Re: OH MY, OH MY, OH MY, SMILIN2 has arrived!

I never really thought that the orange PB hat matched my silver 986, so I took action!

Over two years since mentioning to my dealer that I wanted to order the rumored 6 cyl Boxster, and 4 months of waiting since submitting my configuration, introducing SMILIN2:



6MT, heated seats, LEDs, Burmester, leather…everything possible to classify this car as an old man’s country cruiser.

I ordered my 986 from Porsche Rocklin (Niello Porsche) 24 years ago. Another easy, professional, friendly experience with this purchase. I’ll gladly order my next new Porsche from them in 2045.

My summary from 30 break-in miles: AWESOME!

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MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010

Congratulations!!!!!!! The Spyder really is an awesome car. I find it hard to believe that you'll be doing any "old man's country cruisin' " in this car. It's going to be really hard to resist using that short shifter and conducting the Symphony in Flat Six piped out through that PSE stereo system. A friend just picked up his Spyder a little over a week ago and has already got almost 1,000 mi. on it.

Looking forward to some more pictures, info and all the little and big things that you feel make it the awesome car that it is.

120 mile loop, to Tahoe and back. My wife likes it!

A few thoughts comparing my '98 986, '16 981 GTS and '21 Spyder:
The Spyder ROCKS!
The GTS ROCKS!
The 986 ROCKS!
I think I'll be selling the GTS, but I love it so. We'll see.

Ride - The GTS and Spyder are always in PASM sport/firm, and I find the ride is great...even on mild bumps. The 986 is on H&R/B6 and is much more harsh. The Spyder is comfortable. Sorry, but it is!
Top down driving - I think that the Spyder is the quietest and calmest cabin of the bunch.
Top up driving, windows up - GTS and Spyder are close...GTS probably a bit less noise. Both are quieter and more comfortable than the 986. FYI, Spyder on PS4S, GTS on old PZero
Burmester in the Spyder, Bose in the GTS, custom in the 986. The 986 still wins. The Burmester - I'm glad that I got it. It delivered on everything that I asked of it. Expensive, but I didn't want to make any stereo mods to this car.
Spyder top - No big deal. Not much different from my 986 in which I have to get out to chop. Sure, the GTS is convenient.
Wheels - I LOVE the Spyder wheels. They look like a 10-legged spider. The fender fill and gap are perfect!
Steering wheel - leather in the Spyder, Alcantara in the GTS. MUCH prefer leather. The Spyder wheel also has a slightly better shape...finger indents on top of the L&R spokes
Seats...should be the same between the Spyder and GTS (both 2 way manual)...maybe the Spyder seats aren't broken in, but the GTS seems a bit better fit. Both are comfortable, and much more supportive than the 986 standard seats
Leather. Crap in the GTS and Spyder. Painted crap. 986 wins hands down. I'm sure the painted crap is modern and will wear well, but it has no character.
Shifter. Love the short shifter in the Spyder. GTS is nice. 986 reminds me of my old Bug
Power. Kept the Spyder below 5K RPM...hard to tell a difference between the Spyder (414) and GTS (330) at this point, but I'm sure there's a little difference. Both of them scare me a little.
Handling. I don't have the skill to give much of an assessment. The 986 is so familiar to me after 23+ years. It still feels like the sharpest razor of the bunch, but I have no doubt that the GTS and Spyder are much more capable. The 986 just feels special.
Sound. I love them all. 986 always reminds me of a quiet jet engine. GTS with PSE off is perfect. GTS with PSE on sounds good, but I don't need the crackles and pops. Spyder - sounds good with PSE off. Sounds good with PSE on. Still figuring it out. It has multiple personalities and some report that it changes after adding some miles...and certainly some RPMs!
Interior. I prefer the layout of the GTS...with squared vent trim, the clock lower and stitching up the center of the dash. Spyder is nice...just different
Brakes. MONSTERS on the Spyder. Plenty on all.
Auto Start/Stop and Cylinder deactivation on the Spyder. WTF

What else you want to know?

The car has a bare butt and PORSCHE in black (as spec'd), which is usually very hard to see. Interesting light on this shot...


Mormon Emigrant Trail. 20+ miles in the middle of nowhere. We had it easier...


BIG smile hiding in the shadows...


Hope Valley, hiway 88&89 intersection...


Headed to Tahoe...

That white Spyder looks good with the orange PBX hat for sure!
Enjoy.
Happy Spydering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Love it! Congratulations, Doug.

One thing to do while waiting for the miles to build is to find a stretch of road that is not too smooth and try various combinations of sport, normal, and sport plus all with and without PASM. Enjoy the new car.

Steve

SteveJ - 2021 Cayman T manual, 2010 Base Boxster sold

thanks folks. i drove the car 68 miles, then dropped it off at the detailer. MORE WAITING!

the spyder doesn’t have the different performance modes…it’s always in “sport +”. in my 2016 boxster gts, the routine was to start the car and hit sport plus (also enabled auto-blip and pse and pasm sport)…auto start/stop is off persistently. the new spyder routine will be to start the car, giggle, and press all of the buttons including the stupid auto start/stop which is no longer persistently off (this also disables the cylinder deactivation…I PAID FOR 6 CYLINDERS!!!)

once i get the car back (ppf, ceramic, tint), there will be no issue racking up the break in miles morning coffee in tahoe…lunch in yosemite…dinner at home. repeat.

That break in routine sounds awesome. And when you want a change on the weekend, you can always take a side trip to Napa (the valley, not the store. )

Enjoy.

Niello Porsche is a great dealer. Candy Beck was a pleasure to deal with. I had to change my order because I for medical reasons could no longer drive a stick. The first car came in that I could not use. She ordered another car for me with PDK. I had to wait because the factory shuts down in August. Got the car just before Thanksgiving 2015 as a 2016.

I agree. They've been a good supporter/partner to the local PCA region for a LONG time and the entire staff is top notch. I bought my '98 from Don and Gus. I was a regular consumer of warranty services for the first few years, and I'd say hi when in. Fast forward 20 years and I ran into Gus (retired) at a Taycan launch event..."Doug...how are you my friend." I was impressed...I'm not that memorable!

It’s a beauty. My dream Boxster or sure. I have had my 986 20 years and I am really getting the itch. Congrats. More pics please.

thanks. i'll post more pics soon. she's still at the beauty salon.

I was smitten with the 2016 Spyder, white with carbon trim. I've been driving the same '99 986 since 2004 ... definitely got the itch! That said, the closer my Porsche gets to its 25th birthday, the more I want to keep it ... crazy!! Also, euro delivery in COVID times is a non-starter ... buying my first new Porsche deserves a factory visit!

i’m planning to keep my ‘98 forever. dreaming of a home where i can park the car in the living room as art when not driving it

Incredible job on full wrap PPF, ceramic and tint at Appearance Solutions in Sacramento. Exceeded my very high expectations.

It’s my neighbor’s birthday, so he got the first ride. Apologies for having the top up…hot and weird weather today. I haven’t seen this angle before, looking slightly down on the car…and i love it!



I’ll add some interior pics soon.

I’m up to 102 miles

the last pic attempts to show the 70/55 tint on windshield/side windows

Your Spyder looks great!

It's interesting to see that Porsche is showing the actual coolant temperature rather than cutting it off at 194 F as they've done in previous models.

interesting. when do you think they made the change on showing the temp?

the interior is nice. as nice (to me) as i could get it with the standard offerings. i’m seemingly rare in that i like the mouse fur on the seats and door cards, but if i had my druthers, i’d go for something like the 000 package…two tone, black dash, brown and black interior with nice aniline leather instead of the painted crap used by everyone today. but in the 4 digit price range, instead of 5

love love love the car so far. headed out on a long drive now…



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2021 11:01AM by SMILIN. (view changes)

I am very jealous. Beautiful Spyder!

thank you. i am still pinching myself…can’t believe that it’s in my garage.