Hey Guys, I've recently been bitten and I'm curious if others have any experience driving the Boxster Spyder. I recently posted my TT for sale after 10 minutes of driving the spyder. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Instead of describing the experience, take it from these guys who able to articulate it in a way better than I...


Pete Stout’ Quote:
"Where the Cayman R requires a corrective hand as you approach its limits, the Spyder remains steadfastly keyed into the pavement. This Boxster dissects any road with unerring accuracy, which only encourages you to drive it harder. Soon you’re in the eye of every driver’s favorite storm, one where small inputs translate into big speed. Though hand and foot movements are slow and measured, involvement runs deep.

[...]

At or near the limit, [the R] feels like a mid-engined car tuned for 911 fans. You have to work both ends of its chassis, but you can’t count on 911-like rear-end traction under braking or when powering out of a corner. That makes it feel sharper than a 911 but razor-edged, too.

The Spyder, on the other hand, simply works. You don’t have to think about how you’re managing weight and grip; you simply carve the road ahead, enjoying a greater sense of oneness with the machine as you do. That makes this simplified, open 987 the best-handling Porsche I have tested, a realization that’s come after a few thousand miles in Spyders. Sure, 911s yield a driver’s reward found nowhere else, but the excellence of the Spyder’s chassis trumps Weissach’s very best rear-engined efforts [11/2011]. And while the $440,000, mid-engined 2004-05 Carrera GT offers a more spine-tingling experience, it can’t touch the Spyder for handling predictability or refinement -- two ingredients that bring out the best in any driver. Is the Spyder perfect? Almost. Its merely wonderful 3.4-liter flat six leaves me craving more sound and soul.

Still this is Porsche at its best. The fact that the Boxster Spyder, like the 357 Speedster and Carrera GT, is one of those rare convertibles that doesn’t come off as a “softer choice” only adds to its appeal."


Peace by Meaden - Quote:
"Here was a lightweight Porsche that proved the ruthlessly race-honed path of the RS models was not the only way to achieve greatness. In fact in truly dynamic terms the Syder is a much more amenable road car than any recent RS 911, thanks to its apparently bottomless pliancy and beautifully generous, malleable and totally approachable handling.

Every element of this car is so perfectly wrought, so cohesive and consistent, it’s as near as flawless as you’re even likely to get. The balance of grip to power and how this dovetails with the steering’s rate of response is inspirational, while the engine has a magical mix of silken smoothness and soaring, rev-hungry sharpness that has you searching for the red line with every gear.

[...]

This, then, is a Porsche for the absolute purist. So finely honed, and with such a carefully crafted tactility to the steering, (manual) gearshift, throttle response, brakes and damping, you can’t help but be utterly seduced. To wring this car out through the gears, to hear its engine howl through a sports exhaust and to experience in precision and fluency down a road that regularly ties lesser cars in knots, is to appreciate that less done brilliantly will always shine brighter than more done averagely."

 

Why not that special boxster with carrera S engine . Thats like a mini carrera gt

 

Eh...I don't know if crazy is the right word...the guy I bought my 997TT from has a Boxster Spyder that he said he'll never sell. My bro-in-law has a ten year old Boxster S and that thing is one of my favorite cars to take on spirited joyrides, so easy to drive at the limit.

 

Not crazy for sure, driven the old Boxster and the new Cayman GTS with PDK and I can say WOW, they are incredible feeling machines, and my car is crazy modded and own modded gt-r too, go for it if you like open roof experiences and/or road race, do canyon driving etc will be quite the same fun as the turbo if not more

 

I agree - not crazy. "Real race cars are mid-engined." I can tell you at my last couple POC track days at short technical tracks like Streets of Willow here in SoCal, the fastest three cars in my group were a GMG WC-GT (significantly modded 997.1TT), a Cayman R (not sure how modded), and me in my 42 year old "Boxster". Times were consistently close. Corner entry speeds and quick transitions are where the mid-engined cars really dominate and are loads of fun. And that's what spirited street driving largely consists of.

 

Not crazy... auto...

 

Curious what's a 42 year old boxster?

 

same here

 

If have a 987.2 PDK Spyder and a 997.1TT FVD. After "upgrading" my 997.1TT my Spyder is more in the garage than ever. The 977.1TT is a beast.

 

LOL, sorry guys, I thought I had a signature on this board but apparently not. My other Porsche is a 1973 914-6 conversion race car. About 2,000lbs with 235rwhp and extensively tricked-out. My point was that in many circumstances, a lower-powered mid-engined car (especially with a low center of gravity) like the Boxster Spyder can be competitive with much higher-powered cars AND be tons of fun to boot. I regularly run with 996 and 997 GT3's, Turbos, Boxsters, Caymans etc. and can keep up pretty well in the twisty stuff. Obviously on the long straights, power rules and they run away from me. But that is not what most street driving consists of, at least in urban/suburban areas!

This shot is from last summer before I redid the graphics after some body/paint work (don't ask):

 

Bizzaro...now my signature is showing up...

 

I drove the Cayman and Boxster. Though I really liked them, I felt feeling more "at home" in the 997.

I may get the Boxster soon if time permits.

You're not crazy. Get what you want.

 

,Very cool!

DC