Are Spyders Becoming Extinct At OPCs!
- Thread starter daro911
- Start date
Andrew Killington said:Hi All,
Put in my 2p having driven the Silverstone PEC 981 Spyder this morning for an hour or so on the road followed by handling circuit and the straights (new to me);
A little background; I had one of the first 987 Spyders and currently drive a Boxster GTS so feel fairly well placed to make some comparisons.
First Impressions in the flesh:-
Familiarity breeds contempt? The PEC car is GT Silver with classic interior so matches the spec of the car I have ordered; the car has a much more purposeful front end but I feel the rear has lost something over the 987; it doesn't wow me as much as the that car did; but maybe that's because it's not the original!
I found the roof easy enough to take on and off and after a few goes I think it will be a doddle; didn't have any problems locating the release buttons in the fabric as some have cited and no need for any strongarm stuff lifting the hood as in the 987; so functionally an improvement for ease of use and driving at high speeds; less sure about the interior finish of the hood; the exposed metalwork left me cold and for those used to an alcantara style roof lining the quality imho was lacking somewhat.
Keeping with differences interior wise the steering wheel is a peach, the smaller wheel feeling instantly comfortable and tactile and sporty; less impressed with the look of the door pulls; preferred the 987 ones; they work fine but have a bit too much function over form for me (the material reminded me of the straps on a rucksack)
I have the sports seats in the GTS and immediately felt much more at home in the buckets (standard not the LWB which I have ordered, which are now subject to a 4 week delay); unless you hate buckets I would spec them over the sports seats as they suit the car very well; I was able to achieve a great driving position with little effort.
Except for the interior classic colour scheme most of the cabin is the 981 which I personally prefer to the 987 but each to their own.
The Road
At start up/low revs without the sports exhaust on I couldn't really tell any noise difference between the GTS and the Spyder however this changes once you start increasing the revs and with the sports xorst on the car is probably louder than the GTS and has a more grown-up less contrived noise; I think the purists will prefer it to the GTS noise wise.
The car was very compliant in sport mode on the road (A, B motorway, town centres) and I didn't feel it was any less compliant than my GTS with PASM; a great job by Porsche; the smaller wheel adds to the sense of occasion and may have contributed to the feeling that the car had a little more feel than the GTS although that may have been the lower suspension, the buckets and the smaller wheel, and less weight; however don't expect 996RS levels of feedback.
Road noise/wind noise was perfectly acceptable at motorway speeds with top off.
Bearing in mind the car had only done 400 miles I was very pleasantly surprised the first time (and subsequentlywhen I accelerated; you can definitely feel the xtra urge over the GTS none more so when you are accelerating from say 3K; I have found you have to keep the GTS cooking at 4K plus to make good fast progress but the Spyder had much more oomph at 3K so yes you can notice the benefits speed wise of the 3.8 over the GTS in day to day use. A quick car.
My GTS is PDK and was worried about the tall gearing often mentioned with the manual box; again imho, not an issue; maybe the bigger engine and torque helps but I had no issues whatsoever with the gearing when I was out on the road; 40 mph in fourth, road opens up, just put your foot down; didn't notice the gearing issue at all.
And it's a vey sweet gearbox, short-precise shifts, probably as good as you get in a manual box these days; it's a real pleasure snicking up and down the gearbox.
On the road the car shrunk round me more so than the GTS but I've put that down to the buckets/smaller wheel etc
Spyder or GTS?
The looks of the GTS have grown on me and I now find it a good looking car (mine is Carmine Red); to me the 987 Spyder was a step change looks wise over the 987 S; I'm not convinced this is the case with the 981; I can't argue with anyone who feels the 987 is the better looking Spyder.
The engine is imo a step change over the GTS; more grown-up, punchier, a cracker to drive in the Boxster chassis;
Am I pleased I was able to secure a 981 Spyder? yes, defo, however I'm not sure whether a GTS with the same 3.8, buckets, sports suspension, smaller steering wheel would be any less desirable.
These were my first impressions and I will add anything elase signifiacant that I haven't mentioned
regards all
Hi Andrew great seeing you on Sunday and pleased to see that you had a good "road" test today in your future Porsche
I shall definitely be repeating your exercise and asking to go off piste and try the car in real world
I see you have taken to 3 pedals without any problems but had there been a choice this time around which way would you have gone PDK or stick
Will used GT4 prices fall below used 981 Spyder prices too! If this R was a 2010 or 11 Spyder it would have been £4k more despite costing many 1000's less brand new []
[link=http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/porsche/cayman/porsche-cayman-987-gen-ii-r-2012/4582065]http://www.pistonheads.co...-gen-ii-r-2012/4582065[/link]
][link=http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/porsche/cayman/porsche-cayman-987-gen-ii-r-2012/4582065]http://www.pistonheads.co...-gen-ii-r-2012/4582065[/link]
Good to read the comparison from Andrew Killington and John's view after getting up close to one.
The point about whether a GTS with all the Spyder bits on would be as desirable is well made. Porsche are masters of product development. What defines a car is a bundle of components and exclusive bodywork. It's the exclusive package that makes the car, not the sub-components, which individually may not be any world firsts. Take for example the 997 Sport Classic, Speedster and GTS.
They all had the wide body, readily available on AWD models.
They all had the X.51 powerkit engine upgrade, readily available for all Carrera S models
One had a ducktail spoiler and a subtle double bubble roof.
One had a speedster roof
One had just the wide body, centre-lock wheels and some alcantara.
All the same car mechanically but one cost much much less than the other two. There's no reason why the cheapest and least exclusive, would not provide the same thrill from behind the wheel as it's more exclusive related cars. But the other 2 are more exclusive packages offering in some ways 'more' in the package (no doubt some ways less) and that generates a desirability that for some is worth paying for. The Spyder vs Boxster is only about what makes a Spyder a Spyder - the roof and rear deck. Similar to what makes a 997 Speedster out of a GTS Cabriolet. Not a lot, but a package, a lot.
Well done to Daro in the national concours! That car will have a bit of extra cachet when it comes up for sale to make way for his 981 (or are you keeping them both?)
The point about whether a GTS with all the Spyder bits on would be as desirable is well made. Porsche are masters of product development. What defines a car is a bundle of components and exclusive bodywork. It's the exclusive package that makes the car, not the sub-components, which individually may not be any world firsts. Take for example the 997 Sport Classic, Speedster and GTS.
They all had the wide body, readily available on AWD models.
They all had the X.51 powerkit engine upgrade, readily available for all Carrera S models
One had a ducktail spoiler and a subtle double bubble roof.
One had a speedster roof
One had just the wide body, centre-lock wheels and some alcantara.
All the same car mechanically but one cost much much less than the other two. There's no reason why the cheapest and least exclusive, would not provide the same thrill from behind the wheel as it's more exclusive related cars. But the other 2 are more exclusive packages offering in some ways 'more' in the package (no doubt some ways less) and that generates a desirability that for some is worth paying for. The Spyder vs Boxster is only about what makes a Spyder a Spyder - the roof and rear deck. Similar to what makes a 997 Speedster out of a GTS Cabriolet. Not a lot, but a package, a lot.
Well done to Daro in the national concours! That car will have a bit of extra cachet when it comes up for sale to make way for his 981 (or are you keeping them both?)
Thanks flat6 but with wrong chairs wrong gears I've got my work cut out to ever find a buyer and ex garage queens aren't easy to sell in the first placeflat6 said:
Excellent points made on Porsche product development but you left off the greatest financial winner since the 997 Speedster the GT4 [
]Talking to some Turbo owners on Sunday I can see where you will be hanging your hat for the foreseeable and possible ever more unless so many new flat 6 Turbo's tempt you out of the granddaddy and original Turbo! It will be interesting to see how Porsche differentiate the 991.2 Turbo's form the 991 TURBO & TURBO S
I see the GT4 in a different way. It's unique suspension cannot be optioned onto any other 981, so from a driving perspective it is truly unique and cannot be emulated on any other 981.
It's a real USP and no doubt will send GT4 values up in the immediate term but i've no idea about medium or long term desirability to the positive or negative.
It's a real USP and no doubt will send GT4 values up in the immediate term but i've no idea about medium or long term desirability to the positive or negative.
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