Hey Guys !

Please have a look at my review of the Boxster 981.

I'm absoluty amazed how good this car drives and feels on the road !

Greetings from germany


TheGetawayer

 

Nice review, especially your summary at the end. But then I've always had a thing for German culture, engineering, and cars.

I noticed that you got it over 160 mph. Not many opportunities to do that in the US.

 

Great review! Thank you.

 

X2... makes me feel even better about my order.


Mark

 

Great review...thanks for sharing!

 

Liked it so much I watched it two times!

Thanks again.

 

good stuff.. but i thought..Relentless Pursuit of Perfection was Lexus?lol!!

 

Awesome review !!! A bunch of guys out here drove the car at the Porsche Driving school . One of them is an avid Porsche enthusiast and he loved the car .

In fact when I compare the progress in the 911 to this huge leap of refinement in the Boxster I can't help but feel that this car is made the more dramatic transformation for the better . The 991 is a great car but this Boxster is suprisingly greater than I expected .

 

It’s funny you say that... my salesman returned from AL. (probably same group that you’re talking about) and he’s also an avid lover of Porsche. He said he thought there were going to be a lot of 911 lost sales to the new Boxster.

At 30K less and for what you get, I think the Boxster is looking like a great deal now. Porsche really stepped it up.

The best part for me was I love the Cayman but wanted a convertible. Now I have what feels like the best of both worlds.

Mark

 

I just did a review of your review and forwarded it to my fellow guys in our "merry band of brothers"'.. mostly who won't have anything to do with Boxsters.

Nice review and it makes me realize that I need to drive one of these after the supply settles down enough to do more than a brief drive. All my P cars are rear engined. My wife has an 06 S with Tip. MUCH more a sports car than I ever expected. This seems to expand the concept nicely.

BTW, I particularly enjoyed that you captured that snarly little exhaust crackle! I have a modded old 930 that does the same thing.. only louder.

Thanks. More!

 

I find it funny the animosity (might be a tad strong description) between owners of different models of P cars. I realize that a Boxster isn’t the same price range of a Carrera 4S but it is built with the same ingenuity, the same thought process towards the ergonomics, the same quality that goes into a more expensive model.

I think if some of "the "merry band of brothers"'.. mostly who won't have anything to do with Boxsters.” would open their minds a bit more, they’d be quite pleasantly surprised of the performance of a Boxster.

I can’t wait to drive my 2013 model, may not be a 150K P car but sure as heck will hold it’s own and make me smile.


Mark

 

I think this next generation of Boxster and Cayman will be giving the 991 serious competition. Especially since the 991 is significantly less 911ish than the 997 and previous generations and has moved closer to driving like a mid-engined car.

 

Mark,

Unfortunately, I agree with you. You probably know which gruppe I was referring to, but is is the same with PCA and seemingly everywhere that P car people gather.

I remember this same crap with 914s, 924s, and 944s in the past. If it weren't for the emissions laws here I would have a 944 with a SBC just to tweak those inclined towards snob-ism.

I think the 991 is now moving into different territory. It is more like a 928 in many ways. That isn't bad. Just different. The new pricing will eliminate some previous customers but gain others who might otherwise be buying Maser/Astons/big Merz roadsters... but who in this subsection cares?

It is weird for me as I have concentrated on P cars for a while now and sometimes visit several different boards... and, yes, they are all different.

You will see this situation repeat itself in the coming years. Look hard at the Boxsters. They are growing and becoming more agressive with each rebirth. I am not sure that is all good. On the other hand it is moving them closer to where the 911 traditionally was and providing room for the new "sub Boxster". By the time that is on the market with its 4 cylinder and who knows what else, the current Boxsters will be viewed [all my opinion of course!] as more the upmarket "real enthusiast" sports car in the line. [Then the snobs will have a new group they can suggest shouldn't be allowed to join the clubs.] I suspect they will continue with the "911" as their prime sports car and make a new GT3,etc. On the other hand, if their motorsports program doesn't get more successful, they could make an about face and make a GT3 Cayman! We know it would be superior. Wouldn't THAT turn things on their heads for all the P snobs?

Just remember there will always be snots that want to believe having a more expensive, exotic, rare, whatever..car makes themselves special. Almost never have they built their own cars nor do they know how to work on them. We refer to them as "wallet guys" and it is not a huge compliment. I do want to add that there are some very very nice people in all these groups and people who do not work on their own cars. It is mainly that I have seen few snobs with torn up hands from doing their own work.

Meanwhile.. ENJOY. That is the point of these things.
JR

 

So, if someone doesn't work on their cars, does that make them less of a car enthusiast? That in itself could be considered a criterion for snobbery.

IMO, what matters most when it comes to being a (sports) car enthusiast isn't how expensive your car is or whether you work on it, but rather how serious you are about learn to drive it well. Otherwise, it's like having really nice musical instruments and knowing how to care for them, but not knowing how to play them - after all, making music is the true function for which they were designed.

Also, I don't fault someone for wanting a nice expensive car primarily as a symbol of success and status. I just wouldn't call them a real car enthusiast. To illustrate, I know someone who has a Lambo that he definitely can't afford and got because it "looks cool"; he doesn't know how many cylinders it has or what the sport button does, doesn't drive it fast, and has no knowledge of vehicle dynamics, car control, the line, etc.

 

Hey, Manifold.. Lighten up a bit and reread what I wrote. You are making me work too hard. OK ok ok... so you must be one of those guys who never works on their own car...haahahaha or you just enjoy playing devil's advocate!?


However: "So, if someone doesn't work on their cars, does that make them less of a car enthusiast?". YES, of course it does. They are NOT as INVOLVED with their car the person who is doing some/most of their own work. How could that be any different? If you do your own mods and adjust things yourself, the next time you are really using your car, you are very much aware of how the car is now responding to the road and your right foot. You may also be thinking about how you might readjust whatever it is to work even better. But that is strictly in terms of involvement and hasn't a thing to do with snobbery.

If you do none of the work on your car... it may mean you are not as connected as you could be but it has little bearing on how enthusiastic you may be about owning and using your car. However, the more I think about it I have to admit that many times the guys who do their own work have tended to have a bias against those who don't. sigh.

About driving skills. I am an old SCCA racer. At work once I was introduced as "the racer" and a pal immediately interrupted and said "Anyone can be a racer. He is a racing champion!" Well, there is truth to that but is sounds really uppity and means nothing unless you are racing.


Basically, our cars are getting so good that we are becoming less and less a part of the equation. If you are reading this you possibly are thinking " H.. no!". Well, go out to your favorite back road and turn ALL your driver's aids OFF. Yes. Even those ones they make it difficult to turn off. Now, I imagine you will be in a 986-987 and these are some of the nicest handling and best balanced cars ever built. If you can't drive one of these well without all the aids, you need to seriously consider attending a drivers school. Really. BTW, if you have never done this before, you should use caution. Older drivers aids were intrusive and I was always aware when they kicked in but newer cars are amazingly seamless and allow talentless drivers to feel and look like skilled enthusiasts. If you aren't careful you could hurt your car or yourself.

All this thinking makes me want to get out and visit one of my back roads.

But will I be willing to turn the driver's aids off?!

JR