groundhog

Heres a GTS competing in a Targa event - can list the times relative to a GT4. You will be surprised.

CarAholic

I think you will be fine you'll miss the grunt and feel a little bit but the GTS is still a very fun and competent car. If your be fiscally responsible why not get a boxster S. You'll save way more money and there is not a big difference between the two.

manifold danger

Private sellers are still going to want top dollar for their cars because they think it is god's gift. Good luck trying to convince Spyder owners that their cars just depreciated $10-20k over the past year or so... even though that does seem to be what the market suggests. That trade tax credit is no joke, either. You're still easily looking at a $20-25k premium for a Spyder over a GTS, and probably about a $5-7k premium for a GTS over an S. If you're still concerned about the "fiscally responsible" thing.

I see what you did there with the thundercell comment. Facetious all or nothing comments are great for confirming your bias, but don't do much for actual intelligent discussion. I guess, honestly, I don't look at the radar every time I feel like taking the car out for the day. I don't have to because I can, like, push a button WHILE I'M DRIVING and change the roof situation. Need to pop in to Chipotle and grab some lunch? Boom. I can even leave my sunglasses in the car without locking them in the glovebox. Spyder? Nope let me fart around with my roof (20 seconds my ***, did you watch that video?), or just leave the top down and trust some kid isn't going to toss literal poop in my car or maybe I'll just stare at it from across the parking lot the whole time. You know what, maybe you're right. I really miss the analog feel of rotating a plastic handle round and round to roll down my windows. All these pansy millennials can't even loosen up their shoulder joints and take 13 seconds to roll down a window anymore.

Look, I can be facetious too.

Just like the Spyder folks who insist it's "no big deal"- it might not be. But until you've lived with a power folding top, you may not know what you're missing as far as convenience. Sure, you can plan your whole day around when you put the top up or down or even if you're going to drive the car on a given day- or it's one less thing to think about completely. I also feel the same way about silly things like comfort access and auto-dimming mirrors; things I thought were gimmicky I now notice immediately and consistently if they're not there. I feel like the roof would be similar and am legitimately wondering if the annoyance is worth the tradeoff from the GTS being an already ridiculously good car.

But it looks like your wife has made up her mind already anyway. The lines are "too feminine" (even though they're like, the same lines from the driver forward). All jokes aside, I can respect that (although I think "hate" is a little too strong of a word) and it's what keeps me in the market for a Spyder regardless of all my reservations and smartass comments. The GTS is sexy as hell but the Spyder is heavenly.

groundhog

It's what works for the person in question that's all that matters

Who in this forum can drive their car to the limit? Virtually no one.

Just go go and buy what you like - talk of turn in, purity etc is just total nonsense for most of you - unless you're PBing on a weekly basis. Which you're not.

Sorry but but just got to laugh at some of this stuff.

The GTS is a fine car the GT4 is a fine car neither of them are motoring nirvana,

CaymanSinAR

What is PBing?

To each his own, but my Porsches are motoring nirvana for me!

manifold danger

Glad I'm not the only one who was wondering to himself... but my guess is Personal Best???

SpyderSenseOC

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that less than 5% of us are good enough drivers to even notice 100lbs (or more) of additional weight. Who is in the 5th and 95th percentile will be debated until the end of time but I will admit I'm probably a 95%er.

I further predict that 95% of you folks think you're 5%ers. :-)

la02max

Amen to that. I'm an aggressive driver, and my "lowly" boxster S is a freakin hoot on a road course. Aside from tires, there wasn't one thing on the car that felt like it was lacking. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed unless all you care about is straight line speed.

daylorb

I had an RS60, and an e46 vert. I loved the power tops don't get me wrong. In fact I did the mods on both cars to make the power top even easier/faster than stock. I simply found when I switched to the Spyder it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and found the pros to outweigh the cons.

Kg11

One of the best quotes I have ever heard:

"don't let the perfect be the enemy of the lowly "very good"".

In this case, the weight savings and shape of the Spyder, for some, outweigh the benefits of a power top. Sure, in a perfect world, the power top would not come with a weight penalty, but it does, and that is OK for both parties. I live in the sales world, and am amazed at how certain people can make a mountain out of a molehill and develop "analysis paralysis" and never move forward on any purchase.

There is no way to "know" for sure unless you have tried it. Maybe the Spyder top sounded fine in theory and was a PITA in practice, but you didn't know that until you owned one. Maybe you only ended up driving with the top down and could care less. I have seen people trade in cars and lose thousands because their car had crank windows, and they desperately wanted a button to push. My mom traded in her car for an identical model because she just "had" to have red, costing her about $8,000, or about $7.35 for every day she owned it to go from white to red. I don't care what color a car is: it isn't worth $7.35 per day to me to get a color I really like on a commodity car. But my mom, and plenty of other people, don't think that way.

MidEngineRules

I've owned all those, plus a 981 Spyder (my e46 vert was a M3). Being totally honest, the 987 Spyder's top, while cool, has significant drawbacks for which Porsche solved with the 981 Spyder. For one, if memory serves the car can't be driven over 120 or 130 mph with the top up. Since I lived in Germany my brain still thinks that's an issue. 130 mph is child's play and I've taken 2 hour road trips and averaged above that. Nonetheless, the top does require considerably more effort than any automated top so much so that it will probably factor in to choices as when to drive top down. Spyder tops in general are thin and don't have much effect on ambient noise, create their own wind noise, and rear visibility isn't good top up. The 987 Spyder top doesn't seal near as good as the 981 Spyder thus you need to be careful washing the car so as to not get water where you don't want. Those are the downsides perhaps. Overall the car is still one of the best ever to come out of Porsche in terms of driving experience and it's so good looking.

gearFX

I'll bite, let's see the times! Also, the 3.4L engine wail and exhaust echoing off of the trees gave me goosebumps. Thanks for sharing this video!

hf1

LOL! Practical joke was well chosen. I was salivating over some 987 Spyders when this video reappeared. I open/close my top 2x or 3x times during an average NICE day drive, without stopping. More if caught by rain. Times when top goes up or down:
- highway sections of a drive
- stopping at a store, or two, or three
- close top to go through a touch-less carwash, then open it after it dries off
- rain (happens in the NE)
- short dirt/gravel patch on the way to/from home (keeps interior dust free)
- ...

Can’t imagine pulling over and doing the manual top dance more than once, if at all. My wife, that also loves and enjoys the Boxster, no chance. Let Porsche offer an auto-top as an option for the 718 Spyder and we shall see how many Spyder buyers prefer it. Don’t even care if they call it something else (R?). Masochists can still have their manual top dance and 20lb savings. Everybody wins.

Or not, as I’m thoroughly enjoying my PASM 987.1 Boxster S and not sure I’d want to replace it.

Suicide Jockey

Don't forget to add to your list how easy it is with auto-roof to drop the top right before arrival at your destination so as to give the impression you drove alfresco the entire way. God forbid the coif gets ruffled! With auto-roof you can be THAT guy who trailers his Harley to within five miles of Sturgis and then rides into town.

24 lbs to be exact!

hf1

Haha! Never knew this was a "thing". But it reminded me of a few additions to the list:
- On a chilly day, bundled up wife agrees to open the top with heat blasting and seats heated, then changes her mind: "Too cold! Let's close the top." The coldest I've had the top down was 35F in my first Boxster. 37F in my current one.
- Wife would never open the manual top (and enjoy the car topless) when she drives it by herself.
- Close top to answer/make a (hands-free) phone call. Open it back up when done.
- Can't do auto touch-less carwash with the 987 Spyder manual top. Not sealed off completely.

I try to squeeze in top down driving whenever possible (95% of the time) except for the listed situations here and in the previous post which require a closed top for short periods of time. A manual top would just translate into less miles enjoyed with the top down, which is not the end of the world.

Is there a detailed correct breakdown of all weight saved between a 987 Spyder and Boxster? I wonder if the stated 24lb roof savings reflect what appears to be a more substantial Spyder rear trunk, humps and all, aluminium notwithstanding? What's the weight comparison between the two rear trunks?

I hope it was clear that I was joking/jesting when I used "masochists". I love the Spyder concept and could eventually end up getting one, so the joke may end up being on me.