Anti-Boxster Snobbery in Porsche Community

[Laflamme02]

So I've been test driving cars for a couple months now and was sold on a new Ford Mustang because of price and performance...that is until I test drove a 2001 Boxster S on a whim. As soon as I engaged the clutch on that thing I knew I would be getting a Boxster S instead. Out of the 14 or so cars I drove this was by far the best driving experience. I was amazed at how much I preferred the 2001 Porsche to a 2014 Mustang GT. In the late winter I'm hoping for a 2003 but might have to go 2002 because of the price difference.

Anyway, when I informed my friend that I'd decided on the Boxster S he did everything he could in his power to discredit the Boxster as not being a "real Porsche" and even went so far as to say that "it's not very good"! He is part owner of a 1984 911 (with his father) and seems really biased for someone that has never driven a Boxster

My question is, why does the Porsche community look down its (collective) nose at Boxster owners. From my in-depth research the Boxster is a fantastic car and superior to the 911 in handling, though not in power. Where does this snobbery come from? Any thoughts on it?

[RandallNeighbour]

The older air cooled Porsche guys are snobs and look down at any Porsche that isn't water cooled. The doctors and lawyers driving Turbos can be snobby, but that's not a Porsche thing, it's a "I want to look rich" thing.

Your friend is an air cooled guy. God bless them. Just let them live in their old school, narrow minded little club. If he's never driven a boxster at speed through a corner, he has no idea how much BETTER it behaves than his 84 911 with all that VW weight hanging out the back. He really needs to keep his opinions to himself if he's never driven a boxster.

I've been a member of the PCA for many years and attended their social events and gone to the track for high speed driver's education courses and none of the 911 drivers, including GT2 owners have been snobs. They're some of the nicest, most giving people I've come across.

Now those BMW owners are total pricks! (Drove one for 5 years as my DD so I can say that if I want in jest of course!)

[Taipanic]

While not as powerful or quite as good handling as a properly set up 911, the Boxster S is a true sports car that is great handling, fairly quick, and always fun to drive. Almost everyone who talks down about the Boxster has never driven one. The 986 can still outhandle most everything on the road and still looks great well into her teenage years - I get stopped 2-3 times a week with compliments on my 2002 S. There is always a smile on my face when I'm driving it, and that is all that really matters in my little world...

[BIGJake111]

In general porsche owners (especially ones that have driven boxsters) have zero snobbery, most would take two if they could, also remember that the boxster S is faster than 90% of air cooled porsches, a large number of them it is way faster. Now I think they are all great and there is no reason for boxster elitism ether. With the merit to a panamera and the SUVs they even deserve respect, including the ones that don't take traditional gas. The thing about porsche is, it may not be better than a 911 but whatever car they make, it is damn good at doing what it was made to do. This applies to the hybrids and the SUVs and 4 doors, awds, roadsters and everything inbetween.

[Giller]

Maybe because they spent way more money and ended up with a car way less fun to drive?

[Fintro11]

There are rotten apples in every group. There are people who buy Porsches for class and then there are Porsche enthusiasts.

In your case I think your friend is Jealous. You are getting a newer vehicle and the Porsche will be yours not your dad's.

I started out with a 1988 944 with a blown timing belt fixed it up and got involved with the local pca. As some one in their 20's I figured the worst when I at tented my first pca event. But as you will find a true enthusiast will get just as excited as you are about your new car no matter what model it is. Not to say there will be some light hearted joking around.

Just last year I upgraded to a 2003 Boxster S and I have not heard one joke about owning a boxster ....

[Timco]

PCA events celebrate Porsche.

944, 914, 917, all of them. People love the Boxster.

[seningen]

I enjoy harassing 911's on track.

I usually get comments about -- "Wow that thing flys around the track".

They can often out drag me down the straights -- but within a few corners,
I'm all over them. Just have to man up and keep the momentum and let
the Boxster do its thing.

Mike

Originally Posted by Fintro11

There are rotten apples in every group. There are people who buy Porsches for class and then there are Porsche enthusiasts.

In your case I think your friend is Jealous. You are getting a newer vehicle and the Porsche will be yours not your dad's.

I started out with a 1988 944 with a blown timing belt fixed it up and got involved with the local pca. As some one in their 20's I figured the worst when I at tented my first pca event. But as you will find a true enthusiast will get just as excited as you are about your new car no matter what model it is. Not to say there will be some light hearted joking around.

Just last year I upgraded to a 2003 Boxster S and I have not heard one joke about owning a boxster ....

[jmatta]

I've been a 911 guy all my life. As a driving instructor, I drove Boxsters and knew I needed to buy an S. After numerous modifications, the car was still best, almost compared to my '73 911 with a full track suspension. In fact, I like to take students on familiarization laps in the Box and they are amazed at the performance a street car can offer.

Many 911 owners in our PCA region have realized just how good a Boxster can be.

[Joe B]

I think your question has been well answered, but just to summarize, some people are the snob types, some are the jealous types and some people are just plain ignorant. Just ignore the ones who you feel fall into these 3 categories !

P.S. Hold out for a 2003 S. I bought one 2 years ago and couldn't be happier!

[Blackcloud]

I know a gentleman who has a beautiful collection of cars, including a Mclaren Hunt F-1 car from the 1970's and a Porsche 917K. He bought a Boxster S this year as his daily driver. What does that tell you?

[Bigsmoothlee]

The way I see it?

Who gives a flying F*ck what he thinks!

I don't buy cars to please anyone beside myself. I build them, mod them the way I want, and don't lose an ounce of sleep over their opinions. Be true to yourself. If you like it, and enjoy driving it... just buy it!!

I don't see cars as a sign of wealth, I'm sorry. I see them as signs of debt. Most snobby people are 1 or 2 missed payments away from the bank taking away their GT2 or Turbo... so why is it that they strut around with their puffed chests telling people the boxster isn't a real Porsche? Tell him that his face is bad for his sex life.

You know whats a sign of wealth? A huge bank account, being free Tuesdays at 2pm, and a big house with a security guard... but I definitely wont be impressed by a car that costs merely 10-15k over mine.

[Porsche9]

Buy what you like. I love the 911 and have had two but I like my Boxster just as much just in different ways. BTW the Boxster runs circles around the two 911's I had in terms of handling and the S is pretty much as fast if not faster then any air cooled car expect the 993 and some of the Turbos.

[fusionist]

You should race him!

[Gelbster]

I used to work for a Porsche competitor. We used to sneer at the 911 with it's Tatra layout.We dismissed it as an attempted triumph of development over design. We couldn't understand why they hung on to the engine dangling beyond the rear axle. They certainly understood and had proved that the mid engine layout was superior in development cars.Their development was awesome but so misdirected- we thought.
Much later we realized they were in even worse shape financially than even we were and had even more ossified senior management. Then the bean counters took over and they penny pinched what could have been the perfect solution. In the end it cost them way more in reputation and lost customers/sales .
At last they are now closer to getting the DFI cars right - which is great if you have a new one but if you own an older Boxster like me.....
I know some OEM vendors to Porsche and they tell me the Porsche philosophy toward owners of older models is very different to what I was accustomed to with my employer.
Porsche seemed to just turn their back on owners of the models beyond warranty. Ironically this neglectful attitude created an opportunity for the aftermarket to fix Porsche's problems. An opportunity Porsche could have profited from easily because they doubtless had all the engineering resources to correct the issues with upgrades/changes.Instead, Raby is doing it. Just my experience.

[Porsche man]

I have owned many Porsches over he last forty years and I must confess that I did regard the Boxster as being a "hairdressers car" After driving one I have changed my opinion,they are a great car in all respects except for for perhaps having to replace the IMS bearing,once this is done I just love my Boxster. As time goes by more people are now accepting that the mid engined concept is the way to go.

[Cornstar]

I must confess, I am an air-cooled guy. I've been a 993 owner for the past ten years. I believe snobbery directed to the boxster can be attributed to a few different reasons. My snobbery at the boxster was multilevel in nature. I first test drove a boxster when I was about 19 or 20. At this time, I was driving an E36 M3, never been to the track, and honestly was a marginal driver at best, but like any hot headed young male, I thought I was a great driver.
During the test drive, I did notice that the boxster handled well, but promptly dismissed it due to the lack of power. At my age and car experience (inexperience), all I could appreciate was the most basic of car specs; horsepower. My taste were not discerning enough to appreciate a car like the boxster. For the next 13 years, I looked down at the boxster. I picked up a 993 a few years later, slowly learning to drive such a rear biased car but again never having taken it to the track. Many years later, I've come to realize that my driving skills have a long way to go and that power really isn't everything. In fact, far from it. However, it wasn't until 21 days ago that I finally realized how true that really is.
Sept 1, 2014, I take my 993 to the track (laguna seca) for the first time, after 10 years of ownership and 80K+ miles. I am instantly humbled. Everything that I thought I knew about cars, what makes a great sports car, what makes a great sports car manufacturer, is finally put to practical use and as a result, is redefined. I suddenly have so much more respect for the capabilities of my now 18 year old car. I am in complete awe of its stellar, completely problem free track day performance. Most importantly, for the first time in my life, I realize that I am not even close to utilizing the full 285HP my car has. A HP figure that is just moderate by today's standards.
On my way home from the track, I decide that the 993 is too much car for me at my skill level, and with appreciating values, is something too valuable for me to learn and make mistakes on at the track. I need something more forgiving, something that will help me better understand car dynamics and control. Something even my ham-fisted-ness can become a better driver in.
Literally a week later, I find myself test driving a 97 2.5 boxster. I then find myself driving the boxster to the bank to pay for it in cash.
I can't wait to get this thing on the track. What a great little car. The "pretty good" handling i remember from 13 years ago is still there, but has somehow become sublime. The power is just enough to be fun. It's an honest car that makes you work for the smiles, but that makes it all the more satisfying.
Anti-boxster snobbery can hear its ugly head because of lack of experience, lack of sophisticated tastes, obsession with POWWWAHHHH, or most likely the simple fact that the boxster is the most affordable porsche and therefore the least ego-fulfilling. Whatever the case maybe, who cares. Let them thumb their noses at us. Haters gonna hate, after all. That just makes it all the more satisfying to bruise their egos when the opportunity presents itself.

[MitchSF]

Very good.

[gmboxster]

Originally Posted by Giller

Maybe because they spent way more money and ended up with a car way less fun to drive?

LOL, I think you nailed it right there !

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Laflamme02

My question is, why does the Porsche community look down its (collective) nose at Boxster owners. From my in-depth research the Boxster is a fantastic car and superior to the 911 in handling, though not in power. Where does this snobbery come from? Any thoughts on it?

Because Porsche are the masters of two things:

1-Marketing

2-Up selling


You see 99.9% of drivers out there don't know that the Boxster and 911 Cabriolet are different cars. Those who do know the difference mainly fall into the camp of not knowing much about Porsche's history, have never driven ANY Porsche and will most likely repeat something that someone they know said about A or B Porsche (whom also never drove any Porsche).


Then there is what you ran into, the guy who thinks Porsche didn't exist before 1964. LOL. The guy who has no idea that the very first Porsche 356 (the 911's daddy) that rolled out of assembly was essentially a Boxster by functionality: it had only two seats, it was a convertible and the engine sat in the middle:


BUT.... They really couldn't sell as many 356 with only two seats as they could sell with with room for four so they threw the engineering plans out the window and went with the sales plans instead. A,B,C : Always be closing Heinz! When it came time to try and win some races, the 550 (the Boxster's grand daddy) was the winning choice. The 911? Not even an idea in someone's head yet. And like the 356, the 911 Carrera as far as racing, was not ready for prime time. It would take a LONNNNG time before it was, and by then the mid-engine, two seats and no top Porsche had won all the big races.

Your friend suffers from the affliction brought on by excessive kool-aide drinking courtesy of Porsche's marketing department. It's the same marketing that has convinced so many that the Cayman and Boxster are actually different cars (they are not, Porsche don't even report their numbers separately). That a car with a fixed roof actually handles better than an already stiff purpose built roadster (more ridigity at the cost of higher COG? nope). That the 911 Carrera is not really a plush grand touring car now. And you know something else, from the doors to the front license plate your Boxster is a Carrera. If you consider the engine to be one part, more of your car comes from the shared 911 parts bin than the exclusively Boxster parts bin. Any other brand would have sold the 986 as the 911 Roadster and not bothered with deliberately de-tuning, or scaling down, the same engine in the 996 911 and inventing this name of "Boxster". It seems like it would have been more cost effective to just mass produce on base 911 motor than to go through all the trouble of re-inventing it as a 2.5 motor. And in those days Porsche needed every nickel in cost savings it could muster.

p.s.
I wish the 918 Spyder came with a whole lot less carbon fiber and a conventional, naturally aspirated flat 8 (or choice of flat 6) priced similar to a Carrera S.
But Porsche are afraid of their own potential.