So what the hell do you want then? You start these threads and then get really touchy any time someone deviates from what I can only imagine is your love letter to your car.

Write a blog or something if you just want to share your opinion without any feedback. And be sure to turn off the comments.

 

What threads do I start? A few positive threads about the Spyder on the 718\GT4/Spyder sub forum of a Porsche Enthusiasts site. Show me when I got touchy for someone with a contrary opinion about the car. And for the record I’ve also argued against people who call the 991/992 heavy bloated and uninspiring. Maybe you should search those threads too.

Again, quote me where I said anything negative about the current 911 in this thread or got touchy about a contrary opinion? Maybe I get a little touchy when people ask me if Im bored or ask me if I need validation, as if this is my first Porsche.

 

Did people actually read the post. Please show where I try to validate my 718 vs a 911? Clickbait. If you don’t like positive posts about the Spyder on an enthusiast forum, why read them or if you don’t like my posts personally, why click on them?

Also , You are the one saying the 718 GTS has superior handling traits at the limit vs the current 911 GTS which frankly I disagree with, I find the 718 platform more lively and nervous at the limits whereas the 991 is more composed.

I’m just surprised there is this much fuss about an innocuous thread about the ethos of the 981/718. Did everyone wake up on the wrong side of the bed

 

I will chime in with the anticipation of getting piled on by the mob here. My first PCAR was a 981 boxster, then I added an 87 911, then I added a 57 speedster. I have sold the speedster and the 981. Bought a 991.2 and had it for about a year, sold it in April waiting on my Spyder and will my wife can sell the 87 when I die. I regularly swap cars for hours on end with my friends. Anything from .2 GT3's, 991.1s, Lambos, McLarens, etc, all for hours on end so we all get to try the cars out then discuss the likes and dislikes of each.

Did the 981 or do I expect the Spyder to have the spirit of the 87? Thats a tough one and debatable. I will say, there are alot of similarities when you really push these cars to the limit. The 87 is so much dang fun. You can push that car and get that sense of speed and adrenaline rush at lower speeds than the modern cars. It is not settled takes work to drive it hard and takes 100% engagement, but when you get it all right it is a special feeling. I think the 981 and I expect the Spyder are similar in that respect. My 87 has upgrades to the engine and suspension and it handles very well. I do have to adapt my entry and exit out of corners differently than I do the mid engine cars so in that respect they are different. But with the 981 and Spyder they are playful at the limit and challenging thus to me more engaging and fun like the 87. I get that feeling that I know exactly where the limit is, what the car is going to do, and how hard I can push it. I think everyone on this forum loves this platform for that feeling. In some aspects they are so easy to drive but to drive them fast it does take some skill and knowing the car.

All the 991's I have driven and the one I owned, for whatever reason I never got comfortable with. I didnt like the size of it (even though physically they are close), it just felt bigger. I felt way more weight on the rear end than I do on the 87. It never felt settled on crappy roads. Smooth roads, for sure the 991 platform feels planted, and press that skinny pedal and that rear end will grab for days. But if never invoked that special feeling for me, I never connected with it. We are can argue with one is better all day, pull up specs, lap times, etc. but at the end of the day for me personally, I buy my cars to give me the pleasure of driving and simply put the 981/718/aircooled combo gives me the greatest fun and pleasure of driving, so in the most important way they are the same to me.

Sometimes it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

 

Really? Cross reference the interior trim part numbers and tell me there's not really any crossover.

 

Well said (from someone who just traded in their 992 for a 718!)

 

Bottom line - the 4.0 liter mid-engine Porsches are among the best sports cars currently made.
Not a fan of forced induction, so there is that.

 

Anyone own an early 911? They were loud and small!! Of my sports cars over the past 20 years, the only car that came close to the raw visceral feeling was my Lotus Elise. The Spyder is amazing, best I've owned but I've never had it remind me of my early Porsches.

 

Memories can get muddled over time. And to clarify, I am not trying to in anyway infer that there is a 1 to 1 performance correlation between an 80s air cooled 911 and the 981/718. I never feel particularly stressed taking a lot of speed into a corner when driving my Spyder or any modern Porsche for that matter. Drop throttle oversteer is very progressive and correctable. On the other hand, my 84 911 Targa could definitely provide a white knuckled ride when leaning into a fast corner. - letting go of the throttle could easily result in a spin. To say each corner was commitment wouldn’t be a stretch imo.

Bottom line, Porsche decided to forgo a multilink or double wishbone rear suspension in the 981/718 platform. While that may have been a conscious decision to provide a slight handling edge to their rear engine 911 flagship, it might also have been done to give the 981/718 a more old school handling feel. And that’s really the point I’m trying to make. Not that one is better or worse just thst the ethos and feel that differentiates the 981/718 and 991/992 might be quite intentional

 

Whether on purpose or to keep a good gap to the 911, Porsche set-up the GT4 for smooth roads that do not work the suspension. In stock form, some may call it "lively", but I call it poorly executed for a 6 figure sports car carrying the GT name.

The good news is that you can largely make the GT4 handle pretty damn well and take 90% of the nastiness out of it (with suspension and tires upgrades) if you are a die-hard mid-engine fan and want to stay with Porsche.

IMO, the GT4 from a chassis control/damping standpoint (SAN SMOOTH ROADS) is a $60K car, not a $100K + car. It is a $100K + car because it carries the Porsche name and the model starts with GT.

 

We are not talking interior trim or part numbers here though are we. Its how the cars drive and feel. Having both a 718 GT4 and a 992CS I can say 100% the 911 (and this probably goes for every 911 ever made) is by far the better car in every single way except one - the cayman is more fun. End of debate!

 

As we both agree... it is a bit irritating that in order to make the GT4/Spyder live up to the hype, that one has to throw a bunch of money at the car in the form of Exhaust, Tune, and suspension work. Easily a minimum of $5k for just the basics like OAP, rear toe links and alignment just to get the car started. Most people interested in pushing the platform will put in maybe $10,000 to $15,000. My extras will run about $30,000 after the MCS 2ways... I will then be into the car for total all in at about $150,000 and it will be so much better than anything else at that price range and even anything well into the $200,000's. So while its been a journey and cost a bunch more than I thought to sort out the car, its been totally worth the fun to do it and see the results....