987 test drive?
 

Anybody drove it yet? my dealer offered me a test drive, but was on a business trip :-(

outstanding !!!!! ABS is less sensitive , the suspensioni s really great . Breakes are just incredible !!!! Engine is looking really promising . JMG

Does anyone know when the 987's will be in US dealerships?

Jan 15th 2005

ooops...sorry I wrongly assumed it was out already in US too....here it came on Nov. 22nd...

Jean-Michel, elle avait le PASM?

I think the new styling is awful. Well just the front. Whenever I hear someone look at it and say "its cute" it really disturbs me.
I sold my "cute" Miata to buy a Boxster not to buy a bigger more expensive "cute" Boxster.

Those round headlights and the parking lights situated directly below is very unimaginative. Such a high performace sports car(nearly 300 hp now) needs a more aggresive look. I would have incorporated the headlights from the 911 turbo with maybe bigger curves in the fenders like the late 90's 911's.
But its good to see 19" wheels on a factory Boxster finally.
Even though for Autocross I would race a 16" lightweight wheel.

I myself like the new look. It draws from its Porsche heritage.

HA!

I think the front is OK and a disaster from the doors back.
Ugly intakes, slashed fender lines to the tail lights, bulgy fender weels.

I'm trying to reserve judgement until I see it in person, but it doesn't look good in photos.

I think that it is a evolutionary design as done with every Porsche produced so far. The rear as well as the front will grow on us as we see it more of it. The bulging fenders are similar like the 78 911 SC with the 76 911S. Although they are drag producers they give the car a more aggressive look.
Quite frankly I think overall it looks cool.

Unless they come out with a 350hp version of the 987, I won't be upgrading. I prefer the lines of the 986 and after a few years I can still sell my S motor and do a 3.6L swap. This will give me more power than the 987 with a better looking car. It's a win/win situation. :p

likin' the 986...
 

haven't seen a 987 in person yet, obviously, so I'll reserve judgement (well, I'll reserve final judgement), but while some would say the 987 is 'evolutionary' I find it less imaginiative and less inspiring looking than the 986. It's a little sharp-edged and 'harsh' looking vs. the very classy and classic lines of the 986. I think Lux has the right angle one this one...a 3.6l (or something with similar punch) in a 986 body is my current 'ideal situation.'

Guys, my question was about how it DRIVES and we are debating if Mademoiselle the Boxster looks best before or after her lifting :-)

We U.S. citizens can not answer that question until 1/15/05 Jeannot. No one here has test driven it yet. I do agree with Sach though, the intakes got a hell of alot bigger....and uglier in the proccess.

Cheers

The intakes look odd, agree, but i very much like the front...I have to go and drive one :-) and share my impressions....

987 a great deal !!
 

Guys ... just try it ... Believe me 80% of the car is new and there is a big difference with the 986 ... I had previously the Boxster aniversary ( 266HP ) and you feel really the 280HP of the 987.
I do have the PASM option and again this is transforming the car as a real kart . But what I really enjoy is the new exhaust pipe ... believe me or not but when you do park your car people around are just looking to see what car is that !!!!
The funny thing is also the chronometer ... not really usefull ... but so cool !!

I'm not too much of a fan of the new styling either, but at least it's not as god aweful as the new mercedes CLKs and SLKs. Considering the overall uglying attitude that newer cars seem to have, I think the new boxster will be allright. Still like the 986 better and i must say like the 996 better than the 997 and even the 993 better than the 996.

Sorry, no driving impressions. But my 986 drives like a CHAMP :dance:

Someone at work bought one of those new SLKs. I think the rear is an improvement over the 320, but the rest of the car is not great. When I saw the 350 in the parking lot I was with a co-worker who owns a SLK32AMG and when he saw the 350 he said "man that thing is ugly . . . I'm glad I bought mine when I did!"

I got a DVD in the mail from MB a while back about the SLK350/55. It has some cool stuff like the "air scarf" which is an extra heating/AC vent in the head rest. The idea being you can turn the heater on to warm your neck with the top down. That was about the only thing that I thought was really cool about the car.

Have any of the DC area folks been to the car show this week? Is there a 987? Or is the new Boxster not making the U.S. car show rounds yet? I'm in the town visiting my parents for the holiday and was thinking about going since I have nothing better to do.

One thing is for sure, the 997/987's interior is definately a step up from ours, but that's ok.

Interior has definitly improved with some better plastics , and very good ergonomy for the windows , AC , etc... The cool thing is the new bose sys with bigger Loud speakers ( 20cm in the door) but nothing is better than the engine noise ....
One great thing is that you could now remove the roof when driving if the speed is bellow 50Km/h ... awaiting better weather to remove the top !!!

Over on PPBB, there's a thread talking about how the 987 is faster than the 997 on the track, and barely slower than the 997 S.

Personally, I think the numbers given are suspect, but I really wonder how the two would compare, side to side on the same day, same conditions, etc...

the 997 would kill the 987, the 997 can beat a ferrari F40...

I aint a big fan of the 987, i always believe the 986 is a better machine, but the 997 is another league.

I am to test drive this on 1/15. Will be happy to issue a report as such!

RE: the 997 vs 987. Which models are we talking about? And who is driving?

Am going there tomaro (Fri 31) morning. I'm also hoping they have a carrera GT as well as a 987 but am not keeping my hopes up. I'll let you guys know and will post pics if applicable.

The 997 really can beat a F40??? Dam that's nuts i didnt know that. :dance:

From what I've read there is no change to the engine at all.
They just upgraded the intake and exhaust. Something you can do yourself any day of the week. What is impressive is that they have given you more product while lowering the price. That has to be a first in High End sports cars. A new 987 can be purchased for a base sticker of $43K which is only $10K more than I paid for my 2000 S with 10,000 miles. Makes me woner if I should just have bought a 2004. Just kidding :) I really really don't like these new lights on the 997 and 987. I would have been very pleased to see Porsche incorporate the Carrera GT lights into the new 911 and Boxsters.

I'll be interested to get my hands on their revised air intake setup for the car, and will likely remain very happy with my 986...if I can get roughly equivalent performance out of my 986 I'll stick with it any day based on the more pleasing aesthetics.

Go to the show and then compare the aesthetics... I'am sure that you will change opinion ... Start the engine and then you will be convinced .
a 987 fan

Shortbus,

I went to the car show yesterday. There was a Carrera GT but no 987. Personally, I would have liked it the other way around since I got to check out a GT over the summer. There was also a MB SLR. The Porsche setup also had a GT3, TurboS, TurboSCab, 986 Box, 997S, 997, and two Cayennes.

It is nice to be able to operate the top while the car is moving <30mph. It can be an annoying procedure with the current car. It could be worse though(C5 ragtops come to mind).

Hehe, Carrera GT owners wouldn't be. Just look at all the ********************ing the current 996 owners do about its similarities to the boxster. Carrera GT owners would freak.

986 porsche, are you sure about the F-40? That's a street legal race car. Got any stats?

987 Owner ?
Just wondring if in this forum I'am the only one owning the new 987 ? Please let me know ... JMG

yer 100% sure, last week on topgear the porsche 997 beat the ferrari F40, the porsche DiDnt beat the F50. The F40 has turbo lagg

Gardjea, i think you are the only owner..
I think the 986 is better than the 987 but that just me.
Nothing attracted me to the 987 at all... what made you decide with a 987?

280hp stock would be nice. The new S shaves over a second in the 0-100mph sprint over the 258hp variant. I haven't seen 1/4 mile et's for the 987 S, but I bet they will be in the 13.5 sec range.

How old is the F40 now? 17 years? I believe the Enzo is the F55, right?

The F40 is a good car but it is fairly old. It is really hard to compare cars of different generations.

For arguments sake, how does a '87 911 compare to the F40 versus how the 997S compares to the Enzo? Does everyone understand what I mean? I'm sure there are plenty of old Ferraris that my '02 std 986 can run circles around.

Good point^

that is true, the F50 ( latest F40 model ) was superb against the 997.

I know what your saying though, its just what top gear compared to on the track.

I put in the Bahntech top relay and use it all the time.
Today it started to rain on me at 60MPH, so I slowed to 35MPH, put the top up, and took it back to 60MPH. Bahntech is a good unit, it operates up to about 37MPH (60 KPH?), which appears to be based upon Porsche wiring already installed by the Factory.

I've go the techart unit in my car and like that I can put the top up and down without the restriction of stopping, engaging parking brake, etc...
In reality, however, I really only find it useful for putting the top up at some speed, as my darn top seems to need my help when putting it down to get it to fold without big creases (get out and do the karate chop on it). Mine also has a 'one-touch' feature which is also nice, but I use it sparingly.

That makes sense. The F50 is ten years newer. The number, i.e. 40 or 50, is the years Ferrari has been making cars at that time. The Enzo was going to be called the F55. Do you know what the competition was? What were they comparing?


BTW: this thread has ADD. There are at least 3 different sub-threads in here, and I'm not sure any of them have anything to do with test driving a 987. Oh well.