savyboy

Follow-up to the poll I posted last week.

If PSDS offered a two-day Cup driving school/experience, what would you be willing to pay? I think the majority of posters understand the costs involved if PSDS were to offer this program.

Insurance
Cars
Spares
Consumables (tires,brakes)
40 hour sequential tranny rebuilds
World-class instructors

It don't come cheap. With that said...what is the number for you? Two full days. Driving flat-out!

Carrera GT

That price range for two days is a bit rich, mate!

PSDS offers a three-day "race" school. I think three days is a good idea -- it helps to justify the travel time to get to Burmingham and it offsets the "settle in" time required on day one. The normal street car operating costs are probably a minor percentage of the cost of the event. I'm sure the venue fees and salaries are the major components.

I doubt PSDA is a huge money-maker for Porsche (they seem to use it for PR, marketing, brand promotion) so the first concern is not the profitability, it's the on-going demand. Price is the natural regulator and indicator of the balance of supply and demand, so this is not a product which should be price out of the range and then discounted into range because that stifles the initial awareness process (since the initial message that propagates through the market is simple "too expensive, don't need to look at the details now or ever again.")

If the PSDS guys wanted to throw the "early adopter" burley into the water, it should be an incremental increase -- I think the three day was about $5, so I'd say the three day Cup school should be about $7500 plus suit and full face helmet, kool shirt, fireproof underwear, etc. out of pocket if they student doesn't already have this things to bring with them (and be sure all the dates and codes are up to snuff.) So, they fill out a year of non refundable deposits on Cup classes and weave it into their (already very full, as I understand it) school schedule for the given year. I guess they need to buy about 8 Cup cars of various models (some sequential shifts, some old double-H pattern for people who can't handle the linear shifter) and detune the engines and bring down the rev-limiters (for durability and sanity) then choose a durable tire compound (Hoosier A6?) so they don't go through $10K in tires per car in a month ...

So simple. What could go wrong? : )

ps. Having just watched Clarkson do a club race. I think if PSDS put a few fat-bellied middle-aged business types in Cups, the influx of "I'm going facking racing!" decisions would flesh out the grids in club racing across the country. : )

PogueMoHone

The real cost for some will be the need to do the Masters and Masters Plus programs (or their respective country equivalent). They are not about to let anyone step into a Cup Car..even if they claim they can drive.

I would expect that they would want a handle on the "personality" as well as the "ability".

That said I would guess around $10K.

Carrera GT

At $8K, I think you're right -- customers have to look at the 2-day, plus the 3-day, then the 3-day Cup. That's maybe $15K all up for 8 days on the track if the Cup school is around $8K. Of course the "reality" for any GT3 driver at a DE track day is real costs of $2K per day, but most of us simply will not do the math on that cost ...

If the price of the 3-day Cup school approaches the psych of $10K, I think PSDS loses a lot of people who would be interested at $8K. And if they make it a two-day course, it starts to sound a bit Mickey Mouse and even if that brought the price down to say $6K, I think they'd lose me f'rinstance because I don't need the "jollies" of just getting in the car, feeling the air jacks drop and then bashing around a sequential shifter with someone talking in the earphones for a couple of 20 minute sessions then back on a plane. I remember the race school and it was the second half of the second day and the full extent of the third day that took the whole class from a "WTF is going on?!" mental state to a "I'm finally getting this and I know where I need to focus and I know what I'm practicing." And that, honestly, was a bit of "Eureka moment" for me because I went from a track day addict to someone who actually practices specific driving techniques, consciously aware of not only mistakes (we're most of us already there) but focused on the correct technique, not just "lapping" and grooving in the same bad swing, so to speak.

So. Three days. $8K. Piece of cake. Now I just need to get fit to be able to survive three days in a factory race car. : )

mikymu

I only have one pair of original Michael Jordan Nike shoes for sales ...

aussie jimmy

it's $6k in aus for one day.

savyboy

Roughly one to one as of todays conversion rate equals US$12,000 for two-days

malmasri

I can not imagine a better way for Porsche to market the sale of cup cars to their loyal clients who already purchased a 911, 911C2, 911C4, 911C4S, 911 turbo, 911 GT3/RS, Cayenne S/turbo/S, Panamera S/4S/turbo...you get the idea ...what best to make them say wow I need to get one of those non road going cars that are mass produced in all variety of white.

Carrera GT

Except the cars and everything else in Australia costs about double due to import tariffs and GST (government stupidity tax aka "goods and service tax.") A VAT ... yes, the same VAT concept that's been implemented entirely unsuccessfully in several other countries over the last century or so and never once improved the standard of living or the cost of government or any other useful measurement. So if we made that comparison a tiny bit closer to net parity instead of currency parity, I'd guesstimate a real cost of living, average wage adjusted number more like US$3K for a one day ... bingo ... call it $8K for three days. And frankly, if they offered it above $8K, they're just not in the market, so it doesn't matter if some early adopter customers are in the market.

I imagine if the PSDS got some decent business management analysis work done, they could figure out a five year plan and an operating model to leverage their existing capital and equipment, their fixed staff and facilities costs, etc. From the sounds of it, there was someone at that event in LA that's at least tossing around the idea. I hope they put in the homework to figure out how to do it instead of just killing it in the cradle with a sky high price tag.

I'm guessing they could make higher profits just by adding another two-day or three-day "gentleman's driving" class and it would be good on the P&L. But that would be to ignore the core value of the PSDS -- to help Porsche drivers enjoy their cars and buy them again and to encourage new buyers to buy their first Porsche and their second.

If PSDS is attempting to compete as a driving instruction school, PCNA would be shifting its weight from sales to service; and I'm sure they're not pessimistic about the 991. At least, not yet.

mooty

the prob is that there aren't that many cup cars for sale.

TRAKCAR

I'd figure 5K-8K for a weekend best case, 10K a bit rich.
But higher prices are to be assumed with newer cars, more track time, less participants..

The big questions is; What is my deductable? :-)

Snowboarder54

Good question, what is the deductable

Carrera GT

I think if you ask about the "when I crash" details, they kick you out. If you're asking about the "if, in the very unlikely case, I, for the first time ever, happen to incur even the slightest nick or scratch of damage at my fault or the fault of those sharing the track with me" ... then the answer is something like $1K up front premium and $10K deductible. Easily and by far and away the cheapest track insurance on the continent. And Barber will send the driver an invoice to fix every inch of guard rail, every scratch on the tarmac and the gardening fees to sod the lawn if you end up in the scenery. I don't remember the actual number, but the peace of mind is mandatory and I just add it to the top line price as part of the deal -- false economy to skimp on insurance and be on the track with a bunch of unknowns there, by definition, because they can't drive on the track ... : )

TRAKCAR

Will there be scouts? I may get discovered...

996FLT6

I said yes to poll but I'm afraid they'll tell mooty and I to stop divebombing each other : (. Mike