Re: 981 reveal, a bit of history and golf

Last night our Porsche dealer, Gaudin, in Las Vegas, held their unveiling of the 981. It was a great event with Porsche videos, history and a nice group of Porsches through time. And of course two 981 S with PDKs. Here are a few of the cars present:
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The venue:
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The 981s. My impressions were that the 981s are beautifully executed. Interior is a bit more spacious than the 987s. Since there are plenty of great pictures of the 981s around, I will not be posting many here.

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Two body “issues” I noticed: first when the top is down, there appears to be a larger open area on the sides between the top and the body shell as seen in this picture (please not that is not damage to the new 981 body, but a reflection of one of the lights) .

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Second the trunks, while apparently the same volume as 987s, are configured differently. Both front and rear appear shorter front to back, while the front trunk is deeper and the rear trunk is a bit wider back by both tail lights. For those of us who are golfers, unfortunately there might be a problem. As you can see in these pictures I can comfortably get my full set of clubs (driver, woods in head covers) in a regular size 48” high bag into SilverBox’s rear trunk.

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However the same bag would not fit into the 981. Now possibly you could take out the driver and woods and possibly get them in the trunk, then get the bag in. However the fact that Porsche specially designed (according to their literature) the 987 trunk to take a full set of clubs was a big selling point for me and something I use regularly. We had an Audi A4 Cab that you had to take the woods and driver out before could get the bag in its trunk. For us that was a negative. The Audi has since been replaced by a new Volvo C70 Cab that you can easily get two full sets of clubs in their bags in the trunk. At any rate if you are a golfer and don’t want to break down your set to get them in the trunk, then this might be of issue for you.

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I don't think his won't be a deal breaker for non or infrequent golfers, but I know a few people that have bought Boxsters because there weren't any other drop tops out there that would take a set (or 2) of clubs in the rear with the top down.

With other cars going to convertible hardtops, which mandates the top being up if you're carrying anything more substantial than a shaving kit, the Boxster was exclusive in offering substantial amounts of luggage space without infringing on the ability to enjoy top down driving. There is still a lot of space available for storage, but from what you've shown, part of that utility in the 987 may have been lost in the new car.

Thanks for posting those Jeff. Looks like a set of folding golf clubs would come in handy for the golfers. Just not sure what it would do for the golfers' scores.

You can sure see the Carrera GT influence in the 981. There's always a trade-off. Here a bigger space between the top and side of the car, although they've covered the space that we have between the rollbar and side of the body.

Yes, clear GT influence and it wears it very well. As for the scores, that is what electronic records are for

I took delivery of the car in late afternoon Thursday. At six, the dealer held a cocktail party for the on-sale event. My car was parked just outside the showroom door, and all of a sudden, a bunch of people were hopping in and out of my car thinking it was a demo. I cheerily moved it away, parked in the adjacent Audi dealer lot, between an R8 and a Ferrari 430, figuring they'd draw the attention.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2012 11:48PM by Laz. (view changes)

Quote
Laz
I took delivery of the car in late afternoon Thursday. At six, the dealer held a cocktail party for the on-sale event. My car was parked just outside the showroom door, and all of a sudden, a bunch of people were hopping in and out of my car thinking it was a demo. I cheerily moved it away, parked in the adjacent Audi dealer lot, between an R8 and a Ferrari 430, figuring they'd draw the attention.

No bowling for me Laz- at least until we can no longer enjoy hitting the little white ball. Then maybe it will be time for the 981 successor with PDK. Have a ton of fantastic Permagrin miles in your gorgeous ride Looking forward to the updates.