The Porsche is an experience that you just have to feel to "get". It's a similar aesthetic to Apple computers. A Porsche might not be the fastest, most expensive, or prettiest, but it is the /Porscheist/ :)
Very similar: Lotus. Try an Elise or and Exige some time. I'd love to have one set up for where I can really use it: on the track. IMO, any "street car" that does better than about 6sec 0-60 is wasteful on the street, and sadly most of these 911s are driven by lawyers and housewives of hedge fund managers who will never use them where they really shine.
It's interesting. I can see that the Audi R8 is a technical masterpiece and I find it visually attractive. However, I find it hard to get over the fact that it's an Audi and it shares design elements and some components with cars that I would consider to be quite mundane (e.g. standard A3). Marques like Aston Martin and Porsche seem more special to me because they only make 'special' cars - there are no mundane cars with these components or visual design.
Very similar: Lotus. Try an Elise or and Exige some time. I'd love to have one set up for where I can really use it: on the track. IMO, any "street car" that does better than about 6sec 0-60 is wasteful on the street, and sadly most of these 911s are driven by lawyers and housewives of hedge fund managers who will never use them where they really shine.