Is it Time!?

[giveitfish]

RiknRoll said:

I actually haven't thought at all about Lotus... maybe I should take a peak at them. I have somewhat lost touch wittheir range as it stands but that's easily fixed!

Always worth test driving a Lotus Evora?

This thread is interesting for comparing the relative merits of the Evora vs various McLarens (at least the first couple of pages until it turns into the usual PH slanging match), quite a few people have owned both: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Rocketreid]

Bispal said:

yes :-)

Great looking Car, and by all accounts a bargain !!

I have one

[The Surveyor]

RiknRoll said:

12pack said:

+1 for V12 Vantage. And both it and the Mac do 12 mpg when on it.

If I wasn’t so obsessed with having a mid-engined spider and my lap times, I’d have been happy just to stick with it.

Some drool just dropped on my keyboard.

And my 570s with my mates V12 Vantage, both very special n very different ways

[lambo666]

Book a test drive in one of these...when dry....roof off...press the sports plus button and drive it hard...and then even harder for as long as possible around a mix of country roads and motorway blasts where you may know there is limited plod about....(I will be surprised if you do not buy one)
To upgrade from one of these which I will be looking to do within 6 months in my eyes is a minimum of 650s, 458 spyder etc.
Even then over on the porsche forum an owner also has a 458 and still raves about how good the 981 spyder is!
Underestimate a very good manual box, lightweight car with that screaming 3.8 at your peril! And I have over 2 years full warranty left!

[12pack]

Come to think of it - why go for a 570s when likely a 650s spider has caught more of depreciation %. Of course even more so with a 12C, but I recognize some of what @bispal said about low speed enjoyment. With the top down (exhaust howl dominates) the 650s sounds as good as my V12V. And on a dry road in track mode, or sport mode on a wet one and regular PZero's, with the better torque 3-5k revs, you can actually have a nice small drifts on empty roundabouts at less than 50mph.

[Bispal]

lambo666 said:

Book a test drive in one of these...when dry....roof off...press the sports plus button and drive it hard...and then even harder for as long as possible around a mix of country roads and motorway blasts where you may know there is limited plod about....(I will be surprised if you do not buy one)
To upgrade from one of these which I will be looking to do within 6 months in my eyes is a minimum of 650s, 458 spyder etc.
Even then over on the porsche forum an owner also has a 458 and still raves about how good the 981 spyder is!
Underestimate a very good manual box, lightweight car with that screaming 3.8 at your peril! And I have over 2 years full warranty left!

I sold a 12C and bought a Spyder. You wont be 'upgrading' your experience if you get a 650 or 458, only how fast you are going. Believe me you will not be enjoying yourself as much as you were in the Spyder, you will just be going a bit faster, but it wont feel like it and the speeds will be borderline dangerous. What you have is the 'sweetspot' for UK roads.

[SWGT3]

I have both a 981 Spyder and 570s Spider. They are the two best cars I’ve ever owned imo and I have several justifications to sell one but I just can’t part with either. They are both fantastic and you wouldn’t be disappointed with either. I went back and fore on Mclaren for ages, mostly because of the residual and reliability hysteria on here - once I drove one my cares vanished. I’ve now had the 570 3 months and no issues, which can’t be said for several of my previous Porsche’s.

At the moment I tend to pick up the keys to the McLaren more than the Porsche, but that said on the perfect day that flat 6 and manual gearbox with the roof off is like nothing else.

Buy one. Hell buy both!

[isaldiri]

Bispal said:

i sold a 12C and bought a Spyder. You wont be 'upgrading' your experience if you get a 650 or 458, only how fast you are going. Believe me you will not be enjoying yourself as much as you were in the Spyder, you will just be going a bit faster, but it wont feel like it and the speeds will be borderline dangerous. What you have is the 'sweetspot' for UK roads.

That's subjective. The mclaren for me is a much better car to drive than the spyder or gt4 on the road. The 981s left me very cold for road use tbh.

[Taffy66]

SWGT3 said:

I have both a 981 Spyder and 570s Spider. They are the two best cars I’ve ever owned imo and I have several justifications to sell one but I just can’t part with either. They are both fantastic and you wouldn’t be disappointed with either. I went back and fore on Mclaren for ages, mostly because of the residual and reliability hysteria on here - once I drove one my cares vanished. I’ve now had the 570 3 months and no issues, which can’t be said for several of my previous Porsche’s.

At the moment I tend to pick up the keys to the McLaren more than the Porsche, but that said on the perfect day that flat 6 and manual gearbox with the roof off is like nothing else.

Buy one. Hell buy both!

That's a fantastic looking 570 Spider in that stunning blue(is it Paris blue?).I nearly bought a 570S but when i saw my perfect spec 458 Italia for sale i bought that instead.As you know i also own your previous 981 Spyder and its a perfect match for the 458 and probably even more so for a 570 Spider.
I also have my 991.2GT3 PDK which means realistically i have one too many bucket seated two seater sports cars to have time to enjoy.I'm getting a 992S in May and will probably sell my GT3 then as my wife hates going in it.
Having owned your 570 for three months how does it compare to your previous 991.2GT3 Manual..Given a straight choice which would you keep from a pure driving POV.?

[The Surveyor]

lambo666 said:

Very nice indeed.

[Bispal]

isaldiri said:

That's subjective. The mclaren for me is a much better car to drive than the spyder or gt4 on the road. The 981s left me very cold for road use tbh.

Can't see how a manual with a beautiful flat six howl would leave you cold and subjectively an auto with a less tuneful sound would be better? My experience is the opposite of yours but then that's why there is a saddle for every arse....

[12pack]

Hate to say it but my daily driver EV has made me so used to a level of accelerative punch that disqualifies a car like the 981 from any interest.

I'm sure I'll get back into my V12 Vantage at some point, but for now just enjoying the Mac knowing that top end is there. Just shifting manually and listening to that fantastic V12 roar doesn't compensate for how slow the V12V now feels.

Edited by 12pack on Tuesday 19th February 18:43

[isaldiri]

Bispal said:

Can't see how a manual with a beautiful flat six howl would leave you cold and subjectively an auto with a less tuneful sound would be better?

The mclaren has better visibility, it has considerably better steering, it has better brake feel, it's got better damping and with the right seats it's got more general chassis feel too. Gearbox choice and noise doesn't mean involvement to me. Oh and the mclaren does not make fake farty noises on every downshift/going off throttle.

[dsl2]

I think your kidding yourselves, a 981 platformed Boxster is not a patch on a 570. Its steering is a absolute travesty for what is meant to be a sporting car offering little feedback & involvement, 100% a retrograde step from the previous model 987 hydraulic system. As for speed & excitement your just not even in the same ball park.

I had one of the very last 981 GTS Boxster's, fully intending it to be a keeper as the last of its kind but found it so inert & dull to drive I just didn't bother to do so, running up less than 1700 miles in two years of ownership.

I sold it a couple of days after buying the 570 Spider as I just knew I would never want to drive it again.

[lambo666]

Interesting comments from owners and ex owners...I don't consider the 981 to be a supercar as such, just a lot of excitement and fun at 70k that wont lose too much money due to its rarity etc, I will have access to a larger budget within 6 months and the short list is down to a huracan spider, 488 spider, aventador roadster (long shot due to size and usability) - really tempted with a 650s but a big part of the fun with these cars is the noise....and you do get that with the 981 spyder.....the mclarens just dont sound all that...but the performance is on another level..need lots of test drives when the weather warms up..

[Bispal]

isaldiri said:

Bispal said:

Can't see how a manual with a beautiful flat six howl would leave you cold and subjectively an auto with a less tuneful sound would be better?

The mclaren has better visibility, it has considerably better steering, it has better brake feel, it's got better damping and with the right seats it's got more general chassis feel too. Gearbox choice and noise doesn't mean involvement to me. Oh and the mclaren does not make fake farty noises on every downshift/going off throttle.

The visibility is fine on the spider, I would not say the 570 is better - or worse, however the 12C seemed better than both. Both steer well but neither are a patch on a Lotus or even an MX5. You can turn the farty noise off on the Spyder, at least its not pumped into the cabin. Regarding brakes my experience of McLarens are not great, the modulation on most McLarens is bad, the brakes are grabby with no feel, one of the reasons I sold mine. You can't beat Porsche brakes, even better than Lotus and amazing on track. The damping is also good but the McLaren is probably better in that respect, as all McLarens are. Again its all subjective. The 570 is an amazing car but I couldn't have one myself as I prefer the look of the 12C, still the best looking modern McLaren IMHO.

[12pack]

Regarding the sound of the 650s, I do think it sounds better inside with the backlight open - and also with the top down - than it does from the outside / youtube. Its the only other car besides my V12 V that also sounds nice just rumbling along. In contrast, my old F355 sounded great at the top end, but not so different from a farty 4 cyl when cruising.

[RiknRoll]

12pack said:

Come to think of it - why go for a 570s when likely a 650s spider has caught more of depreciation %. Of course even more so with a 12C, but I recognize some of what @bispal said about low speed enjoyment

I have asked myself this question too actually... at the bottom end advertised at £115-120k and look like a hell of a bargain, and very difficult to choose between that and a 570s for slightly less. I think the demand for the 570s is overall higher, the 650s being a much older design seems to me much more dated and less appealing not forgetting how quickly mclaren design moves. Also many reviewers rave about the 570, saying its the more engaging car of the two, even if slower, and at the lower initial price-point feels more easily accessible to us who are aspirational.

I worry that the 650s will just keep sliding like the 12C has (and lets face it most people look at the two in rightly similar light) whereas the 570s may just hold up a little better. I certainly struggle to choose between them knowing where each car started in price especially, but that for the newer design inside and out (to me) wins it for the 570s.

[RiknRoll]

Thanks for all the posting so far - have thoroughly enjoyed this thread, and found it very helpful.

My mind is not currently yet made up, but my current thoughts are that: -
the Boxster Spyder looks good and is probably a very very good car, but at £70k I think the vast majority of buyers who want a ragtop Porsche will either just buy a much cheaper Boxster S / GTS, or a 911 + there's the new one coming out soon, which may or may not affect prices on them. Certainly I doubt Cayman GT4's are selling very well right now considering how many are up for sale!

And for £70k you can pick up a V12 Vantage, which is just cooler/more awesome/more people's real poster car/pin-up, even if in real life its probably not a great deal faster and may even be dynamically not as good to drive. And there certainly is a continued demand for the V12 in manual format. It's the safer purchase I think, almost unbelievably... though would be nice to have a ragtop admittedly (but then the V8 Vantage and F-type would come back into play).

Which leads me to say as it currently stands, I'm edging towards the Aston. Unless I can pick up a bargain 570s... Certainly I will want to buy something in good time for the Easter road/track trip.

Edited by RiknRoll on Wednesday 20th February 11:56

[RiknRoll]

As for the Lotuses - the Exige is too small and spartan for the longer road trips I want to do, so it could only be an Evora. I can't say I love them, and seem to me to be quite cramped inside, though I don't doubt they are good cars - are they difficult to move on after? it seems to me that the majority of car buyers seem to forget lotus a bit. There's a couple of cars around £42k for sale, which seems reasonable.