold any naturally aspirated 911s at all when the Cayman S is available shows that some people are just obsessed with the name 911, or just need to show how much they can spend even if what they get is not as good as something less expensive.

just five words:

The 2007 Porsche 911 turbo...

need to say more??

Its hard to pigeonhole who buys what, especially when it comes to the Vette vs. 911. The corvette is no longer the mullet-mobile that it once was, and although it performs brilliantly, its still significantly less expensive. The Z06, regardless of how spectacular the performance, does not have road manners that even begin to approach the Porsche.

The fact is, if someone is really looking to spend $80k+ on a car, they're not getting a vette. If they're looking to spend $60-$80k (likely a very large slice of the market), then they're going to at least consider the vette. I don't think that the snob factor plays into it as much as it used to.

Using myself as an example, about six years ago (when I was 22) I had a '99 Mercedes SLK, which suited me very well. I remember being at a car wash, and a guy who was around my age had a '99 Vette. We started talking, and he asked me why, for the same money, I wouldnt buy the 190mph Corvette. And although I didnt say it out loud, the primary reason was that I honestly wouldnt be caught dead in one. I just don't feel that way anymore.

I have driven a race spec 944 turbo with 500+ rwhp depending how much boost I had dialed in. It would leave a trail of tire smoke if I pegged it in 5th gear at 80mph. Aside from the big red calipers and the roll cage it looked stock.

I'm confused .. why would an ad from 1994 have late-80's cues in it?

I would snack on Corvettes, but the fiberglass is all splintery and hurts my throat.

A 944 powersliding to the soothing voice of a calm British announcer while string Hendrix warbles lovingly in the background? My mind is now totally and completely warped now.

@dculberson: This can't be from 1994...the font they used in the commercial matches that used in late 1980s print ads. Besides, the 944 S2 more or less replaced the 944 NA and Turbo alike, and I think by '94 the 968 had hit the road.

@elwood:

If you absolutely have to faster, you can buy a vette :p

I personally prefer the slo-mo powersliding on asphalt to the ubiquitous stationary car rotating one direction slowly, then speeding up and rotating in the opposite direction with a white void in the background.

It's just a bad....bad...word....word...for a good...good...thing....I'm on the edge with that one.

Skip the 944 Turbo and get a 1989-1994 Nissan 240sx w/ SR20DET. Sure it's an Asian knock-off of the German car, but it has a better aftermarket, a lower cost of ownership and similar dynamics.