2006 987 Boxster 2.7

[patently]

Luxor Beige?  Ugh

[garcon magnifique]

Tones in with all the sand.

[CarMad]

Its missing 2 cylinders. I watched a couple of review videos and yes its quick and handles well but the emotions the engine adds is missing. 

 

Not that I will be getting one I can't persuade the wife for me to get a used Cayman yet. 

[garcon magnifique]

Nothing wrong with a turbo charged flat four.

#Subarufan

[Rachel]

Luxor Beige?  Ugh

 

If they did the burnt (very dark) chocolate you could get on the 987 here in Oz I'd have specced that.  The Germans limit interior choices here - for example, it is pretty much impossible to order an AMG that doesn't have a black interior here in Oz - but you can pick whatever you want in the EU, UK or US.

 

I'm sick of all black, esp. in our summers.

[CarMad]

Nothing wrong with a turbo charged flat four.

#Subarufan

Very true, original Sub flat fours sounded great and really improved the car as a result. However the Porshe hasn't been engineered with that in mind, efficiency yes aural sound, no. 

 

You can hardly hear it in most videos its that quiet, watch a previous get 2.7 or 3.4 and that couldn't be further from the truth. For me the sound of the engine adds a huge amount to the enjoyment of the car. 

 

I can see why someone might love an RS3 for the sound of the engine alone despite its handling not being close to the competition. 

[eldavo69]

It'll sound fine - I have every faith that Porsche will make sure of that as they know the criticism they'll face if they don't.

That said - the 2.7 sounds lovely, it does that wonderful trick of gobbing some extra fuel in at start up to give a crisp bark and then a higher idle from cold. It then settles into a lovely burble. The mechanical noises of the engine being right behind you are great too and with the roof down the whole experience is even better.

It's a very different experience to the aural delights of the 944 too, that's a car that is very (too) quiet as standard, the turbo robbing the exhaust of a proper rasp - something that has been engineered around on the 718. I have a freer flowing exhaust without a primary silencer and that has a deeper burble and sounds far better. Combined with the induction noise, turbo spool and wastegate chatter it's an intoxicating combination of old school mechanical noises that you won't ever get in modern cars.

My dad's Panamera diesel is a case in point - it sounds great on the inside due to wads of sound insulation and fakey noise trumpets but if you crack a window you get the disappointment of diesel clatter mixed in with the exhaust noise. At least in the 944 and the Boxster it sounds great with the windows up and even better with them (or the roof) down.

[CarMad]

It'll sound fine - I have every faith that Porsche will make sure of that as they know the criticism they'll face if they don't.

 

 

Have a listen to and read the reviews of the new 4s. Yes the power is great, the torque comes in super low and the new chassis is fantastic, ticks all of those boxes. But the noise is a huge let down, not enough for many to care but if I was in the market it would be enough for me to look at something else. 

 

I'm not so its a mute point but I'd be interested to see what they do with the Cayman and if future GTS/GT4s are just more powerful 4's or not. 

[garcon magnifique]

You can't get a realistic impression of how a car sounds from a YouTube video. You need to drive the car.

Edited April 8, 2016 by garcon magnifique

[CarMad]

You can get a fair impression certainly the comparison between the two is stark put it that way. 

[patently]

Chatting to the guys at Porsche Reading today, they commented that 996/7 prices are beginning to firm, as the enthusiasts want NA flat sixes and look down on the smaller turbos.

It's like the change to water cooling all over again…

[Tipex]

It's the strangest thing, Porsche owners seem unique in this regard (not saying TSN's Porsche massif fall in this category), but they simply can't seem to abide change.

 

Porsche continually make their cars better, Porsche enthusiasts continually deride the improvements until (perhaps) they can afford the newer models?

[patently]

Maybe they love what they have and don't want it to change.

[Cameo]

Porsche continually make their cars better, Porsche enthusiasts continually deride the improvements until (perhaps) they can afford the newer models?

I guess it's what you define as better? The new turbo charged 991/718 are certainly faster and more economical than the models they replaced but to be fair they were already fast enough for public roads, where (let's be honest) most are used. But buying a 'sports' car is also about character and I guess that's what some enthusiasts fear might be lost.

If someone is new to the brand then they won't know any different and I'm sure they'd love them. Those that have previous model will be more circumspect. As an example, some enthusiasts criticise the 991 as being more GT than sports car and claim the 997 (previous generation) was better. I've never driven one so I can't judge but I think my 991 is fantastic.

I haven't driven one of the new turbo'd yet so I reserve judgement but they do have a lot to live up too.

Oh, and as for economy I can get nearly 35 mpg on a steady run (with three passengers too). Not bad for a 190mph car with a 3.8 litre engine! )

Yeah, yeah - I know I'm driving it wrong

[eldavo69]

It's the strangest thing, Porsche owners seem unique in this regard (not saying TSN's Porsche massif fall in this category), but they simply can't seem to abide change.

Porsche continually make their cars better, Porsche enthusiasts continually deride the improvements until (perhaps) they can afford the newer models?

Part of me thinks that Porsche enthusiasts are turned off by the costs and can't afford/justify the new models so poo-poo them as a matter of course.

Others (and I count myself and certainly MrP in this) like the company and its products for their engineering side, the "brand" is neither here nor there. With that, I genuinely applaud the direction that the company is moving in and think that Andreas Preuninger truly understands what customers want. The fact that I can't afford a new GT3 or similar doesn't make me denounce them as crap though.

Anyway . . . I've almost finished polishing the bodywork on the Boxster, a couple more hours and it'll be sorted. The father-in-law was amazed by the paintwork yesterday and couldn't believe the car was 10 years old so I must've done something right.

In the meantime I've been eyeing up a few parts that comprise the extended leather pack and I'm pretty sure that I can retrofit them quite easily and cost effectively too. It's nothing major but encompasses a few touch points and visual styling areas to provide a nice little lift from the usual plastics on the interior.

[Tipex]

the turbo robbing the exhaust of a proper rasp

Just been watching a few YouTube videos and one of them made me think about this comment, it's a common one, that turbos rob the exhaust note and one that is largely true, but it doesn't have to be-

 

[eldavo69]

Wowzers! I really enjoyed that - especially at the 8 minute mark.

[Arch]

Ermagherd, that thing is fantastic.

[Tipex]

Bit special init!

 

I'd love to see them do similar to a 355.

[eldavo69]

After about 10 hours of work I've finished the paintwork over the weekend, it is completely transformed and has a real glossy shine to it that will have been missing for the past few years:

Got the roof down in the sun and went for fish and chips at the coast:

[Ian_C]

Looks great!  Time to update your sig! 

[eldavo69]

The Renovo kit I ordered for the roof turned up too. This contains a cleaning solution, roof dye and then a reproofing sealant with all the necessary application gubbins. If I don't need the dye I'd rather not use it but I'll be able to make a better decision once the roof is properly clean.

Here's the full kit;

And the roof that was noted on the PPI as "minging":

[eldavo69]

First step was to lightly wet the roof and you can see it just absorbed all the water:

Then brush on the cleaner, leave to dwell for 10 mins before wetting and agitating. Lots of whitey/brown foam with the odd green bit:

Then several damn good rinses before drying the car off ready to go back in the garage to be left overnight with the dehumidifier running:

It already looks much better so fingers crossed I can skip the dye!

[patently]

Renovo is good stuff, I ought to give mine another treatment soon

[eldavo69]

Before starting on the roof I whipped out my trusty trombone cleaner:

And got to work cleaning out all the drain holes, you can see just how manky the bottom of the roof was:

And out the other end (I really must dress that plastic arch guard):