981 Spyder - Speculation

[EricE]

MDT48 said:

Autocar is saying 105kg lighter than the Boxster GTS, making it 1315kg - which sounds a bit more plausible.

Autocar is wrong... a manual Boxster GTS weighs 1.345 kg, minus 105kg would be 1.240 kg which would be VERY light but that is not the case.

It's 1.315 kg DIN, so 35-40kg lighter than a GT4 or Boxster GTS but that's with the small tank and aircon delete. Still the lightest 981 you can buy which is impressive since it has the 3.8L (and additional cooling) in it but also 40kg heavier than the old one.

[Phooey]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

1315 DIN (probably without air-con?). 30kg lighter than GTS. Power to weight same as GT4 = 285. GTS = 245.

[MDT48]

EricE said:

Autocar is wrong... a manual Boxster GTS weighs 1.345 kg, minus 105kg would be 1.240 kg which would be VERY light but that is not the case.

It's 1.315 kg DIN, so 35-40kg lighter than a GT4 or Boxster GTS but that's with the small tank and aircon delete. Still the lightest 981 you can buy which is impressive since it has the 3.8L (and additional cooling) in it but also 40kg heavier than the old one.

Fair enough, so they got the weight of the GTS wrong, but the maths still worked out to the same number for the Spyder :-)

My point was that the mooted weight of 1235kg was wrong,

[rosino]

For me the disappointing part is the lack of GT parts for the suspension. I would have expected GT parts albeit with an adjusted softer set-up. But am tempted.

[g7jhp]

My thoughts on the new Spider.

Looks great, faster, more practical with the new roof.





However I don't think it's as pure as the original car (the rear doesn't look as good) and it's lost the stickers which added to the special feel.

It'll be more popular and usable as a daily than the original, but the original is for the purists and more of a weekend toy!

[philnotts]

[ORD]

It looks bloody great in blue or red, but I expect most will be Carrera white or silver...boring.

More importantly, it is excellent that Porsche has stuck the 3.8 in the Boxster, too.

[DMC2]

What a disappointment. Briefly considered changing my GT4 order over to one of these, but the best feature of that car is the GT3 steering and GT suspension components. I'll stick with a roof.

[MDT48]

ORD said:

It looks bloody great in blue or red, but I expect most will be Carrera white or silver...boring.

More importantly, it is excellent that Porsche has stuck the 3.8 in the Boxster, too.

More likely Carrara white :-)

[ORD]

DMC2 said:

What a disappointment. Briefly considered changing my GT4 order over to one of these, but the best feature of that car is the GT3 steering and GT suspension components. I'll stick with a roof.

I think it's quite smart.

The market for a hardcore Boxster would be absolutely tiny.

The serious drivers (those who want the GT suspension) would almost always want the car with a roof, so they would rarely be tempted over to the Boxster.

But there must be quite a few people who just want a slightly firmer, faster Boxster.

If I wanted a fast Cayman, I would want the full-on(ish) GT4. If I wanted a fast Boxster, I would want this - a faster version of the GTS, in essence.

[paralla]

My first thoughts are that its missing some juicy GT4 bits for only £4K less.

Front suspension and steering from the GT3
Bigger hybrid brakes from the GT3
Ball jointed rear suspension
Helper springs
Adjustable sway bars
Adjustable dampers

I'd have thought that lot is all good stuff that affects how the car drives and if it was bundled into a single "handling pack" option at £4K it would be the best value Porsche option ever.

I think it looks great though and now that the roof is not such a compromise it would be an easy choice over a GTS just for the looks and the bigger engine, as long as you don't mind manual of course.

[EricE]

paralla said:

My first thoughts are that its missing some juicy GT4 bits for only £4K less.

To be fair the Spyder also comes with GT2 sport buckets as a no cost option. PSE, PTV and Sport Chrono are also standard. The steering rack is also upgraded according to the price list, it stands to reason that it has the same calibration as the GT4 part.

My "perfect spec" GT4 would cost ~76k GBP whereas my "perfect spec" Spyder would be ~64k GBP.

I agree that it makes an optioned GTS look rather bit expensive if you can ignore the manual roof and no PDK.

[ORD]

MDT48 said:

More likely Carrara white :-)

touché.

[EricE]

Carrara white metallic looks very creamy compared to the regular white. I assume this is a mistake in the configuratior?

carrara white metallic:


white:

[philnotts]

Cant find the con-fig?!

[EricE]

philnotts said:

Cant find the con-fig?!

I used the german one... http://www.porsche.com/germany/modelstart/all/?mod...

other countries should follow soon.

[g7jhp]

ORD said:

It looks bloody great in blue or red, but I expect most will be Carrera white or silver...boring.

More importantly, it is excellent that Porsche has stuck the 3.8 in the Boxster, too.

Sapphire Blue Metallic with the wheels painted Weiss Gold!

[martinday]

Does anyone know if there's much weight / comfort difference between the two bucket seat options? Is one wider than the other?

Is it possible to easily put a bit more padding for lumbar support behind the seat cushion of either? In some seats the back cushions are held on with velcro making it easy to do this but I don't know if this is the case for either of these seats.

Thanks

[Cheib]

ORD said:

It looks bloody great in blue or red, but I expect most will be Carrera white or silver...boring.

More importantly, it is excellent that Porsche has stuck the 3.8 in the Boxster, too.

If ever a car cried out for PTS this is it!

[Axel987]

Nowhere near as good-looking as the 987. Dare I say it a bit boring looking