Zhao

I have tried to strongly consider a vette for c5, c6 and c7s because they are fast, reliable, good on gas, handle good, etc. I just could never bring myself to actually buy one either.

thejholmes

I had a C5 Z06 until last May; it was a lot of fun. It shows it's age but it's a great track car for ~$20K.

TRZ06

I have a soft spot for the C5 Z06, as it was my first true high performance sports car. Also, how I got my screen name (Torch Red Z06). When it came out in 2001, it was way ahead of its time. I had one of each of the years it was produced, starting with the 2001 with 385HP, all the way to the 04'. The most raw/race car feel one was definitely the 01' The 04' had the best rear damping.

baege

I made the move from my 2014 Cayman S to a 2015 manual C7 with the performance exhaust. The car looked amazing, sounded good and was obviously fast. However I never connected with the car. I found it big and clumsy and less precise in various ways. Bottom line I enjoyed driving the 2014 Cayman S much more than the 2015 C7 even though the C7 was more powerful. I sold the C7 within days of taking delivery and ordered another Cayman S.

Zhao

I have a soft spot for a c5 z06 too (know lots of people who had one, was the car to beat at track days when I first started lapping, etc) but it just doesn't speak to me to own one.... even as a dedicated track car. A buddy was even willing to sell me his blue one in mint condition way below market value at the beginning of summer while I was waiting for my GT4 to be built and I was still like I'd lose nothing driving this thing for a few months but :/ oddly not really interested.

There is just something about vettes that everytime I go ok the numbers say buy this car! every bone in my body says 'do not want, don't do it you will regret it'. I think it's a combination of interior, image, and feel of it.

theEnd

981 Spyder was the only alternative.

I remember sitting in my shoebox Manhattan apartment watching the launch video thinking “I want that!” Two hesitations crept into my mind:

1. What the hell will I do with a car in this concrete jungle? It would take me half an hour just to find parking. That’s a lot to spend on a car I don’t need.

2. It’s too bad it’s not as powerful / sharp as the 981 GT4

Fast forward to 2019 and the 982 Spyder fixed #2, and I had a bunch more cash in the bank, so I went straight to the dealer. Never considered another car.

I’ve always dreamed of buying a Ferrari, but they haven’t made a manual, naturally aspirated car since… when? It’s sad.

Thank you Porsche!

MaddMike

I have a 981 Spyder which is an amazing car. Still on the fence about "upgrading" but its on order.

baege

I hear ya on the hesitation related to driving such an amazingly capable car in a concrete jungle

I am in midtown toronto which, while no Manhattan, is pretty congested and unfriendly to cars and just keeps getting more so.

It's frustrating to drive a car that yearns to be let loose in that environment, but even in the mundane around town driving the sound of the engine and the operation of that amazing manual do bring joy

eeki

Had to sell my 987.2CS due to relocation, and looked at a few alternatives, notably:
- 991.2 carrera: nice car but somehow didn’t gel with it
- Alpine A110: fun car to drive, yes, but the drivetrain (only option is a 4cyl 1.8 turbo + dct box) is not very interesting, even though it’s effective enough. Also a bit less practical than the 718
- 718 (base): awesome car, but I must admit I didn’t particularly love the engine
- BMW M2C: incredible engine, but overall a bit ordinary?

Also thought of getting a 964/993, and also tried some “sensible” options like a MB C43, but in the end was always drawn to the CGTS4.0, so currently waiting for mine to be built! The decision was a combination of many things, but to me the 718 really has a good balance of usability & performance, with feeling of driving something special even at normal speeds. I also much prefer NA engines to turbocharged engines, and with the 4.0 it should be a bit like my old car, but better in most (if not all) aspects.

baege

I am currently in a M2C and I think you made the right choice in the GTS 4.0 over the M2C.

It's a fun car but it can't compare to the overall integrated and connected experience of a manual transmission porsche with a big naturally aspirated motor. It was fun for a bit for a change but I'd had have no hesitation to go back to my 2016 Cayman S if I could make the switch right now, and the CGTS 4.0 is reportedly even more of everything good about the 981S.

and while the engine in the M2C has its charms, it tends to run out of breath a little in the upper rev ranges and is a little bit coarse up there, and of course there is turbo lag which is a point of disconnection in the experience.

Southbama

I only considered retaining my '14 981 Cayman S, but the lure of the 4.0 was too much to resist. Now 2500 miles into it, I would do it again without question, although I do miss the 981 exhaust note.

JAhmed

Just do a 4.5L in your 981 instead

Il CP

I really like my 981 GT4 and when I was offered a 718 GT4RS I thought it was a great chance to have something similar with a PDK that would be as cheap to track as the 981 has been.

Toon902

While I settled on a CGTS 4.0 MT awhile ago, I am on a waitlist for an allocation. So with 2022 deliveries in doubt, I decided to purchase a vehicle that I could actually get in time for spring - a BMW Z4 M40i. The review for this generation are strong and the M40i engine causes most reviewers to giggle when they floor it. While most say that it doesn't handle as well as a Boxster, it does has 50/50 weight distribution and is quite up to being used as a daily driver as well as for road trips. All in all, it's not the car of my dreams (I'll keep waiting for it), but I'm hoping that it scratches some of the itch in the meantime!

halfmonkey

My journey started kind of all over the place. I originally was waiting for the Supra GRMN that's supposedly coming any day now but then I got to thinking that the Supra is still a rebadged BMW Z4 with a hard top. As much as it's gotten positive reviews, I was skeptical of owning another BMW product due to long term reliability. At the time, I was considering the Z4 M40i and the M2 CS but as I mentioned, the BMW long term reliability kept me from seriously pursuing them based on past experience.

I considered the C8 but I don't love the design and although it wins for bang for your buck, the Stingray just didn't do it for me. Now the Z06 with the Z07 is quite unique but I still go back to not loving the design in the long term like 20, 30 or even 40 years from now and plus the Z06 wasn't even a thing at the time I ordered the Spyder.

There was nothing from Mercedes nor Audi that interested me. As I started to look more into Porsche, I realized that the GT4 and Spyder might be the last of the naturally aspirated sport cars. I wanted a convertible and so once I narrowed that down, I started looking at other manufacturers to see what else competed with a naturally aspirated, mid-engine, convertible that still offers a 6MT. Not much....and nothing that I can think of comes to mind even now. Granted I ended up getting PDK but the 6MT was an option none the less and it was my second to last option that I kept debating before locking down my build.

...and the rest is history.