Are Spyders Becoming Extinct At OPCs!

[daro911]

Our light Spyders just became fat boys Alfa 4C weighs just 895kg Alfa Romeo has revealed a few more details about its 4C sports car, including its 895kg dry weight The new Alfa Romeo 4C has a dry weight of just 895kg – that’s about the same as a Volkswagen up! city car and around 400kg lighter than the Porsche Cayman S. That incredibly low kerbweight explains how the 4C can pitch itself against models like the Cayman, despite only having a 1.75-litre four-cylinder turbo engine with 237bhp. Alfa Romeo claims a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds – four-tenths quicker than a PDK-equipped Cayman S. The 4C weighs so little because of Alfa’s engineers endless quest to shed weight wherever possible. It uses a carbon fibre monocoque that weighs just 65kg, hybrid brakes that save 2kg per disc, windows that are 10 per cent thinner than normal and a special lightweight plastic for the bumpers and wings. The 4C’s body is build from something called Sheet Moulding Compound, a composite material that is about 20 per cent lighter than sheet steel. It’s also resistant to corrosion and a good sound insulator for improved refinement. Like McLaren does with its 12C supercar, each 4C will be test driven for 25 miles before being handed over to customers to ensure the car is behaving as it should. Alfa Romeo will make up to 3,500 4Cs per year, with 1,000 of those destined to make it to Europe. First deliveries here will be in late September, and while pricing hasn’t yet been announced for the standard car, a special Launch Edition version costs 60,000 EUR (£51,600). Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/alfa-romeo/4c/64374/alfa-4c-weighs-just-895kg#ixzz2W0PtJiAY

 

[daro911]

New Page - New pic[]

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: Fire_2

ORIGINAL: flat6 Fire2, what's your car's full spec?

19-inch Boxster Spyder Wheel (Bridgestone RE050 tyres) CDR-30 Audio System Floor mats Fully automatic climate control Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) Sound Package Plus including CD storage Sport Plus Chrono Package Sports Bucket Seats Sports exhaust system / Black Tips (also have the standard exhaust system) Three-spoke sports steering wheel with paddles / and standard wheel with buttons Universal audio interface Wheels painted in Black / Colour Logo Caps Rear Parking Sensors Launch Control Cup Holders

Similar spec to mine, apart from the transmission of course. Retrofitting the sports zorst must've been pricey. Did you feel it was worth it? Mine came with it but wouldn't have been a deal breaker if it didn't. My spec: Full Black leather interior - bonus! 19-inch Boxster Spyder Wheel - an absolute must for me 6-speed manual transmission Carrara White instrument dials Cruise control Floor mats Fully automatic climate control Heated seats - I use the seat heaters every now and again but wouldn't miss them at all Porsche Communication Management (PCM) including navigation module Porsche crest embossed on head restraints Sound Package Plus including CD storage Sport Chrono Package Plus Sports exhaust system - haven't worked out how much it has dented my fuel economy, always wanting to hear it sing above 4000 rpm. These things should not be allowed[] Sports seats (a must have for the child seat prep) Steering column casing leather - why oh why oh why?[&:] Telephone module for PCM Universal audio interface Wheel centre set Wheels painted in Black - bonus! Sport Shifter - got them to fit this before I picked the car up. Took home the original shifter because, erm, well, i'd paid for both of them[]

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: MrDemon all alone

Thanks for the info on Recaro Poles. How did the Spyder get on alongside the Lotuses?

 

[Fire_2]

Retrofitting the sports exhaust was around £1800 if I remember, also the paddle wheel was £650ish I've disabled the switch so its always loud (and doesn't cut off at low rpm) and slid the balance pipe over but its still not all that loud! should of gone aftermarket or cayman R bigger bore.

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: daro911

Our light Spyders just became fat boys Alfa 4C weighs just 895kg Alfa Romeo has revealed a few more details about its 4C sports car, including its 895kg dry weight The new Alfa Romeo 4C has a dry weight of just 895kg – that’s about the same as a Volkswagen up! city car and around 400kg lighter than the Porsche Cayman S. That incredibly low kerbweight explains how the 4C can pitch itself against models like the Cayman, despite only having a 1.75-litre four-cylinder turbo engine with 237bhp. Alfa Romeo claims a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds – four-tenths quicker than a PDK-equipped Cayman S. The 4C weighs so little because of Alfa’s engineers endless quest to shed weight wherever possible. It uses a carbon fibre monocoque that weighs just 65kg, hybrid brakes that save 2kg per disc, windows that are 10 per cent thinner than normal and a special lightweight plastic for the bumpers and wings. The 4C’s body is build from something called Sheet Moulding Compound, a composite material that is about 20 per cent lighter than sheet steel. It’s also resistant to corrosion and a good sound insulator for improved refinement. Like McLaren does with its 12C supercar, each 4C will be test driven for 25 miles before being handed over to customers to ensure the car is behaving as it should. Alfa Romeo will make up to 3,500 4Cs per year, with 1,000 of those destined to make it to Europe. First deliveries here will be in late September, and while pricing hasn’t yet been announced for the standard car, a special Launch Edition version costs 60,000 EUR (£51,600). Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/alfa-romeo/4c/64374/alfa-4c-weighs-just-895kg#ixzz2W0PtJiAY

Trust daro to find a rendering of a Spider version[] Only the coupe is real for now[] I just can't ignore the 4C. I've had my eye on it since it was presented as a concept car. The pursuit of lightness is taken to the next level compared to our steel structures. The price is a bit steep for an Alfa but from a technical design and component materials perspective, it is fair I guess. I do like Alfa's and the badge doesn't bother me. The reputation of poor build quality lingers on but that is really from the past and I didn't have any major problems with an Alfa GT Blackline I used to own. My Porsche have been to the dealership more often for niggles than that car did and things like IMS engine failure have had people spending serious money on Porsche warranties. It will be made at Maserati's Modena production plant and that was completely overhauled by Ferrari. In fact, there were rumours that Maserati will use a larger version of this 4C platform to build a 911 beater. Would you buy a 4C? Would you buy a 4C instead of a Cayman? If I wanted a 2 seater to be smaller and therefore nimbler I would. If I wanted a 2 seater to be lighter and faster I would. But it would have prove to be a better driver's car than the Porsche. Not just better on paper but it'd have to handle as well as the theory says it should. The blueprint of the 981 is not to be a raw, Lotus Elise / Cateram type car, so it could be considered a bit unfair to compare it to the 4C. If they do make a 4C Spider, would you buy one instead of a Boxster S? If they do make a 4C Spider, would you buy one instead of a 981 Boxster Spyder? (That's a hard one for me to answer because realistically, the 987 Spyder is likely to be my first and last open top car, but if I did) I'd actually pick which one was the better car for whatever criteria I set myself at the time.

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: Fire_2 Retrofitting the sports exhaust was around £1800 if I remember, also the paddle wheel was £650ish I've disabled the switch so its always loud (and doesn't cut off at low rpm) and slid the balance pipe over but its still not all that loud! should of gone aftermarket or cayman R bigger bore.

Extra loud zorsts aren't my thing (although I do make use of mine of course, but wouldn't have spec'd it from new) so I couldn't comment further, but if it still doesn't sing loud enough for you, that's an expensive half measure[&o]. Just drive fast enough to not be able to concentrate on the noise or lack of it[8D]

 

[homerdog]

ORIGINAL: Fire_2 slid the balance pipe over

Is [link=http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-boxster-modifications/4077-free-motor-sound-package.html]this[/link] what you're talking about? Any good? I love the sports exhaust, but sometimes wish it was even louder! []

 

[kitchens]

ORIGINAL: Fire_2 Retrofitting the sports exhaust was around £1800 if I remember, also the paddle wheel was £650ish I've disabled the switch so its always loud (and doesn't cut off at low rpm) and slid the balance pipe over but its still not all that loud! should of gone aftermarket or cayman R bigger bore.

Correct me if i am wrong you bought your Spyder and then paid for an sport exhaust as well as changing the steering wheel to the one with paddles on the back .?? PS i always shop at your store [][]

 

[Fire_2]

That's the one homerdog! I should of just sent mine away to carnell for the exhaust sound mod and saved some cash! Anyone removed the intake plastic cover under the side grill yet?

 

[daro911]

I would definitely be very happy if my Spyder would have sounded as good as the very latest 991 PSE (Haven't heard a 981 so can't say but I have been told it is along the same lines as the 991) The 991 has great sound track lots of overrun popping and also it is a much better level volume wise from tick over to redline To me a PSE should be standard kit on any Porsche sports car and hats off to Jaguar who include it in the standard kit on the F Type V6S & V8 and offer it as an option of the entry level F Type This Fabspeed looks pretty serious kit too [link=http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=lHVicTdK1WsVJM&tbnid=xYDkHep53QAX5M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.6speedonline.com%2Fforums%2F991%2F269253-new-991-c4s-24.html&ei=K8a4UeraKonK0QXuoIDoDw&bvm=bv.47810305,d.d2k&psig=AFQjCNHTzeGDnYcpxYifEjIzRZ3mm5C0pA&ust=1371150241558157]

[/link]

 

[Fire_2]

Yeah the overrun popping on both new boxster and 911 sounds great! must be just a software thing?! as to the speed of the PDK changes?!

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: Fire_2 Yeah the overrun popping on both new boxster and 911 sounds great! must be just a software thing?! as to the speed of the PDK changes?!

Funnily enough my local OPC sales contact said if he was buying a 987 today it would have to be manual but if he was buying a 981 it could only be PDK[&o] According to him the Gen2 PDK's are absolutely brilliant in any mode and a distinctive move forward on the 1st generation

 

[MrDemon]

May as well buy a feista st as they are a awesome car and play play station for than PDK experience Save your self 40k Porsche have killed off the manual any way making he ratio's so unusable on the new 981 you are fored to line their pockets and spend 2k more on PDK. 83 mph in 2nd gear is the death of manual for Porsche.

 

[flat6]

Each to their own and all that but what I like about manual is being in control of when to shift. I'm not passionate about how the gear change is carried out. What is so great about using both a hand and a foot, wasting some of the engine's momentum by coming off the gas and having the clutch disengaged for longer than an automated mechanism. I prefer manual in my 987 because I admit, as MrD rightly said before, some do get lazy and I would most likely leave it in auto, and I found the 987 PDK a bit too reactive in auto. However, if I drove it in manual mode, i'd be as in control driving an automated transmission as I would be using the old fashioned, inefficient technique. The new PDK is much more proactive to the throttle movements and for lazy people like me, it'd probably be left in auto much of the time except where I felt I needed to intervene. So I do see you point MrD.

 

[flat6]

Have just come home from our region's Porsche Club evening. The local Jaguar dealership brought along 2 F-Types for us to drive. We had the 300PS F-Type and the 380PS F-type S. I drove both. Really nice cars to drive and the automated transmission was very proactive like the new PDK. Touch the throttle and it shifts down, without being in sport mode. It'll be in a low enough gear by the time you've reached as far as you intended to squeeze the thottle, not after you've got there. Seemed to drive OK. Hard to tell on a short test drive and with a Spyder as your daily drive, plus it's been a long time since i've driven a front engined sports car. Seemed fine, but back in the Spyder, having the engine in the right place was telling on the way home as I showed my mate with a 991 how my Spyder is king when it comes to swift direction changes after hard braking and back on the throttle early[8D]. Maybe his 991 could've done better to keep up but the Spyder gave me more confidence and made me the better driver. All credit to the car, not me [] We had our annual competition tonight. It'd not a concours but a "Which car would you like to go home in?" competition. With each person noting down their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices, when the scores were totted up, my Spyder came 3rd out of about 20 cars[]. 1st place went to a very nice looking 991 Carrera S cab in aqua blue with matching blue hood. I think 2nd place was a 993 turbo.

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: Fire_2 Yeah the overrun popping on both new boxster and 911 sounds great! must be just a software thing?! as to the speed of the PDK changes?!

The F-types had a good crackly popping on the overrun for you noise boys, but something made me feel that it was a bit intentional and I don't really go for synthetic features that are inserted for cosmetic reasons. Can someone explain if these new cars perform in such a way that inherently leads to this on the overrun, or is it just engineered in, like a lot of things these days... The speed of PDK changes is the big attraction for me. I get more of a thrill from speed rather than gear changing, so if an automated transmission can get me to a higher speed before a corner than I could do by manual shifting, then i'm all for it for the thrill of speed[] PDK in the GT3 is long overdue IMHO and there's always the Morgan for those who like to hang onto tradition[] What I do wonder though is, will cars become more of a throw away item. I mean, which so much expensive technology on these new cars, some of which is disproportionately expensive to replace, who is going to want to own these cars when they are too old to get a warranty[8|]

 

[MrDemon]

So they have given in and need the on paper figures and made a nice sounding GTR but slower!!! I still say if you want speed and all the tech the GTR is king by a massive margin. I do love the new GT3 looks, but I don't want one even if I had the money. I would be trying to find a F430 Scud to own I think with £120k

 

[homerdog]

ORIGINAL: flat6 What is so great about using both a hand and a foot, wasting some of the engine's momentum by coming off the gas and having the clutch disengaged for longer than an automated mechanism.

And with the new GT3 being PDK only, in years to come that will be what everybody wants in the Spyder, making it worth a lot more than the manual! []

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: flat6

ORIGINAL: Fire_2 Yeah the overrun popping on both new boxster and 911 sounds great! must be just a software thing?! as to the speed of the PDK changes?!

The F-types had a good crackly popping on the overrun for you noise boys, but something made me feel that it was a bit intentional and I don't really go for synthetic features that are inserted for cosmetic reasons. Can someone explain if these new cars perform in such a way that inherently leads to this on the overrun, or is it just engineered in, like a lot of things these days... The speed of PDK changes is the big attraction for me. I get more of a thrill from speed rather than gear changing, so if an automated transmission can get me to a higher speed before a corner than I could do by manual shifting, then i'm all for it for the thrill of speed[] PDK in the GT3 is long overdue IMHO

The crack bang and pop on the overrun is programmed in and I even have it on my Mini Cooper S when in "Sport" mode and it makes the crackle and bangs at pre-set rev ranges on the overrun[&o] The speed of PDK changes you refer to above is that in the new "F" Type because if it is that gearbox is an 8 speed auto and not a pdk system! Reading all the reports on the latest modern auto boxes they can mimic a PDK box without all the extra weight and complicated clutch systems and presumably for less money too Flat6 as you have driven the F Type how does it feel against the 981 []