RE: You Know You Want To: Porsche Boxster Spyder

[alfaman]

rob.kellock said:

"your car is well peng mate!".

interesting expression - was the lad from SE Asia?

"Peng" means "on ice" when ordering a local style 'Kopi' [coffee] in Singapore

[V8RX7]

Amirhussain said:

Can't live with the rear end, too too ugly.

???

Which bit ?

I think it looks fantastic - particularly with the hood removed (lets face facts it will be 90% of the time as I doubt many will be daily drivers)

[Dagnut]

WCZ said:

how much do the radio and a/c weigh (including refrigerant gasses etc)

I doubt they would weigh 75kgs, but add in the roof mechanism and how much weight have the really saved on the car?

[V8RX7]

Dagnut said:

WCZ said:

how much do the radio and a/c weigh (including refrigerant gasses etc)

I doubt they would weigh 75kgs, but add in the roof mechanism and how much weight have the really saved on the car?

I'd guess the AC weighs circa 25kg, radio & speakers 3kg, roof (less it's replacement) maybe 10kg so I'd guess they've saved 38ish on the seats, wheels etc

Which really isn't much - who can feel the difference in a 300bhp car when they
have a child passenger - not me.

[Si_man306]

Drove a red one with silver wheels at the Porsche track at their centre at silverstone. The only reason I didn't walk away with it was because they wanted £62k for it....(!)

That was with the trick paddles and the auto-blip pack. Love driving it, felt like the car I wanted my exige to be on the road. Spot on.

Now they're ~£30k it's a no brainer. The only thing they lack is any sort of credible image sadly (I have an inate dislike of Porsche/ boxsters in general).

[rob.kellock]

alfaman said:

interesting expression - was the lad from SE Asia?

"Peng" means "on ice" when ordering a local style 'Kopi' [coffee] in Singapore

Purest Liverpool. Amused colleagues checked the urban dictionary and I believe it to mean attractive.

Weight saving comments above are not based on accurate assumptions. Don't forget absence of electric hood mechanism high up has a significant impact alone.

[f328nvl]

"Then I drive one in the hills around LA a while back and completely fell for it. "

As a kid on a school trip, I fell in love with my ski instructor, she was eminently "threadable" to a fourteen year old, but it didn't make me want to move to Bulgaria.

I also did a Porsche day at Silverstone in these and they were great, really good fun. Then we got in the 911, turned on the radio and aircon and drove home in comfort with a roof, not a pair of pants, to protect us from the elements.

[traffman]

Chris? Have you made the purchase then?

[Zyp]

Don't forget part of the weight saving is in the wheels - the lightest 19's that Porsche make.
The roof can be held easily with one hand, and the air in the tyres is super light.

Of course, all this lightweight gumf is irrelevant if the driver likes his pies...

[rob.kellock]

Zyp said:

Don't forget part of the weight saving is in the wheels - the lightest 19's that Porsche make.
The roof can be held easily with one hand, and the air in the tyres is super light.

Of course, all this lightweight gumf is irrelevant if the driver likes his pies...

My tyres are filled with helium. Are all Spyders not the same?

[Zyp]

Wish I was filled with helium.

[DiscoColin]

WCZ said:

SFO said:

weight saving is 75kgs, and only if no radio, no a/c, bucket seats and standard Spyder wheels.

how much do the radio and a/c weigh (including refrigerant gasses etc)

The radio is only a couple of Kg - seriously, only a muppet would delete it (you save more by emptying the headlight washer bottle as I understand it). IIRC the air conditioning system is in the order of 20Kg and most of the rest is the roof. After that I think that the next biggest saving is from it having a smaller fuel tank thereby removing something like 8-10kg of fuel out of the wet weight (somewhat bogus really isn't it - though there was a no cost option for a normal sized Boxster tank I believe, but not many original buyers thought to tick it. Likewise the Cayman R).

I like the Spyder and think that it should (so long as the bucket seats weren't deleted on the spec) always carry an appreciable premium over the normal 987S. However, I am unsure if it is ever going to be discernibly more expensive that a sensibly specified 981S, which will almost certainly compress its value from above. Time will tell.

[cheddar]

For similar money to a used Spyder a brand new Boxster is 40% stiffer, up to 35kgs lighter than before, drives better, looks MUCH better and the roof folds in seconds with the magic of electricity.

That Spyder might be special but my £40k would go on the new one.

[will_]

cheddar said:

For similar money to a used Spyder a brand new Boxster is 40% stiffer, up to 35kgs lighter than before, drives better, looks MUCH better and the roof folds in seconds with the magic of electricity.

That Spyder might be special but my £40k would go on the new one.

But there are hundreds of them, and plenty more to come. There are nearly 100 for sale at Porsche dealers at the moment, but only 2 Spyders.

There are only circa 200 Spyders in the UK. If you want something a bit different, that might well hold it's value better, the Spyder could be the preference.

To be honest I think they are different markets. If you want a power roof, you'll buy the 981. If you want something rare which is generally considered to feel "special" you'll go for the Spyder.

[Zyp]

I would never have bought a Boxster if it weren't for the Spyder.
Totally different markets indeed.

[DS240]

Had mine since June 2010. Brilliant car, couldn't think of getting rid.

A few facts;
The roof does not leak either moving or stationary.

The roof (tested and timed) can be taken off and packed away in 60 seconds. Putting it back on takes the same time. Similar to s2 Elise roof, but much simpler than an s1.

Noise, yes with roof on. BUT you buy it for the roof off moments and if you can live with the noise then, it is liveable.

Do your research on differences between a boxster s and the solutions they have come to for the different design. It is quite different rather than just an options exercise. Even the side windows have a unique profile.

[kambites]

DS240 said:

The roof (tested and timed) can be taken off and packed away in 60 seconds. Putting it back on takes the same time. Similar to s2 Elise roof, but much simpler than an s1.

I can take my S2 roof off in less than ten seconds without getting out of the driver's seat (as long as there's no passenger in the way).

[Urban Sports]

Love it but detest the roof

[TOENHEEL]

I love mine fantastic to drive and best of all they are very very rare cars, how many left shows only 110 manual uk cars!!

Years to come I can see them becoming a future classic as they are like rocking horse st, good looking and drive superb. Rarer than many rare cars!!

Edited by TOENHEEL on Tuesday 29th January 20:33

[baypond]

I own a Boxster Spyder and have to say it is awesome. The roof is not the hinderance you might think unless you are spending hours on the motorway touring. But if you are motorway touring, you are missing the point about this car. It is a car that gets back to the roots of sportcar driving. It handles better than any other car I have owned, it sounds superb with the sports exhaust, and is quick enough on B roads to keep up with pretty much anything this side of a Caterham. The roof takes about 2 mins to pack away, or replace, once you have done it a few times. Not a great deal longer than it took the hood on my 360 spider to open/close.
I agree that roof up, it is not the prettiest, but it is doesn't leak at any speed, and with the roof down I think the rear end is as pretty as anything Porsche have produced.
It is a car I will take in to retirement. I have just sold the 360, and may jump on a 550 or 599, but given running costs, the Porsche is sure to outlive them in my garage.