ISPYA718

Even if you don’t like Doug, the car is the star - it’s brilliant.

Arione

I offered this jackwagon my 16 spyder back in 2018 at Rancho Santa fe cars and coffee. He dismissed the idea immediately.

ISPYA718

Probably because you weren’t selling it on cars and bids. Joking aside I know he started that company in 2019. Unfortunately some of the auto journalists have become salesmen. One of my favourites, Chris Harris comes to mind. He now schleps for Collecting Cars. They did see a business opportunity to combine their reviews with selling cars. Pretty hard to be a car salesmen and be critical of the car you selling. Anyway I don’t own a 981 Spyder, but do own a 718 Spyder. So no horse in the race, but always like seeing the Spyder’s featured.

GT4_Rick

Doug Demuro is doesn't hold back listing out pros and cons and he can be pretty brutal. I mean he's made whole videos for calling out manufacturers like Nissan as being incompetent and BMW for ugly design choices and so forth. For year's he's reviewed the GT4 and Spyders highly as one of the best drivers cars ever made. The only other auto journalist more critical than DD is Savage Geese which might by my favorite.

davemon

Way cool! I have one of these and love the thing. My background is strong mixed performance cars and motorcycles, so the convertibles scratch and itch for me now that I'm moving away from motorcycles. That and convertibles make things seem faster than closed top cars. This car does a fab job of making things feel faster compared to the much better wind management and the size of a 991/992 chassis 911 Cab. This is the right car if a sweet GT car is not your thing but shifter carts are far too much.

As to the poster that wasn't able to sell to Doug, he was probably saving for his Carrera GT. Regardless, just because he didn't buy one doesn't mean he doesn't love them or even you.

I'm a Doug fan despite him being the least "track guy" of the popular YouTube folks and is more into the drama of the experience and the way the car works. I bet he's a pretty solid driver, but I don't think I've ever heard him talk about the oversteer behavior of a car being smooth or twitchy or anything of the sort.

Arione

I didnt offer to sell it to him, I was going to throw him the keys for a weekend to make a video

NoGaBiker

My apologies if Doug has an actual neurological condition that causes him to twitch and jerk and **** his head for no reason and emphasize certain words loudly that needn't be emphasized, because if that's the case he can't control it.

But he wasn't always that way and it seems to me it's his differentiator, his schtick, designed to generate clicks, a complete affectation, or at least an intentional amplification of what is probably some legitimate innate nerdiness. At any rate, I can't do it. I never want his content nearly enough to go past 60 seconds with him, even with something as tasty as a silver-over-red 981.1 Spyder.

Steph718

Finally got around to watching this, couple take aways - the roof isn't all that big of a deal that he makes it out to be. And two, he comments saying there's nothing special about the Spyder interior, when in fact the classic interior is only available in the Spyder model, and spec'ing Boxster interiors like most of us have were only available in the Spyder and GTS models. So it was a little crummy to hear him say that the Spyder has the same interior as a base, even a stripper Spyder interior is a large upgrade from a Boxster base or S.

Nephroid

I also like Throttle House for the production value and humor. Those three round out my go-to automotive YouTubers.

switchface

Not specific to Doug's review, but this has been my concern to some extent as well.

I think Spyders are just beautiful, and although I'm not a convertible guy (as I don't really like the attention), I think I'd really enjoy driving/owning one. My issue is, I don't trust people enough to park with the top still down, so I would have to manually put the top up/down every time I want to run into a store, etc. Knowing that isn't realistic, this would mean either choosing a different car for a drive or just keeping the top up out of laziness. Neither seems to be a viable option (for me).

What are the opinions/experiences of you Spyder owners?

Nephroid

Doug is definitely playing up the "quirkiness" which is his schtick but heres a different YouTuber that claims they can do it 20 seconds. The video's about a 718 but the roof is the same as the 981.


I recently went from a Carrera 4S Cabrio to my current Spyder and in the end, the manual roof is not a big deal at all. I've had the car ~6 wks and it have already gotten the process down to about 30s. While I miss the roof being as easy as rolling up a window, the Spyder is such a better driving car that I have no regrets whatsoever.

The only scenario where it gets dicey is being able to put the roof up or down at a stoplight and even then, I would probably chance it if the light were long enough.

DaveGee

>>I recently went from a Carrera 4S Cabrio to my current Spyder and in the end, the manual roof is not a big deal at all. I've had the car ~6 wks and it have already gotten the process down to about 30s. While I miss the roof being as easy as rolling up a window, the Spyder is such a better driving car that I have no regrets whatsoever.<<

Yeah, pretty much this. My previous cars were a 987.2 Spyder, and a 991.2 Targa. Talk about extremes! But like anything else, the more you do it the simpler it becomes.

The concern about parking it in public places with the top down is real. I usually know where I’m going when leaving the garage and if I’m not prepared to put the top up/down when I get where I’m going I’ll drive a different car. Easier said than done if the Spyder is your only car, but I wouldn’t let the top discourage you from owning one. I highly recommend it (insert Ferris Bueller sound bite here).

DaveGee

Steph718

I can't stress enough that the top isn't that big a deal, can you do it in 30 seconds sure, if you're zipping around like you're on meth. 1 minute really is really the nice cozy time it takes to get it done like a gentleman.

I can't speak for everyone, but I generally know when I'm having a "top down" day where I'm not concerned with leaving the car outside in sketchy areas.

That said, I live in NYC, which can get real sketchy real quick, if I happen to go somewhere with the top off and it's like a 5min, buying a bottle of wine situation, top stays off. But if I'm going to dinner and will be away from the car for at least an hour, the lid is going on. But I likely wouldn't have taken it off in the first place if that's my intended plans with the car.

Alternatively, if I go to dinner or for a drink at an establishment where I can keep eyes on the car, via outdoor seating or a window, the top will stay down. At best, I haven't seen anyone mess with it, just take pictures really haha.

Sorry, went off on a bit of a rant there, it's really case by case. But for myself, who's 40 and still relatively spry, taking it on or off regardless of circumstance isn't that big a deal.

Side bar, I kind of enjoy people watching me manually put the top on a 100k car, mainly because they have no idea why it's manual.

DrBillyD

Sometimes I'll put the top up, not attach the "flying buttresses" at the back corners, then complete the closing process. Simplifies process if I don't feel good about leaving car with top down. Appearance sacrificed somewhat not a big deal to me but YMMV.

SleepyCyclist

I do the same. Don't even lock/hook the top - just manually leave it in the closed position to cover things up.