Interesting Price Comparison
 

Went to the local new car auto show last night. The Porsche display was much larger than in past years, with two Cayennes, four 911s and two Boxes on the floor.
One of the Boxsters was an S, pretty well tricked out and priced at $71,000 and change. One of the 911s was a bone-standard coupe. The price? $77,000.
Faced with that decision (not likely), I'm not sure what I would do.

I have contemplated the same scenario, but like you I doubt I will ever be in that position.

an easy decision for me.

if you want a Porsche you have to decide if you want:

1- a roadster


or

2- a coupe.


I don't know where its written that a car with a softop and smaller engine has to be necessarily cheaper than a car with hartop and a bigger engine. How do we know that Manufacturing a Boxer engine with a completely differen chasis is necessarly cheaper than 911?
The Boxster may in fact be the more advanced engieering design. Both in layout and Engine design. When the Boxster was first devised the designers were told that it could not be made for less than $80,000! (which is a big part of why many are not assembled in Germany). With some Japanese assembly line experts they were able to knock $20,000 off the cost. But still when you think back to the $80,000 its Allot less than the cost of producing the ages old 911. Ever wonder why a laptop computer is more expensive than a faster desktop? Just one way of looking at it...

The Boxster in my opinion is the only convertible Porsche for a purist.
The 911 Cab is a car for an old guy who never drives the car above 50 or Britney Spears. The 996 Targa is a completely new design and not really a convertible. But sort of an alternative to the Boxster

The 911 is a world class Coupe, albeit rear engine. A great option for a driving enthusiast who isn't into roadsters.


Its kind of like saying should I buy a BMW Z4 or and X5

At the NYC auto show in the Porsche area I heard an attractive woman say "I love the Boxster" and the guy she was with said "no way, its no 911"
I thought she might as well have said "I love Pizza" and he said "no way! hamburgers!!"

by the way at $77K for the bone stock 911 you have way better options in terms of performance per dollar. You are paying a big markup for image with that standard 911 which to a peformance driving enthusiast is sort of weird.
I'd sooner drop $40K on a used Lotus Elise with a set of Toyot Proxes RA-1's :D
Take a spin on the track in both and tell me which makes you smile bigger.
not to mention which car will get you more looks.

very well said, a great rebutal to all the 911 purists who think the boxster is a non porsche, girly man car....but the boxster is a better, more modern design than the old rear engine , 40 year old 911...i have owned 911 in the past and i loved the993 version, wasnt crazy about about the 996 and i love 997, esp the s version....but i agree with you,it was meant to be a coupe...it doesnt look as good as a conv. and has excessive body flex....btw, 71k list price for the new boxster is way over the top...the one i just got has a list of 57500 and its very well equiped...

"The 911 Cab is a car for an old guy who never drives the car above 50 or Britney Spears"

I have two of these right now and I will respectfully disagree with you on this characterization.

i LOVE my box, dont get me wrong -- but i, like most porsche lovers, fell in love with the carrera. given that choice, i would most likely choose the carrera. no reason other than i love them. however, honestly, i am not in love with the new carrera and i find the 987 as sexy as hell -- so that choice has become harder than ever. but given that much money, there would be no doubt i would be after a super clean 993 twin turbo. to me, there has never been a better porsche.

sorry, I'm sure you as an enthusiast have pushed the throttle a bit over the 50 mph mark. Just commenting on my experiences hanging out with the local wine and cheese crowd (PCA) here in NY/NJ. You'll never see 911 Cab owner at a driving event, more likely a Councours or rally to the local historic sites(yawwn).
Now ask me about some of the older guys who drive 914's and BMW 2002's and I'll show you some old guys that can drive circles around us younger guys. Paul Newman would be proud.

I have to agree with the fact that the 997 in question is still a tin top and the boxster is a ragtop. How much is a base 997 cabbie...like 85k right? Considering the extra weight and poor weight distribution a 997 cabbie carries over a 987 S, it would be marginally faster at the dragstrip and considerably slower in any event involving turns. The decision is still easy for me. If the ultimate goal is to impress your golfing buddies at the country club though, the 997 would be the better choice.