MotorWeek Car Keys: 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

[goldendragon125]

I'm going to wait until maybe 2013 to get this car, since it will be a lot cheaper then, and it will still look really nice.

[MObar]

this guy needs to slap himself

[TheArfdog]

Yeah if anything this minimalist Boxster should be cheaper than the rest.

[wildbloodydragon]

I wouldn't buy this car if they put a gun to my head. Are you kidding me? Slower, less features, more weight, and handles not that much better than anything else on the market you can buy for 50 grand. At this price you could buy a nicely equipped Corvette with more power. Sure it won't be as classy but if you want classy buy a regular Boxster.

[PGROTHE]

@wildbloodydragon It's the other way around... faster, lighter, more performance features. Listen carefully or read a bit about that car.

It's the lightest porshe available, it has the same engine as the Cayman S which is 10 hp more than any other boxster, it has better suspension, sit lower on the ground and has a standard LSD. Reviewer have done o-60 in 4.6 secondes... What is wrong with you ?

[wildbloodydragon]

@PGROTHE 10hp? Are you serious? A $50 CAI can get you more then that.

And how exactly is the Boxter Spyder more equipped? Does not having AC and radio count as features? Makes no sense to me.

I'm not doubting it's joy, it's amazing sound or handling, I know for a fact that Porsche's feel exceptionally good in the corners, Boxster and Cayman especially. But down on power, down on features, incredibly impractical, and miserable on the race track, I don't see the point of this car.

[PGROTHE]

@wildbloodydragon At the end it's just a matter of personal preferences. Personaly I never use the AC especially in a car that have no roof. For sure that car is impractical, it was never meant to get your groceries.

The CAI will not remove more than 200 lbs from your car, improve the suspension or the aerodynamics.

This car is a great car but for sure not for everyone. I'm highly interested on this car because I want something fun to drive, convertible and that's efficient on a track.

[wildbloodydragon]

@PGROTHE Sure, you can like a completely pointless car, and there's nothing wrong with it. I spend days drawing a picture of a car for reasons I'm yet to find out.

But talking about aerodynamics in a convertible car is simply laughable. If you want a track car, get a track car. They are cheap, focused on the point, and they perform well beyond anything you want. There plenty of street legal ones out there too. If you want a classy car, get a classy car. Don't mix sugar with salt...naasty..

[PGROTHE]

@wildbloodydragon For sure the Cayman will have better aerodynamics thant any boxster out there. My point was that there is a dramatic improvement from the boxster S to the Boxster Spyder.

A well designed car that has no roof (I'm not sure the Spyder can be considered as a real convertible) can still have a great aerodynamics, think about the Ariel Atom or any formula car.

Even if you don't like the car, you don't have to bash on it saying that it's crap and worthless.

[wildbloodydragon]

@PGROTHE Worthless? No, I didn't say it's worthless, but it's just not worth 50 grand either.

Lotus Elise is severely down on power but there are quite a lot of ways to fix that. I don't think there's much that can be done to the Boxster's engine.

I'm looking at this Camaro track car that makes around 400hp and is pretty much a full on track car, pulling over 1.5 G in the corners. Guess for how much? 10k.

[wildbloodydragon]

@PGROTHE Either way, you have more options modifying a Lotus than a Porsche.

If you want to take your girl friend out for a nice drive around the canyons go buy a nicer more comfortable better equipped cheaper Boxster. It will do all your girl friend can expect and then some.

If you want a serious performance car, then sit down and start punching in some numbers because you're not going for some fresh air.

Here's a video of the car in question. Street legal, btw.

watch?v=1vIlk1bdqu0

[PGROTHE]

@wildbloodydragon I don't know where you live, but at my place I would last 10 minutes whitout have cops after me wich such a nasty sound. It's probably straight pipe. Anyway seems to be a great car on the track... that's it.

[wildbloodydragon]

@PGROTHE It's called cut-outs, brother. I have one on my Camaro. When it's closed, it's not much louder than the average spots car. I open the bolts when I want to race. I come home nearly deaf everytime. lol.

[PGROTHE]

@wildbloodydragon Let's keep it simple, the Exige S has a power to weight ratio of 9.43 lbs/hp, the Boxster Spyder 8.78 lbs/hp and the Camaro that you are refering to is 9.37 lbs/hp. Which one will accelerate faster ? which one will brake faster ? which one will have less work to do in the corners ? Really simple to answer. I don't know where you got that a Camaro can get 1.5G beacause the Veyron can't do more than 1.4G. The is more important thing than just HP to make a car worth its price.

[wildbloodydragon]

@PGROTHE I was specifically talking about that Camaro, not stock Camaros. It's an actual track car, just as an example. And where did you get 9.37 anyways? It's around 3150lbs with 420bhp. It's around 7.5lbs/bhp.

A stock one of those has 12lbs/hp and barely gets 0.9 G even with good tires and minor mods.

But that's my point. If you want a track car go buy a track car and stop fooling around with cars that only boast they are track ready while they will be completely embarrassed in a real race.

[PGROTHE]

@wildbloodydragon My bad, I simply assumed a recent Camarao that has 400bhp for my calculation since you didn't give me more details. The actual power from the guy that sell it is 365hp. If you calculate it right it will give you 8.63 lbs/hp.

We are looking for different kind of car, you are looking for a spartan car that is built only for track, I am looking for a classy car that perform very well on the track. Diffenrent needs, different cars.

[wildbloodydragon]

@PGROTHE 365whp = 420bhp assuming a very conservative 14% loss of power in the drivetrain. Technically speaking this car could have well over 450hp at the crank. Since the manufacturer's HP numbers are also measured at the crank it's only fair to compare them to the at the crank numbers.

I understand that, and there's no doubt the Boxster Spyder is a sick car, but I expect more from Porsche, especially from the legendary name "Spyder".

[PGROTHE]

@wildbloodydragon By the way.

Look at Top Gear power laps list, you will find that the Spyder is in position #52 while the Cayman S is in position #72. Even the Lotus Exige S was slower than the Spyder at position #56.

/wiki/List_of_Top_Gear_test_tr­ack_Power_Lap_Times on wikipedia

[13slot28]

i like the MANual top remeval :)

[adj789]

overpriced imo

[JoeBird76]

Nice. ...I'll take it!

[NoxNoctisUmbra]

I would sstill rather add bit of money and go with the Coupe version (cayman)

[hultii]

this is the first boxster i like looking at ... the rest where a bit ugly

[venom5809]

My next car.

I love it.

I am waiting for the prices to come down on a used one some more.

The white is the best and only color to get.

[irocz0r]

I can't get over that crazy roof! Great handling car I'm sure, but not worth the money. Give me the standard Boxster S any day.