WSJ's Dan Neil pans the Boxster Spyder
 

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The 2010 Porsche Boxster Spider at rest - File photo from Porsche

"I'd have bet almost anything that Porsche could not get this car wrong. No way. Es ist nicht möglich. Here you have some of the smartest engineers of the Holy Rolling Empire and their mission is to make a lighter, more powerful, more elemental Boxster, an already great little sports car. Is that an easy out, or what?

And yet, to continue the baseball analogy, the Boxster Spyder has the Porsche players manfully sprinting to get under a lazy pop fly, only to collide in the outfield, their great oversized craniums coming together with an awful thwock! I got it! I got it! Damn it, Hans, I thought you had it!

won't tease you. It's the canvas top, um, apparatus that's to blame here, a covering which one disassembles and assembles—frantically, usually cursing, as rain gently fills the suede bucket seats—much as you would put together one of those lightweight backpacking tents. Never in the word "ragtop" has "rag" been more literal. This thing was designed by drunken kittens. The Spyder canvas makes me long for the leakproof design elegance of my old MG top.

I'm sorry. I'm bitter.

The object of the Spyder exercise was to improve the car's power-to-weight ratio and make it more of a weekend track car, which is a sacred cause, to be sure. The product planners turned up the wick on the feisty 3.4-liter direct-injection flat-six (to 320 horsepower, up from 310 in the Boxster S), lowered the suspension 20 millimeters, tightened the laces—springs, dampers, antiroll bars, wheels and tires. All God's work. Meanwhile, they set out to save weight—176 pounds altogether. Remember, more power plus less weight equals better adrenaline. And so, the Porsche guys installed the carbon-shelled suede racing seats. Wunderbar. They replaced the steel doors with aluminum units. Besser.

They also crafted the car's sensational twin-hump aluminum rear decklid, as handsome a car component as ever resembled a dromedary. With the top stowed, this car looks like a bantamweight version of the Carrera GT."

Click for a video review and the rest of the unflattering review -> Porsche Boxster Spyder: A Top That Scrapes the Bottom - WSJ.com

Pretty rough review there...he really isn't a fan of that top! What do the TS spyder owners have to say about it?

Cry me a river, hoe.


Jayzus cripes what a bunch of airconditioned pansies. Dont idiots like him GET it? Back to basics dipshits!!! you want comfy? Go cry to mommy in your ghey lexusota's. with your aircooled seats, warm cookies at the dealership, and more chrome to choke out even the fatest of lard azzes.


Seriously. GROW up. This is PORSCHE. Be a man or GTFO and go buy a C4 Cabriolet with 'soft ruffled look' leather.


Idiots.

From what I gather members littlebulldogg, JPCourt, and savyboy love theirs, haven't seen any other complaints?

^^ The ONLY legitimate complaint I can see is the speed limit with the roof on, but still, how often do you reach 124 mph in the rain?

thats the problem with a lot of todays journo's...... can't appreciate it for what it is.

Fixed it for you. ;)

Betcha Chris Harris wouldn't spend 2 paragraphs complaining about the friggin' canvas top. :)

Come on. It's Dan Neil. He's been the world's worst automotive journalist as long as I can remember.

ahh good catch!

Yeah I hate the Spyder. So sorry Mr. Vag Von Journo-Douche' didn't get the word out sooner. Would have saved me a lot of misery and heartache with my Spyder. It is like three or four times a day I need to install and remove that dreadful boy scout tent. And then it is so confusing to do, and OH such a horrid affair to deal with.

Where do they find these Fcuknuts that write this garbage?? :thumbdown: