981 Boxster GTS…am I going mad?
Discussion
Riskins said:
Thank you, I love it.
I actually went to buy a 2018 2.5 GTS, didn’t get on with it. Salesman offered me test drive off a 4.0 GTS, loved it and left holding deposit on new car order. Ukraine kicked off and I thought I’m not sure how long I’m waiting for that, test drove my 981 and thought this is 80% of the new car and here we are 18 months later.
Other than the lack of CarPlay (which I know is an easy retrofit) it’s everything I could want from a weekend use convertible sports car.
You definitely made the right choice over the 2.5 4 pot I’d say. I actually went to buy a 2018 2.5 GTS, didn’t get on with it. Salesman offered me test drive off a 4.0 GTS, loved it and left holding deposit on new car order. Ukraine kicked off and I thought I’m not sure how long I’m waiting for that, test drove my 981 and thought this is 80% of the new car and here we are 18 months later.
Other than the lack of CarPlay (which I know is an easy retrofit) it’s everything I could want from a weekend use convertible sports car.
Went to brands hatch at the weekend and they had a Boxster 2ltr in Ruby . It’s one of their new fangled designs . I totally loved the colour but no way I’d pay 75k for a 2ltr 4 pot .
I’d definitely order a new car in the new ruby colour however
Christian P said:
When buying both my (previous) 987.2 and 997.2, and also at the Silverstone Porsche Experience. Incredibly good, and near faultless - though I prefer the challenge of a decent heel and toe, and the sense of drivetrain connection.
I’ve had a good mix of P cars . What do you own know if you don’t mind me asking ? I’ve never had, or wanted to own a PDK car Riskins said:
The second gear is long but as you say I can still enjoy swapping between 2nd/3rd gears on B road - I actually really like it now.
In fact, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, I find, unless you’re on it and working the revs. What I love about the Boxster is that it encourages ‘momentum’ driving, ie. keeping the flow. On which basis it’s fine to cog-swap up and down the box (for the fun of it) and then surf the torque to keep momentum topped up, rather than having to brake hard and accelerate hard between every corner.GT3Manthey said:
I will do tls .
Quite telling you’ve owned other cars and now smitten on the 981 GTS . Have you had air cooled too ?
No - only water-cooled. For no obvious reason other than wanting a relatively modern car each time.Quite telling you’ve owned other cars and now smitten on the 981 GTS . Have you had air cooled too ?
Prior to the Porkers, I ran a supercharged Lotus Elise, and a K Series Caterham Seven. Both manuals.
Christian P said:
No - only water-cooled. For no obvious reason other than wanting a relatively modern car each time.
Prior to the Porkers, I ran a supercharged Lotus Elise, and a K Series Caterham Seven. Both manuals.
I’ve had a few air cooled cars . My first was a 930 turbo targa at the age of 23 ! I still love the looks but I think the drive is now find too agricultural given I’ve had way more water cooled including 2 997GT3’s , a 996 RS , a manthey and a GT4. Prior to the Porkers, I ran a supercharged Lotus Elise, and a K Series Caterham Seven. Both manuals.
Where I live now I want an open top car. Once I debunk my life a little it’s likely a 981 GTS or Spyder . Manual obviously
GT3Manthey said:
Manual obviously
Maybe not so obvious for some of us but appreciate plenty for some reason are manual box die hards. Having owned one previously a manual 981/718 was never going to be on my radar and to add a little balance worth mentioning the Pdk Porsche is the only auto in my fleet the rest being manual so I'm certainly not against pushing a clutch pedal.
A couple of years ago I spent a very enjoyable morning at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone (and my better half came/drove too).
I was able to drive a 991 manual and PDK back to back, on each of the test sections and tracks.
I was notably faster in the PDK. Partly because I wasn’t physically fumbling the clutch and trying to heel and toe. Mainly because my mental workload was so much less, allowing me to focus on - and be better at - my braking, steering and use of the throttle. It was a really clear difference.
Turns out I still prefer going more slowly, crunching gears and mis-matching my revs on downshifts. For me, at least, the challenge of ‘mechanical’ is more appealing than the absolute rate of progress down the road.
I was able to drive a 991 manual and PDK back to back, on each of the test sections and tracks.
I was notably faster in the PDK. Partly because I wasn’t physically fumbling the clutch and trying to heel and toe. Mainly because my mental workload was so much less, allowing me to focus on - and be better at - my braking, steering and use of the throttle. It was a really clear difference.
Turns out I still prefer going more slowly, crunching gears and mis-matching my revs on downshifts. For me, at least, the challenge of ‘mechanical’ is more appealing than the absolute rate of progress down the road.
Christian P said:
A couple of years ago I spent a very enjoyable morning at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone (and my better half came/drove too).
I was able to drive a 991 manual and PDK back to back, on each of the test sections and tracks.
I was notably faster in the PDK. Partly because I wasn’t physically fumbling the clutch and trying to heel and toe. Mainly because my mental workload was so much less, allowing me to focus on - and be better at - my braking, steering and use of the throttle. It was a really clear difference.
Turns out I still prefer going more slowly, crunching gears and mis-matching my revs on downshifts. For me, at least, the challenge of ‘mechanical’ is more appealing than the absolute rate of progress down the road.
Makes sense to me . I’m also concerned I’d get bored with PDK and I’d never really end up using the paddles on the road. I was able to drive a 991 manual and PDK back to back, on each of the test sections and tracks.
I was notably faster in the PDK. Partly because I wasn’t physically fumbling the clutch and trying to heel and toe. Mainly because my mental workload was so much less, allowing me to focus on - and be better at - my braking, steering and use of the throttle. It was a really clear difference.
Turns out I still prefer going more slowly, crunching gears and mis-matching my revs on downshifts. For me, at least, the challenge of ‘mechanical’ is more appealing than the absolute rate of progress down the road.
I’ve been to PEC a few times, such a great day there .
GT3Manthey said:
Makes sense to me . I’m also concerned I’d get bored with PDK and I’d never really end up using the paddles on the road.
I’ve been to PEC a few times, such a great day there .
I rarely use my paddles. The car is just so clever you don’t need to mess around. You break hard and it’s downshifting to perfection. You accelerate hard and it never misses an optimal change up point. And it’s seamless in doing it. I’ve been to PEC a few times, such a great day there .
As I’m mostly doing normal road driving, doesn’t matter.
TTmonkey said:
GT3Manthey said:
Makes sense to me . I’m also concerned I’d get bored with PDK and I’d never really end up using the paddles on the road.
I’ve been to PEC a few times, such a great day there .
I rarely use my paddles. The car is just so clever you don’t need to mess around. You break hard and it’s downshifting to perfection. You accelerate hard and it never misses an optimal change up point. And it’s seamless in doing it. I’ve been to PEC a few times, such a great day there .
As I’m mostly doing normal road driving, doesn’t matter.
A counterpoint to all those saying that a PDK gearbox is less involving : I don’t think it is , and neither are single clutch automated gearboxes .
Admittedly you are not using your left foot , or having to coordinate your left and right feet with your left hand , but there is a very real extra cerebral engagement demanded in pressing the paddle at just the right moment ( and in easing off the throttle with an E gear car ) …… especially if you have been brought up for decades on a manual gearbox .
The early E-gear was subject to unjustified criticism IMO - just put it in sports mode and it bangs the gears in in a very visceral way .
The PDK gearbox is even more efficient , and is brilliant on really curvy roads , The only real criticism that you could throw at it is that it might just be a fraction too good , and that it might be very costly should it go wrong .
Modern manual gearboxes are nothing like as challenging as old school gearboxes anyway - the skill to rev match something like a Countach’s gearbox is on an altogether different universe to rev-matching a 981 or 718 ‘s manual gearbox , even with the rev matching facility disabled.
Keeping both hands on the steering wheel is a huge safety benefit and shouldn’t be readily discounted .
The hurt of getting a gear change wrong , is not only injurious to the cogs , but hurts me psychologically and in the wallet too … the PDK and E gear are more mechanically sympathetic by design .
Furthermore , the Boxster , whatever Porsche might say of its more expensive versions , is a poor track or race car … it carries too much weight , it has too many electronic aids which you can’t turn off completely , it is too wide , and it’s body panels are not designed for easy , quick or cheap repair …. There are far better cars available for trackwork which have been designed from scratch to meet just this brief . The Boxster is a road car , that is what it was designed to be ….. some versions of which have been fettled to make them better suited to track work .
Finally , just to throw the cat amongst the pidgeons , I do wonder if all these negative comments about the PDK and E gearboxes have been peddled by second hand car dealers who talk up manual gearboxes simply to be able to ask a higher price for these cars the second time they come onto the market ..
The market spoke as far back as about 1996 with the F355 ‘s F1 gearbox , and continued with the Murcie’s E gear , and now many manufacturers only offer robotised manual gearboxes because this is what buyers want and will actually pay for .
And rarity is not necessarily a virtue …. Maybe manual cars are rarer simply because they are less able , and so fewer people want them , and are willing to pay for them , the first time round . And all first buyers are not necessarily wealthy but ignorant non-enthusiasts .
The myth that a manual gearbox signifies a ‘’ Driver’s car ‘’ needs to be busted …. Dealers ( and others ) have been touting this fable for far too long .
All this coming from someone who was brought up on manual gearbox cars , and whose everyday car remains , and whose ‘’ toy cars ‘’ are in the majority , manual gearbox cars .
Admittedly you are not using your left foot , or having to coordinate your left and right feet with your left hand , but there is a very real extra cerebral engagement demanded in pressing the paddle at just the right moment ( and in easing off the throttle with an E gear car ) …… especially if you have been brought up for decades on a manual gearbox .
The early E-gear was subject to unjustified criticism IMO - just put it in sports mode and it bangs the gears in in a very visceral way .
The PDK gearbox is even more efficient , and is brilliant on really curvy roads , The only real criticism that you could throw at it is that it might just be a fraction too good , and that it might be very costly should it go wrong .
Modern manual gearboxes are nothing like as challenging as old school gearboxes anyway - the skill to rev match something like a Countach’s gearbox is on an altogether different universe to rev-matching a 981 or 718 ‘s manual gearbox , even with the rev matching facility disabled.
Keeping both hands on the steering wheel is a huge safety benefit and shouldn’t be readily discounted .
The hurt of getting a gear change wrong , is not only injurious to the cogs , but hurts me psychologically and in the wallet too … the PDK and E gear are more mechanically sympathetic by design .
Furthermore , the Boxster , whatever Porsche might say of its more expensive versions , is a poor track or race car … it carries too much weight , it has too many electronic aids which you can’t turn off completely , it is too wide , and it’s body panels are not designed for easy , quick or cheap repair …. There are far better cars available for trackwork which have been designed from scratch to meet just this brief . The Boxster is a road car , that is what it was designed to be ….. some versions of which have been fettled to make them better suited to track work .
Finally , just to throw the cat amongst the pidgeons , I do wonder if all these negative comments about the PDK and E gearboxes have been peddled by second hand car dealers who talk up manual gearboxes simply to be able to ask a higher price for these cars the second time they come onto the market ..
The market spoke as far back as about 1996 with the F355 ‘s F1 gearbox , and continued with the Murcie’s E gear , and now many manufacturers only offer robotised manual gearboxes because this is what buyers want and will actually pay for .
And rarity is not necessarily a virtue …. Maybe manual cars are rarer simply because they are less able , and so fewer people want them , and are willing to pay for them , the first time round . And all first buyers are not necessarily wealthy but ignorant non-enthusiasts .
The myth that a manual gearbox signifies a ‘’ Driver’s car ‘’ needs to be busted …. Dealers ( and others ) have been touting this fable for far too long .
All this coming from someone who was brought up on manual gearbox cars , and whose everyday car remains , and whose ‘’ toy cars ‘’ are in the majority , manual gearbox cars .
Edited by carspath on Monday 11th September 18:55
Edited by carspath on Monday 11th September 20:23
I think that is a very good summary and put in a much better way than I ever could .
pdk vs manual box debate will never be resolved there is no right answer we are all different .
Personally on a 981/718 I prefer PDK and I use the paddles all the time when Im back road hooning and its great, would I prefer to push a clutch and move a stick, No not really , it doesn't really fetch anything to the party for me and the Pdk does it better than I could with the bonus of a better set of ratios.
pdk vs manual box debate will never be resolved there is no right answer we are all different .
Personally on a 981/718 I prefer PDK and I use the paddles all the time when Im back road hooning and its great, would I prefer to push a clutch and move a stick, No not really , it doesn't really fetch anything to the party for me and the Pdk does it better than I could with the bonus of a better set of ratios.
carspath said:
A counterpoint to all those saying that a PDK gearbox is less involving : I don’t think it is , and neither are single clutch automated gearboxes .
Admittedly you are not using your left foot , or having to coordinate your left and right feet with your left hand , but there is a very real extra cerebral engagement demanded in pressing the paddle at just the right moment ( and in easing off the throttle with an E gear car ) …… especially if you have been brought up for decades on a manual gearbox .
The early E-gear was subject to unjustified criticism IMO - just put it in sports mode and it bangs the gears in in a very visceral way .
The PDK gearbox is even more efficient , and is brilliant on really curvy roads , The only real criticism that you could throw at it is that it might just be a fraction too good , and that it might be very costly should it go wrong .
Modern manual gearboxes are nothing like as challenging as old school gearboxes anyway - the skill to rev match something like a Countach’s gearbox is on an altogether different universe to rev-matching a 981 or 718 ‘s manual gearbox , even with the rev matching facility disabled.
Keeping both hands on the steering wheel is a huge safety benefit and shouldn’t be readily discounted .
The hurt of getting a gear change wrong , is not only injurious to the cogs , but hurts me psychologically and in the wallet too … the PDK and E gear are more mechanically sympathetic by design .
Furthermore , the Boxster , whatever Porsche might say of its more expensive versions , is a poor track or race car … it carries too much weight , it has too many electronic aids which you can’t turn off completely , it is too wide , and it’s body panels are not designed for easy , quick or cheap repair …. There are far better cars available for trackwork which have been designed from scratch to meet just this brief . The Boxster is a road car , that is what it was designed to be ….. some versions of which have been fettled to make them better suited to track work .
Finally , just to throw the cat amongst the pidgeons , I do wonder if all these negative comments about the PDK and E gearboxes have been peddled by second hand car dealers who talk up manual gearboxes simply to be able to ask a higher price for these cars the second time they come onto the market ..
The market spoke as far back as about 1996 with the F355 ‘s F1 gearbox , and continued with the Murcie’s E gear , and now many manufacturers only offer robotised manual gearboxes because this is what buyers want and will actually pay for .
And rarity is not necessarily a virtue …. Maybe manual cars are rarer simply because they are less able , and so fewer people want them .
The myth that a manual gearbox signifies a ‘’ Driver’s car ‘’ needs to be busted …. Dealers ( and others ) have been touting this fable for far too long .
All this coming from someone who was brought up on manual gearbox cars , and whose everyday car , and ‘’ toy cars ‘’ are in the majority , manual gearbox cars .
Admittedly you are not using your left foot , or having to coordinate your left and right feet with your left hand , but there is a very real extra cerebral engagement demanded in pressing the paddle at just the right moment ( and in easing off the throttle with an E gear car ) …… especially if you have been brought up for decades on a manual gearbox .
The early E-gear was subject to unjustified criticism IMO - just put it in sports mode and it bangs the gears in in a very visceral way .
The PDK gearbox is even more efficient , and is brilliant on really curvy roads , The only real criticism that you could throw at it is that it might just be a fraction too good , and that it might be very costly should it go wrong .
Modern manual gearboxes are nothing like as challenging as old school gearboxes anyway - the skill to rev match something like a Countach’s gearbox is on an altogether different universe to rev-matching a 981 or 718 ‘s manual gearbox , even with the rev matching facility disabled.
Keeping both hands on the steering wheel is a huge safety benefit and shouldn’t be readily discounted .
The hurt of getting a gear change wrong , is not only injurious to the cogs , but hurts me psychologically and in the wallet too … the PDK and E gear are more mechanically sympathetic by design .
Furthermore , the Boxster , whatever Porsche might say of its more expensive versions , is a poor track or race car … it carries too much weight , it has too many electronic aids which you can’t turn off completely , it is too wide , and it’s body panels are not designed for easy , quick or cheap repair …. There are far better cars available for trackwork which have been designed from scratch to meet just this brief . The Boxster is a road car , that is what it was designed to be ….. some versions of which have been fettled to make them better suited to track work .
Finally , just to throw the cat amongst the pidgeons , I do wonder if all these negative comments about the PDK and E gearboxes have been peddled by second hand car dealers who talk up manual gearboxes simply to be able to ask a higher price for these cars the second time they come onto the market ..
The market spoke as far back as about 1996 with the F355 ‘s F1 gearbox , and continued with the Murcie’s E gear , and now many manufacturers only offer robotised manual gearboxes because this is what buyers want and will actually pay for .
And rarity is not necessarily a virtue …. Maybe manual cars are rarer simply because they are less able , and so fewer people want them .
The myth that a manual gearbox signifies a ‘’ Driver’s car ‘’ needs to be busted …. Dealers ( and others ) have been touting this fable for far too long .
All this coming from someone who was brought up on manual gearbox cars , and whose everyday car , and ‘’ toy cars ‘’ are in the majority , manual gearbox cars .
Edited by carspath on Monday 11th September 18:55
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