Suicide Jockey

Man, I get a chubby every time I watch that video. Convertible **** at its best. So much physical interaction with the car. I'd kill to have that roof on my 981.

SCMike

To quote literally from the article:
" The 718 Boxster’s electric folding soft top will also go, in its place a manually removable ‘tent top’. " Their words...not mine..."removable" is the key word.

Milehigh981

LOL!! Every time I see that video, I'm grateful for the 981 top. I just wish they made the rear window removable via zipper.

Suicide Jockey

Well, well, well . . . 982 Spyder speculation season is certainly in full bloom! LOL

Man, I don't know. I was thinking just the opposite. It's hard to say, but if the 982 is priced where I think it will be priced, 981s will all of a sudden look, by comparison, relatively cheap at current levels. And I don't think you will see 981 Spyder owners selling their cars en masse to move to the 982, at least not like what we've seen with the prolific exodus of GT4 owners stampeding to get their hands on the GT3. 981 Spyder owner satisfaction is particularly high so downward pricing pressure due to a flood of cars on the market such as we're seeing with the GT4 likely won't happen IMO. Plus, many 981 Spyder owners question the need for more power, more grip, more downforce, et al., and ponder what effect these things will have on the delicate balance the 981 seems to navigate with aplomb. There is such a sweetness and purity about the 981 which may be threatened by additional HP, grippier rubber, stiffer suspension, etc. Tweak the formula at your peril, Porsche! Adding more power, more grip, more downforce, more . . . whatever . . . all sounds good, but be careful what you wish for because everything comes at a price (literally!). If the 982 becomes a GT car or moves ever closer to the GT4's track focus, there are bound to be some tradeoffs, which some/many won't be thrilled with, ride compliance perhaps being one of them, particularly for those who don't track their Spyders (which I suspect is the vast majority of people). X73 is just so damned good in seemingly all conditions.

+1

I'm with you Buck. I think there was an approximate 20% base price increase from the 987 to the 981 Spyder, but I think that differential will be (far) exceeded with the 982.

+1. The 981 already far exceeds most of our driving abilities. My talent runs out long before the car's. I can maybe get 7/10ths out of the car on a good day - IF I'm lucky. Added power, more grip, increased downforce, etc., would be lost on yours truly. At what point does one stop chasing more HP, more speed, more wiz-bang techno wizardry, and simply say, “I’ve got everything I want and need right here, thank you very much." With just 7,900 miles on my car, I feel like I’m still in the honeymoon phase developing a rapport with the car. I don’t feel like we’ve even been properly introduced yet! I’m still looking forward to that first great two-week road trip if I can ever get the time off work. In short, I foresee a lot of miles ahead of me with this baby and I’m going to savor every step of the journey.

+1. The 987 roof was a sales disaster for Porsche (as much as I love it).

982 will be a pure beast. Power. Rubber. Brakes. Downforce. Suspension. Can’t wait to see the final product. Just another step in the evolution of the Spyder, although seemingly in a different direction than what I envisioned. 987 will always be remembered as the first Spyder - the one that adopted so many weight-savings measures - and that crazy cool top will never be replicated. Its place in Porsche lore is cemented. 981 may go down as the most beautiful Porsche in modern history – on par stylistically with the best of the Italians IMO - and with 3.8 power it will be remembered as the Boxster Porsche finally unshackled after 20 years, 911 be damned! The 982 Spyder looks like it will be taking things down a new path and if it turns out to be a GT car it will make its own special history and perhaps in the process forever banish the Boxster’s “hairdresser's car” moniker. There’s something here for everyone in this amazing 3-car lineup. What a triumvirate!

And that's one of the things I love about the 981 which, I'm afraid, will be lost with the 982. Just look at the 982 mules with all that aggressive rubber, that downforce-inducing pronounced rear diffuser, the GT-style suspension which perhaps lurks underneath . . . can you ever imagine getting that car unglued? Doubtful.

Archimedes

Manually removable could be interpreted as meaning removed from it's closed position and stowed. If it said fully removable, I'd agree with you. Then again, I don't see how they would even know that, given the test mule has the 981 roof.

I doubt they would go backwards to a 987 style roof unless they are totally repositioning this car as a true 'special', rather than just a Boxster variant like the previous two iterations. Perhaps they are, but I think that's the only way a fully removable roof makes any sense at all.

mdork

On the value discussion, if they do in fact put a 4.0L in the new Spyder, my guess is the new car will be a better long term pick for depreciation - very similar to S52 vs. S54 M Coupe values. Both will be classics for sure, one will just be a bit more desirable over time.

Dalema

The way I think about it - if I wanted more power and grip to use on the track, I wouldn't be buying a Spyder with a soft top - I'd buy the GT4. I agree with you - the cars have different purposes.

Interesting question though - would you buy the next GT4? As you note, a lot of those buyers are now clamoring to get a GT3 now that the manual is an option. I sure would get the new GT3 and keep my Spyder as is.

Also very interesting to me that all the chatter (and pics and info) about the Spyder is heavily outweighing the GT4.

I'm thinking that the majority of 982 Spyder buyers will folks who didn't get a 981. Porsche realizes they underpriced the 981, so new buyers will incur a larger hole in the wallet for driving what I am sure will be another fantastic Spyder. I'll be sticking with my 981 though.

vactor

the top will probably work a bit more like this:

Suicide Jockey

So true, MiHi. Just praying I can keep mine from eventually becoming yellowed, foggy and opaque, but I don't hold out much hope given my past experience with every other soft window convertible I have owned.

Tell you what: let's just not think about it for now, stick our heads in the sand, and kick that can down the road until the inevitable day of reconning!

daylorb

I agree - the top is brilliant in every way. It is incredibly easy to put on and off, it is one-of-a-kind in looks, and it is actually very practical. It makes the car.

The practicality of it is what I love - in 100 degree Texas heat, you can put just the top piece on (not the back with the vinyl window), leave the wind screen out and you basically have a convertible with a sun shade. The sound, wind, feel is all there - but you don't get roasted in the sun. Too cold? Put on the back piece in another 30 seconds, below 80 take it all off.

With most other tops it is all or nothing... not to mention the obvious performance advantages of shaving so much weight.

Z356

Here is the most interesting idea I have heard regarding the
speculation for the n/a engine that Porsche might use on the
718 gt4 & Spyder:

I'll contact petevd to see if he care to come to this forum
& elaborate on this thoughts re: the short-stroke engine
that PAG might use on these two models next year!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Scottsdale

n4v4nod

Interesting indeed!

Petevb

Here. Let me be clear that I'm (educated) guessing- no inside info here...

Porsche likes to keep parts as common as possible, which is why until recently everything from the alternator to the rod bearings to the engine block (minus the cylinders) was shared between the base Boxster and the mighty Turbo S. Thus it makes sense that they'll try to re-use as much of an existing engine for the next GT4 as possible.

They need to keep separation between models, however, both in terms of price and performance. As we've said before if you know a Porsche's price and weight you can fairly accurately estimate its power and performance.

Assuming a 105k base I get power in the 430 hp range or slightly greater. High torque is to be avoided, however, or it will out-accelerate more significantly expensive models (explaining why the GT4/ Cayman got such tall gearing IMHO). So depending on MSRP we're looking for an engine in the 430-450 hp range with low torque. This spec fits well with a limited displacement, high reeving normally aspirated engine, but there is no such engine is in production.

It would be relatively easy to make one, however. Tooling exists to make cranks at 72.5 mm (used on earlier Boxsters). These work well in the 9A1, and combined with the current GT3's bore would result in 3.55 liters of displacement. The 9k rpm redline would be easy to maintain even if the connecting rods were switched to steel due to lower piston speeds, however I might expect a revised smaller diameter intake manifold and a milder cam to improve fuel efficiency and from RPM and power slightly. And that's it- as few as five new parts (cam, intake, rods, crank, re-machined pistons, maybe oil-tank), and easy 440 +/- 10 hp, low torque, highly reliable, etc. Parts commonality with the GT3 should keep costs in check, and unlike the 4L they wouldn't need to artificially limit power and torque to keep the GT4 in its place...

The remaining question mark is if fuel efficiency. It could be that even with a milder cam the highly over-square combustion chamber is so compromised in that regard that a smaller bore, longer stroke design would be worthwhile. That would be my second choice.

That's what I'd do anyway, we'll see.

Spyder Man

That won't be a 'detune' GT3 engine then...it will be a new engine with shared GT3 parts at best

Also regarding the acceleration issue...a GT4 and Spyder with such a low torque engine will be slower than the 718 GTS with high turbo torque

Given that all 911s are on turbo I doubt even with 430ps from a 4L the GT4/Spyder can out accelerate the twin turbos 911CS and certainly not the 450ps 911GTS

I am thinking that there is even a possibility they will lower the gearing on the GT4/Spyder and use the same gearing as the GT3 should they use a 'detune' GT3 engine

storii

A simple and honest question: What will one do with a light-weight 450hp convertible that will go for $125k or more? Will it be practical for track use or just a bragging right?