Spyder.

[JAAY]

I have to say. The more I see posts and photos about the boxster spyder the less I like it. The humps are ugly and ricey, there is not enough tire on any of the new models with 19's, the top flat out sucks, the door handle/pull is stupid and is just a gimmick. They should have been original and stuffed a 997.2 gt3 motor in it. If they wanted to save weight on the car instead of the dumb ass roof they should have gave it a loud exhaust and saved all the weight there. They should all come standard with ceramic brakes too. I don't care if all this would make it out of the price range for the boxster market people. They would unleash a new breed though. Something in the lambo/ferrari range that would piss a lot of people off.

In closing. Put together a boxster with real door handles, a 450hp engine with some beefy brakes and some gt3 suspension and make it loud as hell. Oh and some PDK for me. Not everyone is a fan of PDK but bring on the paddle shift. It would be a wake up call for all the people who feel the need to buy a carrera just for the higher price tag status.

I understand all the people that will not be on board with this post.

[eightsandaces]

JAAY, Nice rant and frankly I concur with most of it. Porsche should have made the top similar but motor-less, perhaps weight could have been saved in the frame too. The model name is too long and looks like a novel stretched across the small trunklid. As far as the tires, maybe unsprung weight becomes an issue as you keep upsizing. Granted, I don't have mega hp to put down to the pavement but I'm happy with 17". Lastly, Porsche slapping limited edition on a lot of cars in the last few years based on cosmetics is about as disingenuous as putting "GT" after the word "Sunfire". Maybe they need not go as radical as you proposed but IMO, a true limited edition of anything should "******************** and Get" when contrasted to even the S model.

[986Roadster]

I wouldn't buy one. I would buy the base model Boxster and do the mods myself with
my own taste. I don't like the roof line.... looks dumb. The back rear
hump fakes look nothing like the Carrera GT. I don't like how bare and
plain they look. Maybe they should of copied the GT look... Put some carbon
pieces or some kind of mesh.

Not a fan.

[Perfectlap]

You should read the Boxster Spyder vs Cayman S track comparison in May's Excellence. The BS (great initials!) was instantly quicker from lap one than the Cayman S despite not having the PDK advantage. The author went as far as saying it was the best handling Porsche in the whole line up. Shaving weight was crucial in that effort.

Usually these special editions Boxsters and Caymans are just marketing gimmicks but the track says otherwise this time around. Although the pricing is questionable but even the '09 GT3 RS guys will say the same.

WHile no one will pass up more more power, that's not really the point of a Spyder. I've driven small cars with massive power and well its pretty one dimensional from a driving perspective. There's a certain power to weight ratio that feels natural on a two seater that shows off the suspension, weight balance, steering and braking. Put in a tad too much power and it all comes out of wack, too much oversteer, jerky handling. I don't think most people understand that there are many types of sports cars, the Boxster isn't just a coupe that had the roof hacked off. In actuality I think the 996 Carrera was a roadster that got a fixed roof and bigger butt. The Cayman came without the bigger butt.

I think it's a great weekend car if you can afford it. I'd buy two

[ARModen]

How much does the roof assembly weigh? anyone know? I can't believe they removed the AC, roof assembly, radio, functional door handles, and only saved 150lbs. And then they charge more for that? I'm confused.

[jwade]

I don't like the top, humps or door pulls.

I'd like to see PCCB and PSE standard, and more than a meager 10hp advantage over the S model, and back to the auto soft top with glass. I could see after a year of ownership, the plastic would be scratched all to hell considering you have to fold it up and store it like they show.

Porsche will never do the engine or the car would blow away most, if not all 997.2 models.

I like the suspension set up, but could argue that the optional PASM on the S model would be pretty close to it.

Overall, I think the Spyder is cool, but like you, the more I look at it the less I would opt to purchase, but when it came out, I was seriously thinking about trading up.

After some thought, I would now go for an optioned S like mine...But by doing so, I would have a monthly payment from hell and what I already own is 90-95% the performance of the new ones. Just my 2 cents.

[Lordblood]

When I saw it in pictures on release day, I thought it looked rather well...

Well three days ago I saw one in the flesh, and my opinions did a 180. There was a new GT3RS parked next to it, and being the same sort of car (stripped out weekend racer type) I thought the GT3RS looked much better. What's more, the RS still has air-conditioning and proper door handles standard.

Granted the GT3 costs way more, I still think Porsche would have been more successful if they concentrated more on reducing stock Boxster weight, but alas car companies don't do that.