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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

This seemed the best thread to quote the August issue (yes, August issue) of Excellence magazine (which I can't link, unfortunately): "At the end of the day, though, these are the best base and S model Boxsters that Porsche has ever produced." All of the performance figures make the same point and quite compellingly. (To pick but one, "On top of that, the new Boxster S is a full five second faster around the Nurburgring than the 2016 Spyder and just two seconds slower than the excellent $84,600 385-hp 2016 Cayman GT4.")

WRT the all-important exhaust sound, "On secondary roads and the highway, the [718] S reminds us of the Spyder in terms of exhaust noise and ride. While the [718's] flat-four engine has a different sound, like the Spyder, if you are in Sport or Sport Plus mode on the freeway, the drone coming from the exhaust pipes can be annoying. No worries, though, as turning the dial back to Normal mode quiets the noise down."

Make of it what you will.

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Whew! The comments in The Telegraph regarding the 718 engine sounds are some of the worst, if not the worst, I've ever read regarding an automobile engine. Damn . . . .

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

The Subaru sounds just about what you would expect to hear from a $25K car. . . . Maybe I'm expecting too much, but is it too much to ask for an $80K car to have a more refined sporty sound?

jfi, the 'Roo that everyone (here and in print) compares to the 718 is the WRX STI, a $37k-$41k automobile. (And, as an aside, it's not a bad automobile. Nothing wrong with either the WRX or the STI.) The other Subarus, the Imprezas, are $21k-$23k automobiles, they aren't turbocharged, and for that reason alone they don't sound anything like the WRXs or the 718 Boxsters.

But your point -- that the 718s are expensive for what you are getting -- certainly is true. IMHO, 718s are almost insultingly expensive for what you are getting. Thus, as I've said numerous times, in six months time will have a much better idea of whether it's possible even for Porsche to sell $70k-$80k four-cylinder turbocharged cars in sufficient numbers for this venture to be regarded as a commercial success.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Forester flat 4s XTs ARE turbos, and they sound .... nothing like a flat 6, not even in the same sentence.

Forgot about the Forester. I can't remember ever reading about a turbo tree car.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Does a 5 month waiting list give you any clues? . . .

Actually, Gary, no, it doesn't. I've discussed what happened to my "confirmed" order for a 2016 Boxster S several times, so there's no point in my re-hashing it again. Suffice it to say, I have no doubt Porsche is manufacturing and selling turbocharged Boxsters. How many and to whom and when they are being delivered, I haven't a clue. I also don't have a dog in the fight.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Gary, work with us here. You can't quote the sales report -- i.e., "Sports car demand was strong across the board with Boxster and Cayman model lines each yielding a 36 percent sales increase over last year, with 732 combined sales" -- and not realize those numbers must include some or mostly 6-cylinder Boxsters and can only be 6-cylinder Caymans.

Again, I don't have a dog in the fight. In a few months we'll all know whether Porsche's run out of early adopters or the company's on to something.

 

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Chows4US: As I read the link you provided, as of the end of August, year-to-date sales of "All Boxster/Cayman" were 4,597 as compared to 4,497 last year at this time. Sounds pretty good, until you compare August of 2015 with August of this year. Porsche sold 297 fewer Boxsters/Cayman last month vis-a-vis August 2015. Boxster/Cayman sales were 771 in 2015. Last month's sales of 718 Boxsters and left over Caymans was 474.

Stated differently, August Boxster/Cayman sales were down 38.9% compared to August 2015.

 

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. . . The truly wealthy don't care [about cost]. They buy two. Seriously. And just turn them over.

Its the guy whose been saving all his life and just reaching up to buy that $130 car or even that $75 718 who wants it "exactly how he dreamed". But no so much the rich. If they don't like it, they just buy another.

Right. I recall reading a comment (in R&T, I think) made by a POA executive during the introduction of the new 991.2s at the Monterey
Raceway. He was asked something about the increased cost of the car, and in his answer -- essentially, that buyers of new Porsche cars don't care -- he stated their median annual income was over $650k. They enjoy the fact that their cars are expensive to buy and own. This, IMHO, also explains why so few Porsches are bought with manual transmissions. Porsche is selling its new cars (and mostly SUVs) to a demographic that simply doesn't want to be bothered with the hassle of shifting gears.

[Edit: Similar comment in Motor Trend (see last paragraph)(link works!)]: Page not found - Motor Trend

 

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. . . 991 sales also dropped

They sure did: 803 Oct. '15 vs. 444 Oct. '16. So much for the notion that turbocharging the 991 hasn't affected sales of that model as much as the Boxster/Cayman.

 

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THIS is a sports car person Commuting In An Old Aircooled Porsche - The Drive

As a footnote to this post, let me add that owners of "real" 912s -- i.e., those who owned 912s with four-cylinder engines designed and manufactured by Porsche AG -- absolutely despised the 912E, a stop-gap car that featured an 85hp engine from a V-dub 411/412.
https://ranwhenparked.net/2009/08/26/great-automotive-failures-volkswagen-411412/

 

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. . . I know that. That's not the point. The point was about "sports car person" not this particular model. 912s were the poor mans 911, not part of the mainstream at the time. He could have been talking about a Fiat 850 - the point would have been the same.

Ah, OK, I see what you're saying. You're using "sports car person" as I use "gearhead." However, now that we are on the same page, I have to add that a guy motoring around in a FIAT 850 who thinks of himself as a "sports car person" is borderline delusional.

 

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Through October 2016, compared to the same time in 2015:

* * *
-911 sales down 10%
-Box/Cay sales down 4%
-Macan sales up 38%

It could be argued that the 718 is a relative success. . .

You are correct about total Boxster/Cayman sales through Oct, but if I'm not mistaken, sales numbers for the turbocharged cars have been off roughly 10-20% per month since their introduction. See, e.g., Porsche Reports October 2016 Retail Sales

 

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I, too, read the MT article GTS524 quoted in part above, and he's correct: The 718S received a very positive review by Chris Walton and Jason Cammisa wrote a rebuttal that laid the car out in lavender. Unfortunately, it's not possible to link either opinion here yet, so suffice it to say there are really no surprises in either opinion. As Walton stated, the 718S they tested was "quicker [on the track] than every 911 Carrera (993, 996, 991, 991.2) save for the most recent 991.2 Carrera S." But, as noted above, "y 3000 rpm, the mechanical drone is reminiscent of a 1980s five-cylinder diesel . . . " And, as this 74-page thread reflects, none of this is news to anyone seriously considering buying 718.

So, where does that leave us? In equipoise? Well, no, not really. What caught my attention was the cost of the car: $92,910. I certainly can't speak for others, but I'd have a hell of a time spending ninety-two thousand nine hundred and ten dollars for any Boxster (save a Spyder), even one with six lovely cylinders, unless it could stand up and sing the Star-Spangled Banner and give me an hour to draw a crowd.

 

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EVO: Porsche 718 Boxster 2-litre PDK review - prices, specs and 0-60 time | Evo

 

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Tell you what: I have a hunch that if it were possible to buy a 718 GTS for $80k the fact that the huffer sounds like a 'Roo wouldn't matter at all.