From Spyder to 996...
Discussion
I sold this:
and bought this:
It's a C4 manual, aerokit, M030 and sports exhaust.
First impressions are that it lacks some of the instant raw edge of the Spyder, but is remarkably agile, tactile and responsive nontheless. They're not really comparable and yet they're clearly from the same bloodline. It's only day one, but this 996 thing seems promising! So far I'm pleased with the change (in both senses!).
and bought this:
It's a C4 manual, aerokit, M030 and sports exhaust.
First impressions are that it lacks some of the instant raw edge of the Spyder, but is remarkably agile, tactile and responsive nontheless. They're not really comparable and yet they're clearly from the same bloodline. It's only day one, but this 996 thing seems promising! So far I'm pleased with the change (in both senses!).
The Spyder was always beyond my means, but I did it anyway. A house move over Christmas last year meant the sensible thing was to cash in and then buy something more modest when the move had settled and the right car was available.
That's the logical argument.
The emotional one probably has something to do with 911s being in my soul since having my nose pressed up against Autofarm's window as an 8 year old, waiting for my dad to arrive home at Amersham station in the early eighties...
The Spyder was awesome. I tracked it and it was very very fast. But I think I prefer the 996 already! Maybe I'm a coupe person.
I enjoyed your write up of the 6.2 thanks. If you're Bath based I'm not far away. Do you go to the Bristol tipec meets by any chance?
That's the logical argument.
The emotional one probably has something to do with 911s being in my soul since having my nose pressed up against Autofarm's window as an 8 year old, waiting for my dad to arrive home at Amersham station in the early eighties...
The Spyder was awesome. I tracked it and it was very very fast. But I think I prefer the 996 already! Maybe I'm a coupe person.
I enjoyed your write up of the 6.2 thanks. If you're Bath based I'm not far away. Do you go to the Bristol tipec meets by any chance?
Great choice. I do like the Aerokit look (and it's one less thing to go wrong).
The 996 is much under-valued (which financially is a great thing for us!) and yet a great drive, as Evo agreed a while ago and CMoose did just days ago here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
For those who can't get over the headlights, you can get pretty cheap conversion kits to make them look like every other old-fashioned 911 if you must (the 996 is the most modern-looking, to me).
The 996 is much under-valued (which financially is a great thing for us!) and yet a great drive, as Evo agreed a while ago and CMoose did just days ago here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
For those who can't get over the headlights, you can get pretty cheap conversion kits to make them look like every other old-fashioned 911 if you must (the 996 is the most modern-looking, to me).
EGTE said:
the 996 is the most modern-looking, to me
Interesting point. I think this is also the case for "non-Porsche" people too.Had a few mates over the other weekend mountain biking from our place. Post ride, we'd got the garage open for bike-wash and oils etc. and someone did ask (mine's on a private plate) how old it was and were surprised when I said "15 years", to which they replied, "I'd have said 5 years old at most".
Not sure whether this is because people simply can't tell much difference from 996 to 997 - or 911s in general - or whether the former does actually look more modern.
!
griffter said:
The Spyder was always beyond my means, but I did it anyway. A house move over Christmas last year meant the sensible thing was to cash in and then buy something more modest when the move had settled and the right car was available.
That's the logical argument.
The emotional one probably has something to do with 911s being in my soul since having my nose pressed up against Autofarm's window as an 8 year old, waiting for my dad to arrive home at Amersham station in the early eighties...
The Spyder was awesome. I tracked it and it was very very fast. But I think I prefer the 996 already! Maybe I'm a coupe person.
I enjoyed your write up of the 6.2 thanks. If you're Bath based I'm not far away. Do you go to the Bristol tipec meets by any chance?
I did similar:That's the logical argument.
The emotional one probably has something to do with 911s being in my soul since having my nose pressed up against Autofarm's window as an 8 year old, waiting for my dad to arrive home at Amersham station in the early eighties...
The Spyder was awesome. I tracked it and it was very very fast. But I think I prefer the 996 already! Maybe I'm a coupe person.
I enjoyed your write up of the 6.2 thanks. If you're Bath based I'm not far away. Do you go to the Bristol tipec meets by any chance?
A couple of years ago, I sold my beautiful 996 turbo to put money into my business ventures. Soon after, I really, really started to miss Porsche ownership so I bought a 996 Carrera to fill a gap, and paid around half of what I'd sold the turbo for.
I definitely preferred the turbo, but it wasn't twice as good as the Carrera.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
That makes sense. I attended a TVR club night 12 years ago and despite having been in lotus, BMW and Porsche clubs since, have never done another! I like PH Sunday service and events like simply Porsche at Beaulieu but prefer pubs and cars to be separate. But I'll give tipec a go. I've been a member for 18 months and haven't shown my face!Anyway at the risk of sounding like your no.1 fan I've found your posts very helpful when narrowing down the criteria for this purchase, although I admit in the end I gave up worrying about the ims too much and just bought the car I liked...
Digga said:
guess the slight difference in engine/transmission layout will alter the feel too?
Yeah, having driven it for the second time in two days (woo!), 'll try to be more objective.The 996 doesn't weigh that much more than the Spyder, but whereas in the Spyder the mass is all in the middle, in the C4 it's at both ends. Balance is good, but some of the edge and immediacy of the Spyder is replaced by (dare I say it) pitch and bob over road surfaces. The thing is the control weights are quite heavy in comparison, but very tactile too. So although the 996 is less Elise-y, it's just as balanced and confidence inspiring, but in a different way. A slightly heavier feeling way.
Maybe it's because I'm insensitive and ham-fisted, but I quite like it.
The other thing (back to subjective) is that it feels older. I've always liked old cars and enjoyed their shortcomings. Of course the best kind of shortcomings are the kind that aren't apparent when new, but appear only when the new model comes out. I was always a bit uncomfortable with the Spyder because it was only 3.5 years old when I bought it.
Don't get me wrong, it was brilliant, but a bit too brilliant for me. I'm an old car guy and the 996 has aged nicely.
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