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Originally Posted by Dr. Kill
CFRA,
Welcome to the forum.
I am sure others will chime in very soon to help you as well. Have you spent much time driving the Boxster yet? It would be great if you could post some details about your experiences across the Pantera, the NSX and the Box – would like to read about them.
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My Pantera experience is limited. In the early 80s I owned and restored a 1968 Shelby GT500 but after a year of driving the car I just didn’t like the way it handled with that big 428 lump up front. I sold it for around $12,000. If I had it now I could trade it for a Ford GT! I don’t regret selling the car because I never liked driving it but I wish I could sell it once more…
The Pantera replaced the Shelby. I loved the feel of a mid-engine car. It was like nothing else that I had ever driven. It also had a very powerful motor that had no problems walking away from a Ferrari 328. If you didn’t like the stock HP, you could add as much as you wanted. It wasn’t a sin to modify a Pantera unlike other exotics. I paid around $25,000 for the Pantera. I drove the car less than a year before blowing the motor. I then decided that I needed to do a ground up rebuild on the car and put in better than new condition. That was a 10 year journey that didn’t end before my marriage did. She got the car (not running yet but with a $10,000 paint job). She sold it last year after holding onto it for another 10 years.
I bought the NSX 8 years ago to replace the Pantera. My friend was racing his Pantera at Sears Point and a guy with an NSX had pitted next to him. We got to talking and he let me take his NSX on a 20 minute drive in the area. I fell in love. It didn’t have the torque of the Pantera but it did everything else better! I had to have one! I bought a 1991 for $27,000 which was low book value back then. They still cost about $27,000 with around 60K miles.
I loved the car. It was exotic. It never broke down (OK, In the last 90K miles I’ve replaced the clutch, all hoses, the starter and a CV). Please note those are the replacements from miles 60K to 150K! It’s a Honda and very reliable. You also didn’t pass yourself on the street every month. I don’t like to see others driving my car. I guess I feel the same way a girl does when she shows up to a party with the same dress as another guest. I give extra points for limited production and with less than 10,000 units in the US, it’s one of the most limited production cars.
Let me say that I’ve driven almost all mid-enjoin cars:
Carrera GT – Wonderful but the clutch sucks when leaving from a standing start.
Lamborghini Mircalogo (sp) - The first Lamborghini that I’ve driven that didn’t have a kit car feel. You feel like a rock star on the street
Lamborghini Diablo Spyder - Beautiful car, heavy clutch, needs some refinement.
Ferrari 430 Challenge – The best breaks that I’ve ever used! I drove this car around Buttonwillow raceway and I’ve never experienced brakes like that before. The owner stated that each break job was $20,000.
Ferrari 360 – Very nice car. I drove it at Laguna Seca. It had paddle shifts set to sport mode and shifted fast and hard. Too hard for the street. However, I never got to try the street setting. The Ferrari sound can only be beaten by the Carrera GT. This is my favorite car for under $125K.
Ferrari 355 - I drove 3 cars back to back at Thunderhill Raceway. A Porsche 911 Turbo S., a Viper GTS and the 355. The 355 was the sexiest but not as well made as the other 2. The 911 did everything right. It was a very fast daily driver. The GTS felt a lot smaller once on the track. The 355 had that crappy gated shifter that Ferrari owners think is so great. You’ll know if something is great when Japan copies it. The throttle cable also seemed to hang somewhat through its travel. In short, it was the least impressive of the 3 but the one I would pick first for a weekend drive….
I also drive a paddle shift 355 on the street. It seemed to work fine. In street mode it shifted a little hard but It’s a cool car but I would probably take the 2008 Viper GTS if I was spending around $90K on a car. The 355 is starting to get dated for that kind of money and the repair costs are off the scale.
Let me first apologize for what I’m about to say. It’s just a personal opinion and means nothing. I’ve never liked 911s and still don’t. The motors in the wrong place and they look like modified Volkswagen bugs. I’ve driven them on both the street and track and never wanted to own one. They do nothing for me on an emotional level. I will say that many of the best driver’s I’ve met drive 911s.
I’ve always liked the looks of the Boxster. I’ve only had a few laps around Laguna Seca in one of the cars but it felt really nice. It would be perfect if Porsche would allow it to have the 911 motor. I have been concerned about their reliability. I’m very involved in racing and the two least reliable cars that I’ve ever seen are Corvettes and Boxsters. We have two Corvettes that I race with. The first one (1998 Corvette) lost two motors, both replaced under warranty. It lost a 3rd motor last year and he’s decided to sell. Too old to try and get warranty coverage. Our 2002 Z06 lost his first motor after 3 years of racing. They would not warranty the failure. We have another Z06 that just started racing this season. He has yet to lose a motor after 4 years of track duty. We had a guy working for his license in a Cayman. He sold it and bought an Exige. Someone said his car was starting to smoke. This is 2nd hand info so please take it with a grain of salt. I’ve yet to speak with him personally on the subject.
We have two Boxsters that race with us (1998 and 2001 S). The 1998 lost two motors under warranty as well. The 2001 only lost one. They are still racing on their replacement motors. They have told me it’s a Porsche build problem and had nothing to do with their track activities.
I love the NSX. It’s my favorite street car for any amount of money that I can afford. It’ good looks (eye of the beholder), exclusivity, reliability and is arguably the best handling mid-engine car for the money or any money. However, it’s not a great track car. The breaks are weak and it’s almost impossible to put in roll protection and use the car on the street. It’s because I want a dual purpose car that I’m leaving the NSXs behind.
That’s why I’m considering the Boxster. A beautiful well balanced car that can be a blast to drive on the track. Please note that I say this with a $40K limit on my purchase. If I was willing to go to $50K, I would probably by a 1997 Viper GTS and a Miata. Save the Viper for the track and weekends and drive the Miata to work. The Viper isn’t a good daily driver but its cool factor is off the scale and would easily handle any Boxster on the track. If I was willing to spend $60K, I would get a 2006 Corvette Z06. It can be used as a daily driver and fears noting on the track. Not the cool factor of the Viper but respected by those into performance.
People chose cars for their own personal reasons. My reasons probably don’t align with anyone else. We see lots of cars at the track and everyone wants something different. There are no best cars only best cars for an individual. What I’ve written is just opinion and others experiences may be different but are just as valid (or worthless) as mine.
As a side note: Our 1998 Boxster driver is winning his class for the 2nd year. He is killing the competition. Our 01 S driver is in 2nd place to a 911. Classes are based on power to weight and tire selection.