Archimedes

You do know that the 718 Cayman S clocked a 2 second faster Ring time than the Spyder, right?

The 718 may not be easy on the eyes and may sound like a moose with diarrhea when it's on the boil, but it ain't down on performance.

lajoiedp

Not easy on the eyes? That’s a first. Too funny.

fast1

I inadvertently began this latest round by stating a fact. 718s aren't selling well in the US. The last 718 sales data that I read was that US, 718 sales in 2017 were down over 18% when compared to 2016 981 sales. This is especially concerning when you consider that 2017 was the launch year for the 718, and successful models always have their best sales in the first year of their launch and the replaced model has its lowest sales in the final year of its run. So if stating facts is demonstrating antipathy, I'm guilty.

One last point. One rationalization I read regarding low 718 sales is that they aren't selling well because 718s are in such short supply. If that's the case, then my area must be an outlier because there are a total of 18 718s in the three Porsche dealers closest to me.

lajoiedp

Funny, you also inadvertently, or perhaps purposely, forgot to mention that worldwide sales of the 781 were up in 2017.

Archimedes

You must be new here.

lajoiedp

Nope, used to the 781 bashing, but the looks? Brother please!

cobalt

I wasn't going to say anything else but why not this thread will live on until they drop the product line and I'm board.

There is a lot of bad info and opinion being stated as fact which is going no place. If only supply was an issue selling these. Not true, at least by me. There are a lot of great products for the same price as a well spec'd 718S. There are 6 dealerships by me and there are literally dozens of each 718 boxster and cayman all variations. A fair number are 17 leftovers and some of the 18's are still lingering around from when I picked up my Macan GTS back in November. Nicely spec'd and appointed cars there willing to deal on. The word I am getting from the sales people is the 718 is a hard sell and most all sell to first time Porsche owners. They actually approached me about selling my 981 BGTS there is a list of people looking for them especially any manual tranny car. The core group of repeat customers have no interest but most of those people are buying the GT3's or 991 Turbo S's. No doubt the Macan is carrying the load right now.

For reasons I stated I am a 981 fan over the 718 and performance has little to do with it. . The 718S is no doubt a very capable car and so is the 981. I don't doubt it would better a 981S in stock form on many tracks but I haven't seen it happen first hand on track yet. No doubt 2 seconds on the ring can be explained by any number of factors but if I wanted to go quick around the ring would any of us chose a 981 or 718? How many of us can extract 90-100% out of either? I do find it interesting they are keeping the flat 6 in the new GT4 and spyder. Although they claim it is fitment issues I find it hard to believe.

We clearly have two camps here one who loves the driving experience and feel of the flat 6 which we equate with Porsche and the other who prefers specs and numbers and faster is better. Nothing wrong with either. Drive what you like but one thing is clear sales are down and I for one won't buy a 4 cylinder Porsche turbo charged or not. I owned a 914 & 944S2 and were my last 4 bangers. I appreciate the 718 for what it can do but that is only part of the equation and for many of us it is only 49% of the experience.

I don't believe but could be wrong that anyone is saying the 718 is a bad car it just isn't what many of us have come to appreciate and is taking things in a direction we prefer it wouldn't. Now if they decide to drop the turbo 6 in it I might have to reconsider but honestly doubt it would get me into one either. I am very happy with the power, performance and feel of my 981 and sometimes more isn't always an improvement.

All I can say is heaven help us if Porsche decides to go with a turbo 6 in a GT3. I can only imagine where the threads will lead. Would be nice if spring came and we were all out enjoying what we have.

kiznarsh

Pssst...

It's all good though. I feel like the 981 vs. 718 is turning into the Apple vs. Android debate. Buy what makes you happy and ignore everyone else.

fast1

The context of my reply was with respect to the 718 being rare in the US. So why would I reference 718 sales outside the US?

Archimedes

Yup, my local dealer is relatively small/medium size, and they have 15 718's on the lot, 4 of which are leftover 2017's. My SA commented a while back that they weren't selling great.

Archimedes

Deleted

Dr.Bill

I think the best looking Cayman was the 987. It's just gotten worse since then.
I fondly remember caressing the ample hips of my Cayman R on the rare occasion I washed the thing. . .

MidEngineRules

There is no official Spyder time that I've seen. Times are hard to judge as there are 2 speed limited sections in the lap and I've seen some laps where drivers slowed down during those sections and some did not. It makes a 22 second difference on average. Also some laps are made in traffic and some aren't. Those times give you an idea of performance but there are so many variables that you can't consider them definitive. Time of year is a huge factor. There is considerably less grip during 6 months of the year. Another point is most timed laps are sand bagged to a degree as safety is a high consideration and manufacturers are always leaving room for the next generation. Usually when a good lap is achieved they quit. They're not going to keep lapping as if it's a qualifying session. Porsche has been known to use pre-production cars as well. I recall the base 991 had PDCC fitted when it wasn't an available option. It is what it is.

MidEngineRules

Always a pleasure to hear what you have to say...

Archimedes

There are official times for both cars and the Spyders time slots in exactly where you would expect it relative to other Porsche's. The 718S time was set by Christian Gephardt. Porsche claims they've run it even faster, right up with the GT4's time.

I'd take a 981 Spyder all day over the 718S, but the 718 is definitely the faster car and the one I'd choose to run the faster lap.