Porsche’s Enduring 911 and its New Enemies; Which One Would You Have?

It is a genuinely exciting time to be a sports car fan. On the low end, the Toyobaru offers rear wheel-drive handling with the coupe bodystyle enthusiasts have long sought from the Miata. On the high end, the 918 Spyder, P1, and LaFerrari are redefining notions of cool.

However, it is a segment between these two extremes that features the greatest proliferation of sports cars in a very long time. Carmakers across Europe, Asia, and even the United States are focusing on a shared goal – kill the Porsche 911.

The 911 is a brilliant sports car. Some call it *THE* sports car. Enthusiasts know this. Buyers know this. Porsche knows this. Since 2001, the brand’s foray into SUV and sedan segments has given it the resources to develop an endless stream of advanced 911 variants. Over the same period, automakers have worked to develop compelling alternatives to the 911.

Most 911 rivals competed more on the basis of price than layout or ethos. For instance, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Audi R8, and Nissan GT-R all challenged some segment of the 911 family. There were two other carmakers that offered cheaper vehicles – Chevy asserted that its C6 Corvette was a worthy rival of the Carrera (even though no one believed them), and Lotus debuted the Evora, which they thought would be a breakthrough model for the brand, but it soon became obscure. The Corvette offered speed and savings; the Evora offered the most similar layout – a six-cylinder engine mounted behind 2+2 seats. However, the Evora was mid-, not rear-engine, which created packaging constraints. In the face of competition, the 911 marched forward, undisturbed.

Now, there is a new generation of sports cars that seek to demolish Porsche’s pedestal. The Jaguar F-Type is one of the most desirable and beautiful cars on the road. The C7 Corvette is more compelling than ever before. We just documented the Mercedes-AMG GT, developed to be the most dynamic model in the brand’s history. Audi is testing a new R8. McLaren is preparing the P13 for 2015. Maserati greenlighted the sexy Alfieri in coupe and convertible forms. Nissan is developing a new GT-R, likely to be a hybrid. BMW offers the hybrid i8 and may soon have another hybrid 911 rival co-developed with Toyota. Even Aston Martin will have a new Vantage in 2018.

There are so many cars coming after the 911, the premium sports car segment will soon become as vicious and contested as the midsize sedan segment in the U.S. However, no automaker has promised the trait that makes the 911 so compelling – the fact that there is one for every occasion. The brand most interested in variant proliferation is Jaguar, but even that make has admitted that volumes will be smaller than Porsche’s, making business cases difficult.

It seems that for the next decade, no one vehicle family will compete with the 911 on all fronts, but many will work in concert to chip away buyers and acclaim. We shall see if they succeed.

Which new sports car are you most looking forward to? What would you buy if you were shopping in this segment?

By Nico Grant