Honda & Porsche reveal new sports cars with support for Apple's CarPlay

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Automakers Honda and Porsche on Tuesday announced two new sports cars with support for Apple's CarPlay technology, namely the 2017 Civic Type R, and the 2018 911 GT3.




The 2017 Civic Type R will be Honda's first version of the car to be sold in the U.S., previous models having long been a staple of Japan and some other world markets. The Type R not only offers better performance than a regular Civic, but other racing-oriented upgrades like bucket seats, special driving modes, and a digital display capable of tracking things like g-forces and lap times.

The car will support both CarPlay and Android Auto through a 7-inch touchscreen interface. The vehicle will also come with a 540-watt sound system, spread over 12 speakers and supposedly so loud that it will be able to overpower engine noise.




The signature feature of Porsche's 2018 911 GT3 is a 500-horsepower engine, based off the 911 GT3 Cup built specifically for racing. Likewise the civilian model still has a racing chassis, with dynamic engine mounts and rear-axle steering.

The car will only support CarPlay, not Android Auto, but also offer LTE and Wi-Fi, plus compatibility with two Porsche iPhone/Apple Watch apps, Car Connect and Track Precision. The former provides some remote control functions such as geo- and speed-fencing, while the latter is explicitly for racing, designed to record and analyze track days.

The new Civic Type R should debut later this spring, costing somewhere in the middle $30,000s before delivery fees. The 2018 GT3 will come to the U.S. this fall, costing upwards of $143,600.

CarPlay is gradually becoming ubiquitous on new car models, though some gaps remain, most notably anything from Toyota. Most implementations are also still wired, with wireless only just beginning to take hold.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    I don't really mind the 'wired' thing. I'd plug the phone in anyway just to charge it. 
  • Reply 2 of 19
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    CarPlay has been available in "normal" Civics for a while now. Works great in my daughter's 2017 Civic EX.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 19
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Every car manufacturers should adopt Carplay in their large customer base mid-tier consumer cars, Honda Civic, Accord and CRV are good examples. Wish few left behind large auto manufacturers like Toyota get to their senses sooner to adopt Carplay into their Corolla,Camry and RAV4. The day when everyone adopts wireless carplay, I will be dancing. Call Nirvana of modern technology adoption into slow pace auto industry. Sometime you wonder why GM and Volkswagen able to support carplay in so many of their models while rest of car manufacturers again like Toyota is sucking their thumb. Only customers can make difference by not buying vehicles if don't come equip with carplay.
    edited March 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 19
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    It just pisses me off that the car companies are "premiumizing" this feature. Rolling it out in their most exotic (and expensive) models first. Do they really think that will drive sales for those models? Meanwhile, some like me keep our wallets in our pockets until the model we want includes it. 
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 5 of 19
    slprescottslprescott Posts: 765member
    What do car manufacturers charge for CarPlay as a new car option?

    How does that cost compare with related traditional options?  (e.g., GPS Navigation)
  • Reply 6 of 19
    doggonedoggone Posts: 377member
    It just pisses me off that the car companies are "premiumizing" this feature. Rolling it out in their most exotic (and expensive) models first. Do they really think that will drive sales for those models? Meanwhile, some like me keep our wallets in our pockets until the model we want includes it. 
    That's the car industry all over.  In the end it's all about selling the cars on the lots.
    When I started looking for my new car last year I was very frustrated at the lack of support from the sales staff.  They were not interested in getting me the car I wanted but rather whatever they had available.  The model descriptions on the showroom differ from what is on the website to create confusion on what features are available.  Very disappointing.
    I do like Toyota cars, but their refusal to do carplay is annoying.  In the end you get a bunch of apps that are pretty useless.  The level of detail in their mapping program is very poor and the settings keep resetting themselves everytime it does an update.  Toyota should work with Apple to get the best experience rather than think they can do it alone.
    watto_cobrarobin huber
  • Reply 7 of 19
    ktappektappe Posts: 823member
    Meanwhile, my 2014 Accord always starts playing the first song alphabetically on my iPhone whenever I plug it into the car's USB connector. It's infuriating. I'm ready to create a silent 60-minute "song" on my iPhone titled "AAAAAA" so at least I won't keep hearing "Abracadabra" every single time I start driving.
    randominternetpersondoozydozenrussw
  • Reply 8 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    sog35 said:
    wireless?

    I do like my wired carplay to recharge my phone while I drive, but sometimes its a pain
    Yes, its soooo hard to plug in a simple lighting cable. Were literally talking milliseconds to do. /s
    tommikele
  • Reply 9 of 19
    macxpress said:
    sog35 said:
    wireless?

    I do like my wired carplay to recharge my phone while I drive, but sometimes its a pain
    Yes, its soooo hard to plug in a simple lighting cable. Were literally talking milliseconds to do. /s

    With wireless you can keep the phone in your pocket, and therefore you're less likely to leave it in the car.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 19

    "The Type R not only offers better performance than a regular Civic, but other racing-oriented upgrades like bucket seats, special driving modes, and a digital display capable of tracking things like g-forces and lap times."

    Yeah, the bench seats in the standard Civic are so uncomfortable. /s

  • Reply 11 of 19
    MikeymikeMikeymike Posts: 102member
    sog35 said:
    wireless?

    I do like my wired carplay to recharge my phone while I drive, but sometimes its a pain
    It's not like;  "Hey, there's a power cord, I guess I might as well charge up for the heck of it".
    It's rather; Massive - Massive power drain  and reduced data throughput using Carplay wireless.
    doozydozen
  • Reply 12 of 19
    doggonedoggone Posts: 377member
    ktappe said:
    Meanwhile, my 2014 Accord always starts playing the first song alphabetically on my iPhone whenever I plug it into the car's USB connector. It's infuriating. I'm ready to create a silent 60-minute "song" on my iPhone titled "AAAAAA" so at least I won't keep hearing "Abracadabra" every single time I start driving.
    My new Prius bluetooth would keep skipping the sound after starting the car.  In the end I had to do a clean install on my iPhone.  Took a while to do but sorted out the bluetooth issue.
  • Reply 13 of 19
    ktappektappe Posts: 823member

    "The Type R not only offers better performance than a regular Civic, but other racing-oriented upgrades like bucket seats, special driving modes, and a digital display capable of tracking things like g-forces and lap times."

    Yeah, the bench seats in the standard Civic are so uncomfortable. /s


    They very likely meant Recaro seats. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 19
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    ktappe said:

    "The Type R not only offers better performance than a regular Civic, but other racing-oriented upgrades like bucket seats, special driving modes, and a digital display capable of tracking things like g-forces and lap times."

    Yeah, the bench seats in the standard Civic are so uncomfortable. /s


    They very likely meant Recaro seats. 
    I love the Recaro seats in my Focus RS. I don't think the Honda has Recaro, but they are similar style seats. 
    doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 19
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    I recently purchased a 2017 BMW M3 with wireless CarPlay and while I would never buy a new car without CarPlay, I can tell you the integration of it into the system is poor. It is clumsy to use and difficult to change systems on the fly. In a car like mine, control of the various technologies that are integral to the car's high performance make it hard to use CarPlay as often as you might like to. Therefore the ability to seamlessly switch back and forth is key. I am told responsibility for this kind of issue is equally shared between Apple and BMW. I want to use it, but their pissing match over the screen makes it annoying so you are tempted to give up.
    doozydozen
  • Reply 16 of 19
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    What do car manufacturers charge for CarPlay as a new car option?

    How does that cost compare with related traditional options?  (e.g., GPS Navigation)
    BMW charges $300
    doozydozen
  • Reply 17 of 19
    kamiltonkamilton Posts: 282member
    It just pisses me off that the car companies are "premiumizing" this feature. Rolling it out in their most exotic (and expensive) models first. Do they really think that will drive sales for those models? Meanwhile, some like me keep our wallets in our pockets until the model we want includes it. 
    As a consumer, it's a bummer that the role outs have been premium first.  As a stockholder, I love that the Apple brand is the premium option.
  • Reply 18 of 19
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member

    "The Type R not only offers better performance than a regular Civic, but other racing-oriented upgrades like bucket seats, special driving modes, and a digital display capable of tracking things like g-forces and lap times."

    Yeah, the bench seats in the standard Civic are so uncomfortable. /s

    You should know that any car with over 300hp should be equipped with sport seats. This damn Civic Type R will have 306hp, and AppleInsider left that important key feature out...bad research by AI!
    edited March 2017
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