Reverse order: I thought it was the Porsche Boxter that had the insane maintenance cost due to having to drop the engine to get to the spark plugs and oil filter. It's a mid-engine layout vs. their traditional rear-engine, though. That being said, it's just a rumor I heard decades ago and never verified. I have to admit, I have a similar affinity for Porsches as you, mostly from being sucked into hours and hours of watching Sabine Schmitz (RIP) lay waste to the Nordschleife in a GT3 RSR among countless other Nordschleife laps viewed. My anecdotal evidence is that, perhaps more than any other high end sports cars, Porsche owners actually drive their cars in anger. You have to look to a Challenge Stradale or something like an Ariel Atom (yum) or BAC Mono (YUUUUUUUUM) to get closer to a race car with a plate than a GT3 RS or GT2 RS. I love that Porsche seems to cultivate a "drive the piss out of these" culture vs. "collect these" culture of more exotic brands.
Live axles: Curious why better? Doesn't it negatively impact ground clearance, with the differential being the lowest and most exposed point? Tube frame, purpose-built hillclimb machines look to be live axle front and rear, so you must be onto something. On the other hand, trophy trucks are IFS and live axle rear. Have you ever played around on a side-by-side? I used to think they were stupid until a buddy of mine took me out on a drunk, night time blast through his narrow trail system, sideways and drifting 100% of the time and soaking up 3 ft. drops like they're not even there. These things are amazing fun, and I'm no longer surprised that they're selling like the proverbial hot cakes, even at prices that make no sense:
Oh yeah, soccer mom SUVs...
