'98 986 vs 2011 987

[pothole]

Originally Posted by coreseller

IMO you can't beat a sorted 986, especially an S, bang for the buck. My partner has an S2000, bought it new, you have to rev the poor thing mercilessly to get it to do anything, not to mention it's tiny inside. JMHO.......besides, the 986's curves look much better than the 987's

I don't have any problem with revving an engine out in a sports car - that's the whole point, surely.

I also don't want a big cabin in a sports car. I want something that feels tight and snug.

Despite that, the Boxster is a lot more attractive as a driver's car than an S2000. And I agree the 986 is much better looking than the 987.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by pothole

I don't have any problem with revving an engine out in a sports car - that's the whole point, surely.

I also don't want a big cabin in a sports car. I want something that feels tight and snug.

Despite that, the Boxster is a lot more attractive as a driver's car than an S2000. And I agree the 986 is much better looking than the 987.

That's because they still know what a sports car is in England. In the US, anything smaller than a Chevy Tahoe is too small, if it doesn't have the torque of a 6 liter v8 it's too slow and if it doesn't have cup holders, it can't be driven (exaggerating, but not much). The bigger is better attitude has ruined the market segment and killed off most of the best driver's cars.

[pothole]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

That's because they still know what a sports car is in England. In the US, anything smaller than a Chevy Tahoe is too small, if it doesn't have the torque of a 6 liter v8 it's too slow and if it doesn't have cup holders, it can't be driven (exaggerating, but not much). The bigger is better attitude has ruined the market segment and killed off most of the best driver's cars.

I read ya.

Sadly, however, true sports cars are dying over here, too. Even most car enthusiasts are happy with flappy paddle robot gearboxes and horrid turbo charged engines. Proper naturally aspirated driver's cars with good manual gearboxes are almost extinct if we're talking new cars for sale. BMW, for instance, has now pretty much given up on naturally aspirated engines. Once again, the new M5 in not available as a manual in the UK - and it's turbo.

Ironically, the US market is getting a manual M5, which is kind of the opposite of what you expect. I think there's still a niche of hard core customers in the US - and because the US is so huge, it's big enough to be worth selling into.