By Tim Harris · January 29, 2026
“Where horsepower meets conversation”
Every once in a while, we get an email from a listener that doesn’t just spark a topic — it defines the conversation.
This week, listener Brian sent a note that hit a nerve, because it puts words to what a lot of enthusiasts are quietly realizing:
Porsche may be losing the very thing that made it Porsche.
And while Porsche drifts toward spec culture, options lists, ADMs, and “luxury pricing logic”… Ferrari is out here doing the most Ferrari thing imaginable:
winning.
Here’s Brian’s email (shared with permission):
Hi Tim,
I just came across your podcast and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve already been sharing it with some of my car friends.
I’d be really interested to hear you discuss Porsche’s recent record at Le Mans since Ferrari returned. I’m honestly quite shocked that Ferrari has managed to beat Porsche three years in a row. Given how much Porsche’s identity is tied to Le Mans—and their incredible history there—it feels wild that Ferrari could come back after such a long break and immediately dominate. Even Ford has managed to beat Ferrari at Le Mans!
As a long-time customer and fan, I find it pretty disappointing. I’m also hearing rumours that Porsche may not even have a car entered this year to challenge Ferrari, which makes it even more frustrating.
Putting this in the broader context of Porsche shifting closer to Ferrari in terms of options, pricing, and ADM—what do you think their future looks like if the motorsport side doesn’t perform?
It’s also interesting to me that I can go out and buy the Ferrari 296 - with essentially the same race-derived engine as their Le Mans winning car for relatively reasonable money. Compare that to Porsche, where the closest equivalent is the 918, which trades for multiples of the 296’s price. When you look at it through that lens, Ferrari suddenly starts to feel like a more compelling choice.
Thanks again for the great content.
Brian
Brian… This is one of the smartest emails we’ve ever received.
And yes — we’re absolutely going to cover this in an upcoming episode. But I couldn’t wait, because this topic matters.
Let’s break it down.
Porsche’s Beachhead Has Always Been Racing (Especially Le Mans)
Porsche did not build its reputation on leather-wrapped vents and “Paint To Sample” pricing games.
Porsche built its reputation on:
engineering obsession
endurance racing dominance
proving performance where it matters
Le Mans wasn’t just a race Porsche entered.
Le Mans was Porsche’s beachhead.
The proof. The legitimacy. The reason the street cars felt like they mattered.
So when Ferrari returns to top-tier endurance racing and beats Porsche three years in a row… that isn’t just “a rough stretch.”
That’s symbolic.
It tells the enthusiast market something Porsche never wants the world to believe:
“Maybe Porsche isn’t the standard anymore.”
And if Porsche isn’t the standard anymore… then Porsche becomes something else entirely.
Something very expensive, something else.
Porsche Is Quietly Becoming the Brand It Used to Make Fun Of
Brian nailed this framing:
“Porsche shifting closer to Ferrari in terms of options, pricing, and ADM…”
That right there is the story.
Porsche is moving toward Ferrari-like:
pricing
exclusivity theater
dealer gatekeeping
and increasingly absurd option structures
But Porsche doesn’t get Ferrari’s built-in advantages:
rarity
mystique
bespoke client relationships
and (at the moment) motorsport dominance
Porsche is basically trying to sell Ferrari money for Porsche volume, and calling it “brand strength.”
That’s not strength.
That’s drift.
The Tip of the Spear Products Are About to Get Stupid
Porsche’s tip-of-the-spear products — GT cars, Turbo halo variants, whatever trophy model drops next — are headed toward a new reality.
Not MSRP reality.
Real-world reality.
Once the market gets done “discovering the truth,” we’re talking:
$500k+ transactions
six-figure ADMs
and customers being told they should feel lucky just to participate
And sure, someone will pay it.
Someone always pays it.
But the difference is: Porsche used to dominate a category where there were very few true alternatives.
Now there are many.
Porsche Is Pricing Itself Out of the Market (And Acting Like It’s a Flex)
At that pricing level — especially once ADMs get involved — Porsche isn’t just selling a sports car anymore. They’re asking buyers to make an emotional decision that has to beat logic.
And that’s the problem: today there are simply too many world-class alternatives, including barely-used exotics, that make Porsche’s pricing feel less like confidence… and more like arrogance.
Porsche is betting that the buyer will say:
“Yes, I know it’s irrational… but it’s a Porsche.”
That worked when Porsche’s motorsport dominance backed it up.
Which brings us back to Brian’s point.
If Porsche Isn’t Winning in Motorsport… What Exactly Are We Paying For?
That’s the heart of the issue.
Porsche has always charged a premium, but it was a premium justified by:
motorsport credibility
engineering leadership
driving purity
and the feeling that “this wasn’t made by a marketing department”
If that motorsport legitimacy fades, the premium becomes harder to defend.
It becomes luxury-brand pricing.
And luxury brands are fragile. They live and die on perception.
Ferrari Is Quietly Becoming the “Smarter” Choice (Let That Sink In)
Brian wrote:
“I can go out and buy the Ferrari 296 … for relatively reasonable money.”
That is such a brutal line, because it shouldn’t be true.
Ferrari… reasonable?
Yet here we are.
The Ferrari 296 GTB and GTS are astonishing bargains.
Not because they’re cheap — they aren’t.
But because when you compare them to where Porsche is headed, suddenly Ferrari starts to look like:
the more special product
the better story
the greater sense of occasion
and (increasingly) the more rational purchase
That’s Porsche’s problem.
Ferrari doesn’t need to beat Porsche in every category.
Ferrari just needs Porsche to keep making mistakes.
Porsche Doesn’t Become Ferrari… Porsche Becomes “Old Porsche”
If Porsche continues to:
retreat from racing (or underperform)
chase Ferrari pricing
encourage spec culture over driving culture
…then Porsche doesn’t become Ferrari.
They become:
“The brand that used to be Porsche.”
And that’s how icons die:
Not instantly.
Not dramatically.
Not with one bad model year.
But slowly.
One overpriced option list at a time.
Brian — Thank You (And Yes, We’re Covering This)
Brian, thank you again for the email and for sharing the show with your friends. These are exactly the conversations we want to have on Full Throttle Talk — the ones real enthusiasts are having when the cameras are off and the salesman isn’t listening.
We’ll cover Porsche vs Ferrari at Le Mans in an upcoming episode… and more importantly we’ll answer the big question:
Is Porsche still building cars for enthusiasts — or are they just building flex products for collectors?
— Tim Harris
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