Road and Track review of the 718

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Laz
n/t

I agree. That would/will be interesting.

My guess? His review would be more along the lines of C&D than R&T.

Interesting contrast with other reviews. This reviewer (the self-described 'big-guy' whose sunglasses are apparently protecting his glistening locks from premature... bleaching) is all about torque and numbers. If that's what is most important, then the 718 is the ticket (vs, for instance, the 981)

The 'Big Guy' asked "Can you get used to that sound?". And later, "it takes some getting used to." There are lots of things we can get 'used to'. But is that the measuring stick we want to use when we buy our dream car?

One commenter wrote:

"How come every other article I've read on the new Boxster S laments the loss of the flat-6, one going so far as to say, "hold on to your previous Boxster"? "

Has anyone here read/seen that review?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2016 08:32PM by Roger987. (view changes)

correct. You get use to smoking and the taste of scotch, but those are not necessarily good things. Nobody takes to either of those vices right out of the gate. Well, at least I didn't, and the end result, I never picked up either habit.

[www.forbes.com]

[www.pca.org]

They like the car--as you would expect.

....and prior to that the 356 people absolutely howled about the 901/911.

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MikenOH
[www.pca.org]

They like the car--as you would expect.

"As you would expect".

"1) The new four is "youthful" and in keeping with the Boxster’s fun-to-drive nature … a bit brash against Porsche’s smooth and sophisticated flat sixes and exciting in its own right; 2) the new four may be the result of fuel efficiency and emissions requirements, but it is also a clever way to further separate the Boxster/Cayman line from the 911 line — and the two were getting awfully close with the advent of the 981.1, especially in GTS form."

Clever wordsmithing. Let's parse that. "Brash, less smooth and less sophisticated, but youthful".
That conjures up the image of a teenager wearing a muscle-shirt, cut-offs, and a pair of flip-flops walking into (what had been) a nice restaurant.

"A clever way to 'separate' the 981 from the 911, as the two were getting awfully close".
In other words, the maître d' discretely walks over to the muscle-shirted patron and escorts him to the basement table.

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Roger987
"How come every other article I've read on the new Boxster S laments the loss of the flat-6, one going so far as to say, "hold on to your previous Boxster"? "

Has anyone here read/seen that review?

I haven't seen that particular wording, But found some similar in the Forbes article to which Richard posted the link:
To anyone like myself who considers a sports car as much a musical instrument as a vehicle, well, trot down to your Porsche dealer and buy a Boxster Spyder with the naturally aspirated 3.8-liter Carrera engine before they leave production.

[www.forbes.com]

And from everything I've seen and read so far, without actually driving the car myself, has me feeling the same way.

While there are some styling changes, the 718 is still a fabulous looking car with some details a little better or not quite as good in the new model, depending on individual taste. I'm sure it will be a fabulous handling car, as we've come to expect of the Boxster. ....but (and this is an individual preference) the sound. For one thing, it doesn't have the sense of urgency that the flat six has. That's one of the things that adds to the overall excitement of driving a sports car.

I wonder too, what effect it will have on the engine, with most cars likely being sold with PDK, and the torque coming on early, those engines will likely be kept in the 1,500 - 3,000 RPM range most of the time. People won't remember what an Italian Tuneup is.

I, for one, am definitely not going to be trading my Orchestra in for an oboe quartet

Happened to be on Ebay the other day and sorted Boxster by highest price. The top 2 were new Spyders.

All the talk about sound reminds me of some other car brand forums I read and the comments about cars that no one has really seen in the wild yet. Lots of pre-production bad mouthing from the owners of the current model, but when the car is actually at the dealers the noise subsides.

There's no doubt that any time a new model is introduced, some owners of the current model will be anxious that their car is suddenly inferior or somehow less adequate.

In the case of the 718, links to 4 more-or-less objective reviews of production cars have been posted recently in this forum. Of those 4, three lament the passing of the flat-6, while acknowledging the quicker acceleration produced by the flat 4. Of those 3, the author who is most kind to 718, acknowledges that if a sports car is regarded, at least in part, as musical instrument, it would be wise to snag a NA flat 6 (albeit a somewhat rare 3.8) now.

But, it's not just sound. To get the most performance out of the flat 6, the engine must be wound out, or at the very last, taken through most of its upper rev range (yup, I've inadvertently bounced off the rev-limited a few times, and that's ok, that's why it's there). For many enthusiasts, achieving acceleration in that manner, also generates the most 'exhilaration'.

You're right, the 'noise' will subside in time. After all, it would be extremely peculiar if the 'noise' got louder 3 years AFTER the new model hit the dealerships. People adapt and move on.

Some members (no pun intended) might remember the huge noise around the introduction of so-called 'micro-bikinis' or 'mini-skirts'. While the latter have largely (but not entirely) gone the way of the dodo bird, those who appreciated them then, still do now.

As a side-note (so to speak), what's the most single significant attribute of a Harley, leaving aside its (not-unblemished) history ? Unquestionably, its unique sound. A Harley can be recognized more by its sound than any other single attribute. That pretty much speaks for itself, doesn't it?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2016 04:11PM by Roger987. (view changes)

[www.youtube.com]

Some extended exhaust sound as he sprints up and down a hill.

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MikenOH
[www.youtube.com]

Some extended exhaust sound as he sprints up and down a hill.

Oops, I had thought this video was part of the R&T review, because it appeared in the middle of the R&T review (referred to above). But, apparently, it's a stand alone review by Matt Farah, of 'The Smoking Tire'. [www.youtube.com]. I confess, I was bit surprised when I watched it, as I had thought that R&T reviewers were a tad more sophisticated, or less boorish (a euphemism for 'redneck' which is probably politically incorrect).

So, Porsche flew this guy to Portugal, to drive the Boxster, following which he posted his review on his youtube channel.

That's a good one, Laz--I recalled the name but couldn't place him until I looked him up.
The pair that developed R&T into a great car magazine back in the day.
I'm not sure what R&T has turned into lately--my 30 year subscription lapsed some time ago--but in it's prime, I used to eagerly await the delivery of each issue.
Peter Egan's articles where worth the price of the subscription by themselves.

Used to faithfully read both magazines, enjoyed R&T's sophistication, C and D's brash passion. Never much for MT, but remember their Gullwing early 70s article: valued like new at ~8000 bucks. Saw two: one near my gf's family place in Westhampton Beach (... peered over a hedge, complemented the neighbor's Lotus Super 7; he was so happy I knew it wasn't a dune buggy he took me for a ride into town for cigarettes,) the other in early 80's right on Broadway near Wall St. - a commuter car, the driver said, of all things!
So, Jean Shepherd: loved his C and D columns, like the one on foreign cars' owner's manual weirdness, BUT, went to a small concert at a church in Brooklyn where Garth Hudson was playing. Shepherd was MC and also was hanging out. My friends idolized the guy from his radio stuff, but when I met him he was so full of himself from the Cannonball movie "success" we could've come to fisticuffs: He was so UNfolksy!
Ok, enough! Can barely type all this on the iPhone 5. Being "all thumbs" is a positive attribute these modren* (sic) times!
* Teacher back in art school used to refer to "modren art "

Sometimes it's better not to meet our favorite personalities. I really loved his shows on WOR during my college days in the early 60s.

I heard that the next Spyder as a 718 model will be a NA 3.8 LTR. It will be introduced as a 2019 model.

Porsche will always cause new dramas until the model runs its course of criticism and/or praise.....then WHAM.... 718 Spyder.

Interesting that, for their Spyder (presumably, regarded as high-end and quick), Porsche is using the flat 6. Presumably, if Porsche were so inclined, it could extract the same power from a massaged 2.5 Four or a slightly overbored Four. Maybe it's more cost-effective to shoe-horn the 3.8 into the 718 rather than massage a 2.5, or maybe, just maybe, for the Spyder, Porsche is acknowledging the desirability of the legendary flat-6.

I wonder what the 718/718s will be like in the hands of a tuner. Having owned and driven an APR tuned 1.8t and now a Malone tdi, the gains once these computer geeks get from the programming boost on a turbo is double thumbs up. Peter

Good point.

Of course, while the factory warranty is in effect, it might very well be risky to mess with the ECU. From all I've read, Porsche WILL be able to tell.