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Shock horror! The 911 no longer appears to be the best in class following its defeat to the R8 and Nissan GTR. Ok, the GTR is probably more of a rival to the 911 Turbo than the Carrera S, but even the S is beaten by the R8 - a car that was 2nd best to the pre-facelift 997. And i suspect the V10 R8 would be better than the Turbo, as appears to be the F430 and Gallardo.

So what's gone wrong at Porsche? This updated 911 appears to have taken a step back which is unusual considering the step-forward each revised 911, over its 2 generations, has taken since 1963.

Roy Fullee:

So what's gone wrong at Porsche?

Porsche are going to have the raise thier game more than ever before.

In the past a 911 has been viewed as the everyday supercar- reliable, well built and with the performance and handling to keep up with much more expensive and tempremental exotica.

Marketplace has changed- the likes of R8, M series, AMG and GT-R have entered the Porsche domain to offer alternatives that weren't there a decade ago. 

But as a pure drivers car, i still challenge anyone to find a nice B-road and take a long, hard driver in a Caymen/911 and you'll step out of the drivers seat with a big grin.

Why would Porsche have lost the plot? this is called competition and as mentioned above we now have many alternatives that now cost similar levels to the 911.

I have never been a fan of the 911, but can appreciate the consistency that Porsche have achieved with this car both on road and track. It's high time that other manufacturers muscle in on this market.