1997 Porsche 996 Carrera vs. 987 Boxster RS60
 

That was pretty cool. Is Vicki available???

:D

Why can't they pronounce Porsche properly like Tiff does??? :confused:

They finally did a Boxster segment... been kind of waiting for it since 97 when Tiff first reviewed it.

Mmmm....The Boxster has slighty more power, PASM, PCCB, and it's 10 years newer yet it still can't beat an old 996. People always said if Porsche would only give the boxster equal power it would be superior on the track. This kind of contradicts that.

I wonder if the Stig driving would give the same result.

I haven't driven a 987.

I have driven a 996 and I have driven a 986.

I don't care which is faster. I know which one is more FUN. I think the 996 *is* faster, at least in a straight line based on my butt dyno/accelerometer.. :) But around corners, and top down listen to the engine music - I'd rather have the boxster. Any day.

I guess if I wanted to pull up to the valet and try to impress people - you get more attention in a *911* because people just recognize it as _the_ Porsche to have.... but I'm not getting a car to impress strangers or the valet... I want it to plaster a big fat smile all over my face. 986 does it better. At least to me.

Maybe if I drove a 997 I'd like that... the older 996 I drove was nice but was lacking something... maybe it was the convertible top! Drop top fun is hard to beat.

"that three tenths of a second has to make 911 owners happy" LMFAO

Oh, and at 56,000 pounds, it is the same price, in 2008, that the 911 was in 97? And that makes a 997 how much in 2008? Like you could buy an RS60 for yourself and a standard for your wife?
Vicki said the Boxster felt much more nimble and "chuckable" yet her time was slower?
From the attitude toward the Boxster from the two gents, I was turned off long before Vicki took the track.

F*ck Em, I got over the poor man's Porsche when I drove the ridiculously maligned 944 which was actually a fantastic sports car. Then Hyandai had to join in with their "the genesis is faster to sixty than a Porsche Boxster". Gee Mr Announcer, it's a V8 @ 300 HP, even so how does it do from sixty on up to 120 against the Boxster? How it the Genesis in a corner?

It never ends, I've seen Ferrari guys saying the 308 GTS is a pussy underpowered Ferrari...

911? Why that's just a poor man's Carrera GT. And I doubt the spread will be three tenths of a second.

(Saw a yellow Carrera GT at Boardwalk Porsche today. Very very nice)

I bet i can post a lap 3/10ths slower in a CGT vs. a 914. She was not even trying in the RS60. A well driven Boxster S kills base 911's in auto-x.

For a few laps I kept up with a modified GT2 on yoko slicks at buttonwillow. The driver who a national champion for auto-x finally figured out the track after a few laps and I never saw him again. But I could still pass his wife for a while ;-). I think she got better too.

So an N/A 944 is faster than a GT2? Only when the GT2 isn't driven to it's full potential. I have my doubts about 'Vicki's laps.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/...a03f1dbe27.jpg

:D

Nice rack. :D

The 944 is an incredibly well designed and balanced car. The Porsche faithful does have issues with change, no doubt.

Those turbo version 968's can wail the h*** out of the same era 911 and that is likely why there are none being produced today. Gotta protect the VW based car at all costs.


:D

Have you seen this one (two parts)?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVc5sFMh0Cs

Thanks Samson, that's a bookmark! :cool:

I don't think one lap can really prove it either. Get the STIG, do 5 laps each, then see which works out better.

Nice 'T' LB. :cool:

Was she actually driving and talking while she was being timed or was it just made to look that way, because she really didn't look like she was trying that hard to me.

On Fifth Gear, they tend to always give commentary during parts of their "fast lap". It might just be on the easier sections, but then again, when you do something like drive fast for a living, it better not look like you're working hard when driving something as docile as a Boxster.

Another interesting video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsz8ZquK5j4

I just know I've seen The Stig drive a Boxster and he pushed it so hard it was sort of wobbling around. I can't imagine chatting while doing that, but then I don't drive for a living. By the way, how does one get such a cool job?

You want to see how ONE 986 takes on TWO 996 and wins?
Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-R25pGYSoI :cheers:
And I am NOT the stig :D

The way that driver was backing off the accelerator mid turn he's damn lucky he wasn't in the 911....

it's called throttle steering. And yes that's also why I drive a 986, because it makes me feel like a better driver :)
By the way: What's your best lap time at Thunderhill?

Easy guy, I wasn't throwing stones, I've never driven there. My only point was in the earlier 911 you had to commit to the turn, chicken out and back off the throttle in an early one and you are going to be making circles. No dis was intended, I didn't know it was you driving, I thought it was a generic youtube..

Become a good racer, retire, then get lucky. Or, in the case of Top Gear, I'm guessing there were sexual favors involved. ;)

Thanks, agreed that would have been fatal in an early 911.
BTW: I *REALLY* meant it that the 986 makes me feel like a better driver than I really am ;)

Also note the obvious that the RS60 is a convertible. Not bad for an open car with equal power to fall .3 seconds behind a 996 hardtop in a 45 second race. I would like to see the RS60 race a 10-year old 996 convertible. Incredible for a convertible if you ask me.
vincesf

My brother-in-law rode a couple of laps as a passenger in a stock viper with Oliver Beretta (back when he drove for Oreca). He said that he was white knuckled the entire time but Oliver was just kicked back – no seatbelt, steering with one hand for part of the time and just looking very casual.

Skill means a lot, I'm quite sure even an older Mario Andretti could scare the crap outa me in my own ride...

Yes, skill plus experience. I can probably pull some moves on a tricycle that would blow my daughter's mind.

The number one acumen needed for going fast, consistently, is learning to be relaxed. If you are not relaxed, your reaction times increase dramatically, as your muscles are already tensed and not able to respond instantly. I taught at SCCA drivers schools quite a bit and constantly harped on my students to "concentrate on relaxing." The ones who understood it, went fast soon. The ones who just kept looking at me like I was crazy, seldom went fast. The other thing I harped on was consistency(sp?). I didn't want to see fast times at drivers school, I wanted to see lap after lap reeled off within a few tenths of a second from each other. Until you can do that, fast laps will be flukes in between slow laps and you are a danger to yourself and every other driver on the track. Until you can do almost identical times, lap after lap, you will never become consistently fast.

...Just catchin' up on 986forum topics (following a hellacious wind storm Sunday night, our power JUST came back on after 5 days).

Love Bunny, I just gotta say: I'm more and more impressed with you with every post. What's that they say about a picture being worth a thousand words?

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...a03f1dbe27.jpg

Woman, you take my breath away. And, if you can drive ANYTHING like the Stig, I'm pretty sure I'm in love...

My 1998 Boxster has embarrassed most 996s that try to follow me. But they don't know it has a 2002 3.6 996 motor.....

It's totally relaxing... only if you're a professional ex-F1 driver.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIhGJyLR6TI

Yeah, I agree that I'm happy to see more Boxster reviews on shows like 5th Gear & Top Gear, but I'm not convinced. Way back when the 987 was introduced in 2005, EVO Magazine specced up a 280 hp 987 S with PCCB & put it up against a base 997 (325 hp) and raced them at Bedford Autodrome. I don't know the track that 5th Gear uses. They used 2 drivers and ran 2 laps after getting familiar with the cars & both got the Boxster around .2 & .4 seconds quicker. I think Bedford is a much bigger track, so maybe the braking advantage paid off over a longer time.

But that Boxster was 23 hp down on the RS60 & the 997 was waaaaaaaaaaaay better balanced and much more powerful than an early 996. I don't know why there's such a big discrepancy between the mag & the show, but I'm betting the times from the mag are more indicative of the difference between the 2 on the track.

Love any opportunity to see Vicki though... (although I think I like Sabine a lil' more) :)