Goodbye 718 Cayman GTS, hello 981 Boxster GTS

[Ray]

I know from my own professional experience that things like engine sound and power delivery and steering feel are very subjective (and divisive?) subjects.

When EPS was introduced on the 9x1 Porsches immediately people were moaning about the degredation of steering feel and yet here we are one generation on and there's a begrudging acceptance that things have moved on quite significantly - even D is full of praise for his 991.2 GT3's steering..!

Like it or not, we have to accept that turbo engines are here to stay and whilst a flat-4 turbo engine will never sound like a n/a flat-6, Porsche will be working hard to address the criticism of this aspect of the engine. Also they have a wealth of turbo engine experience and no doubt have tricks up their sleeve if throttle response really is considered a significant a problem - a supplementary electric supercharger to enhance off-boost perhaps, although this could be achieved by a hybrid system which is bound to feature in the next generation of cars. Having taken the flat-4 turbo route for its mid-engined cars somehow I can't see Porsche backtracking and engineering the future mid-engine chassis to accept the flat-6 turbo engine now that they've created a distinction between their mid-engined and rear-engined cars.

Jeff

Jeff,

Neither can I see Porsche moving backwards. The four pot will be developed and enhanced as time goes by. The public are every car manufactures test bed. The public unknowingly are the industries vehicle developers/snaggers.

Ray

 

[turbo jonny]

Thanks for the link Andrew

 

[Brian_Innes]

Jeff is right. Engine sound and power delivery are very divisive issues. We don't all drive the same way, nor do we have the same criteria in the way a car appeals to us.

Paul, you clearly made a mistake with your 718 Cayman GTS choice. Everyone has their own expectations from a car, and clearly the 981 Boxster GTS is nearer the mark for you.

After 10 years of Cayman ownership I can't defend the inferior thrum of the flat-4 turbo compared to the melodic flat-6. However, I don't identify with your comments on the 718 GTS "bogging down". You say selecting Sport mode improved this symptom, but didn't like using this map from cold. I can assure you that selecting Sport mode from cold is not in any way harmful to the engine. In fact using Sport mode on the 718 it is more beneficial to a cold engine, as it activates all 5 engine oil pumps and opens up all the oil galleries thus warming up the vital components more uniformly.

My 718 CS PDK has now covered over 15,000 faultless miles including a grand total of 9 track days since December 2016. My 718 is not a daily driver, it is used primarily for touring and track days, a combination at which it excels in every department. I am shortly to be embarking on a 14 day tour of Germany with my 718 CS. I don't expect the droning exhaust sound to be a problem on the de-restricted sections of autobahn, in contrast to the tiresome variable speed limits of 40, 50, 60, and 70mph dictated to motorway users in the UK.

You will no doubt enjoy your 981 Boxster GTS, as I'm sure this is a more appropriate car for your requirements and driving style.

Brian

 

[fasterthanlight]

The 718 in now a flagship car for Porsche. If you want anything less than a 911 then this is your option until Porsche design and produce another vehicle. Otherwise your choice is a used vehicle, 987/981.

Porsche has a portfolio of motor vehicles, you make a choice and pay your money. If you are not happy with the choice on offer buy something different.

It had occurred to me that Porsche are effectively saying that if you want a new 6-cylinder car, then you have to buy a 911. A cunning plan to get me to spend more, but I don't personally want to spend that much on a car. I suppose the forthcoming 718 Spyder/GT4 twins will offer the right engine, but they're a bit too extreme for me to be daily drivers (and probably quite expensive this time round too).

Like it or not, we have to accept that turbo engines are here to stay and whilst a flat-4 turbo engine will never sound like a n/a flat-6, Porsche will be working hard to address the criticism of this aspect of the engine.

718 sales seems to be as good as the 981s, but nevertheless, the criticism of the engine sound must hurt. I am sure they can make it sound better for the next version of the car if that's more of a clean sheet design, rather than a "facelift" of the 981.

 

[MrDemon]

it's the amount of pistons and it having a turbo which kills it for me, it's like a Golf and I have one of those

I know I keep saying that, but I want my £70k car to be more exotic in sound, piston count and still be NA.

I had the 718 GTS for a day it does have lag and more notable than the 991.2 turbo's

what it does have is performance, it's a very fast car. Any one seen the new MX5, the last NA manual we can buy just about and with new light weight engine parts a new 181bhp figure and revs to 7500 it's looks sweet for £23k, its a very tempting buy.

to quote:

The 2.0-litre now revs to a dizzy 7,500rpm, which is up from the 6,800rpm of today’s car. The boosted power is actually delivered at 7,000rpm, so Mazda perhaps didn’t need to engineer an extra 500rpm of revs on top, but we’re delighted that it did (particularly as strengthening any engine to cope with sustained high revs is neither easy nor cheap).

Each of the engine's four pistons and conrods is lighter (by 27g and 41g respectively), the crank has been redesigned and the intake throttle body is 28 per cent larger, while the port area is expanded by 18 per cent and the exhaust valve diameter has grown as well. There's a low inertia dual mass flywheel, too, for enhanced throttle response,

this means it produces max BHP at higher revs than a 981 Spyder lol !!!!