PORSCHE 911 SPIRIT 70
A mix of praise and sarcasm
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[1] The Spirit 70 is the third model in the Heritage Collection series, following the Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition, which pays homage to the 1950s, and the 911 Sport Classic, which evokes the 1960s. [2] The emblem also features a design similar to that of the original 911, which was introduced in 1963.
The “Spirit 70” is a nostalgic model that was released as the third “Heritage Design Model” of the Porsche 911. Based on the current Carrera GTS Cabriolet, the interior and exterior are finished in a 1970s style. This time, we will use the test drive report of this model by French journalist Jacques Warnery as a teaching material.
The Spirit 70 has the exact same performance but costs 10 million yen more.
This Porsche 911 has no modifications to its powertrain, suspension, bodywork, or any other hardware related to driving. The price, which is 52,400 euros (approximately 9 million yen) higher than the base model, may seem excessive to many readers, even though it is a limited production run of 1,500 units. Regarding this, Warnery expressed it as follows:
“Porsche’s incredible talent for lightening its customers’ wallets is due to the skill of a perfectly honed marketing department in tapping into the nostalgia chord.”
The slightly sarcastic description of Porsche’s marketing strategy is characteristically French. The first half of the poem, “incredible talent for lightening its customers’ wallets,” literally translates to “incredible talent for lightening customers’ wallets.” While the word “talent” is usually used in a positive sense, here it refers to the “ability to get customers to buy even at high prices,” giving it a critical nuance. On the other hand, it can also be interpreted as a praiseworthy statement, meaning “they have such powerful brand power.”
Marketing that “touches the heartstrings”
The second half of the phrase, “tapping into the nostalgia chord,” means “skillfully tapping into the emotional chord of nostalgia.” The literal translation of “tap into” is “to tap lightly to enter,” but it has come to mean “to awaken and utilize latent emotions.”
Using the word “chord,” saying “strike a chord” is equivalent to the Japanese expression “touching the heartstrings.” It means “to appeal to the emotions” or “to move the heart.” By using “nostalgia chord,” the nuance of “stimulating a longing for the past” is emphasized. In this context, it can be interpreted as “awakening people’s nostalgia and connecting that to purchasing desire.”
A Japanese translation, mixing sarcasm and praise, would be: “Porsche’s incredible talent for lightening the wallets of its fans is the result of the skill of its well-honed marketing department. It’s a clever way of striking a chord with collectors and evoking nostalgia.”
A metaphor for Porsche handling
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[3] This is a Porsche “marketing strategy” model based on the 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet, with interior and exterior modifications. [4] No changes have been made to the hardware that affects driving. The additional cost of approximately 10 million yen just for the interior and exterior modifications is proof of Porsche’s strong confidence in its “brand.”
In the Spirit 70 test drive report, a distinctive metaphor appears when emphasizing cornering performance, and it seems to be an English expression that is repeatedly used when talking about Porsche steering feel.
A sharp surgical scalpel
Warnery writes: “A scalpel capable of plotting millimeter-precise trajectories.” A literal translation would be “a scalpel capable of plotting millimeter-precise trajectories.” A scalpel, a precision cutting tool used in surgery, is used as a symbol of precision and accuracy. Here, by likening the 911’s chassis rigidity and steering responsiveness to a scalpel, the sharpness of the blade and precision of line-taking are intuitively conveyed.
Common expressions used by journalists
What’s noteworthy is that this metaphor has also been used in other articles. In the test drive report of the 911 Carrera T by a German journalist introduced in the second installment of this series ( https://motor-fan.jp/article/145183/ ), the expression “The 993 Turbo responds to steering inputs with ‘scalpel-like sharpness'” also appears. The use of this metaphor by multiple journalists shows that the image of Porsche = handling as precise as a surgical scalpel has become a standard.
In this case, a simple and easy-to-understand Japanese translation would be “a surgical scalpel that can draw a path accurate to the millimeter.”
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[5] The interior features a “Pascha” motif. [6] The exterior of the Spirit 70 is painted in a striking “Signal Orange” color.
Both of the expressions we have looked at here convey the appeal of the Porsche 911 Spirit 70 in a more impressive way than simply describing its performance.
