Z356

We know that the final few MY2012 Spyders were built in the last two weeks of July of 2011. Only approx. 125 Spyders were allocated to US dealer for MY'12, with production starting in late Spring of 2011. Here is a list I have compiled with some of the last Spyders with very late VIN #'s that have been identified as of this date:

#5167 Carrara White/black. McKenna in Norwalk, CA. PDK but no paddles, sport chrono, sport bucket seats, A/C, Bi-Xenons. $73,990. Available.

#5169 Platinum Silver/red. Porsche of Silver Spring, MD. PDK with paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats, A/C, PCM, Bi-Xenons. $84,955. Available.*

#5176 Basalt Black/black. Circle Porsche in Long Beach, CA. PDK with paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats heated, A/C, PCM, Bi-Xenons. $80,630. Available.

#5177 Black/red. Porsche North Scottsdale, AZ. PDK with paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats heated, A/C, Bi-Xenons, Sport Exhaust, Full Leather. $81,795. Available.

#5178 PTS Riviera/black. Walters in Riverside, Ca. Manual, Sport Chrono, Sport leather seats heated, A/C, Bi-Xenons, PCM, PTS charge. $79,390. Sold to Donavan in Oregon.

#5179 PTS Azure/red. Euroclassics in Virginia. Manual, Sport Chrono, Sport Buckets, A/C, Sport Shifter, Sport Exhaust, PTS charge, Full leather. $82,600. Sold to Jon in Oregon.

#5180 Carrara White/black. Rogers Job, Bellingham, WA. Manual, Sport Chrono, Sport Leather Seats, A/C. $68,045. Available*

#5181 Aqua Blue/black. Brumos in Jacksonville, FL. Lightly optioned from what I recall. Sold.

#5182 Carrara White/black. Autobahn in Fort Worth, TX. PDK no paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats but not heated, A/C, PCM, Sport Exhaust. $81,405. Available.

#5185 Black/black. Porsche of Downtown LA. PDK with paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats heated, A/C, PCM, Bi-Xenons. $75,375. Available.

#5186 Guards Red/black. Hoehn in Carlsbad, California. PDK but no paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats heated, A/C, PCM, Bi-Xenons. Sport Exhaust. $80,775. Available.

#5187 Aqua Blue/red. Delta in Michigan. Manual, Sport Chrono, Sport Buckets, A/C, Bi-Xenons, Sport Exhaust, Sport Shifter, Full leather. $84,770. Ordered by z356 in CA/CO.

#5188 Black/black. Porsche of Downtown LA. Manual, Sport Buckets, no A/C (as I recall). Sold.

#5189 PTS Speed Yellow/black. Porsche Center of San Antonio, Texas. Manual, sport buckets seats, A/C, no radio, Sport Shifter, Full leather. Ordered by JSF101 in Texas.

#5190 Platinum/black. Manual, sport leather/alcan seats, A/C, Sport Chrono, Bi-Xenos, Alcantara pkgs, Sport shifter, PSE. 496 mi. PCNA car at Ellis (GA) 6/12 for $75K

#5192 Black/black. Porsche of Beverly Hills, Ca. Manual, sport chrono, sport leather seats heated, Bi-Xenons,A/C, Sport Exhaust. $73,710. Available.

#5194 Platinum Silver/Black. Porsche of the Motor City, Eastpointe, MI. Manual, Sport Chrono, Sport Leather Seats, A/C, PCM, Full Leather. $77,610. Available*

#5195 Guards Red/black. Manual, sport chrono, sport bucket seats, Bi-Xenons, Sport Exhaust. Ordered by Jabbey in Virginia.

#5196 Black/black. Porsche of Hawaii. Manual, sport bucket seats, no sport chrono, A/C, Bi-Xenons, Alcantara pkg DBA. $75,875. Available.

#5197 Black/black. Walters in Riverside, Ca. PDK but no paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats heated, A/C, PCM, Bi-Xenons, Sport Exhaust. $80,450. Available.

#5200 Platinum Silver/black. Porsche North Scottsdale, AZ. PDK with paddles, sport chrono, sport leather seats heated, A/C, PCM, Bi-Xenons, Sport Exhaust. $83,210. Available.

#5201 Guards Red/black. Porsche of Fremont, CA. PDK with paddles, No sport chrono or Xenons, buckets, A/C, black wheels, sport exhaust, Sound Plus. $75,690

#5202 Platinum Silver/sand beige. Jim Ellis Porsche of Atlanta, GA. PDK, Full Leather and many other options (as I recall). Sold.

Does anyone know of another late VIN # MY2012 Spyder that has just arrived at a US dealer - pre-sold or still available? Let us know by posting on this thread. Thank you.

So here is my analysis of the data I posted above (except those marked * which were listed later). Background: the Boxster Spyder arrived as an early '11 in the spring of 2010 and over 600 sold in the past 1 1/2 years. By the time these US Porsche dealers are ordering their last batch of allocations for the '12 Spyder (say late April or May of 2011), they should have known what is most desirable and in demand for this model...or did they?

Our test sample includes 18 cars with very late Vin #'s. Of these, only four appeared to be ordered to owner's custom specs - z356's 5187, 5188, JSF's 5189, Jabbey's 5195 & 5202. Three of these cars had manual transmissions and sport buckets. Only one had PDK and (probably) sport leather seats. On the other hand, of the 13 other cars ordered on spec by dealers, 8 were ordered with PDK and 10 with Sport Leather Seats. So you see here that dealers are inclined to order PDK and the easier to get in/out sport leather seats (regardless the desirability of 6-speed & the carbon fiber buckets from enthusiasts posting in our forums).

It seems like nearly all of these 18 cars were ordered with A/C, Bi-Xenons and optional Sound Pkg Plus (except #5188), so it came with either standard radio or PCM. Only one individual, JSF101, ordered his car without a Radio or Bi-Xenons, although he made a concession to A/C (Texas heat!). Most dealers ordering PDK went with Sport Chrono and optional Sport Design paddle shifter. But not all, two dealers stuck to the standard wheel with button shifters. Even manuals were mostly ordered with Sport Chrono. The latter seems to rule, regardless the negativity often heard about the 'wart' at the forums. A few cars were ordered with Sport Exhaust. Fewer still with Sport Shifter. Only 5 cars were ordered with full leather, of which 3 were special ordered. Three interiors were done in Carrera Red and one in Sand Beige. Only one person - JSF101's - ordered full leather with his black interior. So bottom line, dealers shy away from full leather, especially when ordering black interiors. Only one dealer forgot to order the heat option with his sport leather seats - the Autobahn store in Forth Worth. Even in Texas, you have cool nights for three seasons. This is a ordering mistake, in my opinion.

Six cars were ordered Black. Two cars were ordered in each of these colors - Carrara White, Guards Red, Platinum Silver & Aqua Blue. One was done in Basalt Black Metallic. None were ordered in the special color (extra $3K+) that few seem to like - Cream White - and almost no one has paid to have it on their Spyder during the two year production run for this model. Three cars were done PTS which were, by design, all bunched up for production at the very end of the run. The standard black interiors (mostly in vinyl except for the leather in the seats) ruled. Only one car has the expensive ($2.6K) DBA Alcantara pkg (wheel, shifter, e-brake), although mine has the $655 'Additional Alcantara Pkg' (door panels & arm rests).

I think it is an interesting analysis of the way dealers ordered Spyders vs how individuals did their specs. Very few took advantage of the unique possibilities available to them via Porsche Exclusive. Only one, JSF101, was able to get PTS approved as an individual customer. The other two PTS were ordered by well-connected dealers experienced in ordering PTS in their other models. I hope this changes in the future and both dealers & individual customers get more creative with their sport car builds.

Saludos, z356

2012 Spyder - 'Aqua Blue'/Red
1970 911E Targa - 'Crystal Blue'/Black

Past:
1968 912 Targa 'Polo Red'
1970 911 T Coupe
1983 944
1972 914 2.0
1984 911 SC Coupe
1986 944 Turbo
1960 356 B Cab
1954 356 Pre-A Cab 'Azure Blue'
1960 356 B Roadster
1964 356 C Cab
1959 356 Convertible D
1964 356 Carrera 2 Coupe 'Königsblau'
1965 356 C Cab 'Signal Red'
1990 Carrera 4 Coupe
1997 Boxster
1997 Boxster #2
1973 911T Sunroof 'Signal Yellow'
2007 997 Carrera S 'Signal Green'

jabbey

z356,

I need to update my profile and add some pics. However, my car is located in Northern VA. Looking forward to finding out the final numbers.

Marine Blue

Eduardo for the Spyders that are sold vs unsold, are there any trends you're noticing? For example are most pdk or 6spd, do they have sport seats or sport buckets etc?

Just curious if there's a more desirable combination and what buyers are looking for.

Z356

I just revised my list with more complete information on the cars available. It is a treasure trove for an analysis of the mindset of dealers as they ordered these Spyders. More about this in a post this afternoon. z356

mile2424

Hopefully the guy who bought the Azure is a Rennlist member as well? Hopefully they can post pics when they receive it!

n4v4nod

http://www.teamspeed.com/forums/boxs...-1-4-us-5.html

JEI-Porsche

here's mine:

#5162, White/Black.. Isringhausen Imports, IL. Manual, Sport Chrono, Sport Buket, A/C, Xenon, Alcantara, PSE, painted roll bars. $73,735. Sold

It lives in San Diego now. I looked for a long time before buying this dealer-ordered car. It seemed impossible to get a manual & sport bucket equipped car.

Marine Blue

Thank you for posting this! I think it confirms that Porsche's original configuration with the Sport Buckets is desirable. What's odd is how many more pdk's were ordered instead of MT's. I wonder if dealers are seeing a higher demand for pdk when they made this decision?

Z356

A well known & respected Rennlister we all know from the gt3 forum sent me the following email which I found insightful:

"The Dealers pick---PDK and comfort seats (easier to sell to a trader market)

The Customers pick manual and Sport buckets (fits their perception(s) better)

The "Pros" (without exception) pick PDK and Sport Buckets (faster and the practical reality)

PSDS (Porsche Sport Driving School) showed the merits of PDK and then some, for those with the skill to carry the inherent momentum which is built into the cars."

Although he may be correct, my response was that we, the customers, are not in the main pros! The ability of the driver to interact, mechanically, with his car via the labor & coordination of the shifting process is part of the magic that this car offers! Soon enough, like in Ferrari's 458 Italia, the forces at play (greater fuel efficiency, increasing regulations for pollutants, etc) will force Porsche to abandon the manual transmission.

In the meantime, I personally wanted to have one last taste of the traditional way we have interacted with the automobile since its inception a little over a century ago. And what better way to say a long goodbye than in a glorious, light-weight, open-air, Carrera Red interior, six-speed manual Spyder! z356

orthojoe

^ That totally makes sense to me.

80WHALE

z356, eloquently said

Marine Blue

No reason to debate which is better, it's just a matter of preference and your statement is exactly why I bought the Spyder as well.

mile2424

Great insight Z356! Thanks for the wealth of knowledge as always!

JSF101

z356,

you can add ...194 to the list, silver, 6spd, black sport seats with red stitching

I think it's fair to say most dealers do not order full leather interiors, unless it's a special color that only comes in full leather like carrera red leather

Alan Smithee

A couple more within the range above...

5169:
http://silverspring.porschedealer.co...27352/info.php

5180:
http://roger-jobs.porschedealer.com/...21152/info.php


...and a link to 5194.
http://porscheofthemotorcity.porsche...24916/info.php