982 GT4 Spyder?
Frankly, I see these "studies" as pure marketing ploys to advertise focus and concern about lightness, while they keep adding pounds and size in real life. Maybe if they didn't make it so extreme, it would have made sense for actual driving purists instead of strictly targeting museum-level collectors. Only fake purists (like myself) need a windshield, a passenger seat, or a top, right? God forbid they include those and actually make an effort to make the car lighter by something other than chopping off essential pieces out of it. Imagine the weight savings if they took the wheels off, too. Museum pieces don't need those anyway. It's like trying to make a pig lighter and faster by gouging its eyes and cutting its ears off first. Then wonder why that pig doesn't fly. Btw, that Bergspyder still looks like a pig next to the old one in those pics. How about start with cutting size and using lighter components first -- then, if that's not enough, start cutting essential body parts. The Boxster prototype from the 90's would be a good start.
Nick, don't get your hopes high! As they learned, it is incredibly difficult to lose weight and making it road-worthy, since the underlying platform is heavy! Then there is price-point. You can't make a generic luxury platform that spins out multiple variations into a hardcore version without substantial re-architecture. Then there is the market size. The market for frills-free, back-to-basic, purist roadster is tiny. Most buyers demand auto-top, PDK and auto rev-match (no offense intended). They want latest infotainment. Even the "regular" Spyders have limited market. Lotus couldn't make money selling Elise and Exige. Porsche needs to start from clean sheet for a purist roadster. But, those days are over! Light weight composite materials are on the horizon. But, they are intended for electric platforms! Reduction in weight will be offset by electric powertrain! And, you wouldn't want one anyway! Agree, this was a pointless exercise, wasting time, money and engineering resources! Bottom line: Your 981 Spyder will stay with ya for good!
After your time, your children will get to cherish! Agreed Henry, the mass market for sports cars really doesn鈥檛 seem to care about an ultra focused, lightweight, no frills sports car. The primary focus seems to be appearances, cool materials of construction, power and what its capable of on paper. It seems many Porsche GT cars see more time at cars and coffee than at the track which is also telling. I don鈥檛 think the size of the 718 is too big but the amount of electronic nannies and luxury makes them heavy. Even worse, the 718 4 cylinder weighs more than the 6 cylinder predecessor which is a huge step backwards. The 987 Spyder is borderline too much fluff and many were optioned with too much fluff IMO. Porsche could certainly do more on these low production specials and I think buyers would pay for it. A good example of what they should focus on is lighting. HID technology is excessively heavy and Porsche makes it overly complicated by adding the mechanical hardware to move the beam.
Why not provide a lightweight LED option that gives us the output we want without all the complicated mechanicals. Figure it out Porsche! Another very easy spot to those weight is the exhaust. S/S is extremely heavy, one of the heaviest metals available. Why not switch to titanium for the exhaust? Nothing complicated about it and perhaps buying in bulk will bring costs down. The average buyer would never notice or care but for a 鈥渇ocused鈥?special the buyer would likely appreciate both. It鈥檚 been documented that it鈥檚 lighter weight than the standard interior. I agree there is a lot of fluff and I鈥檓 guilty of going down that path. 鈥檚 due to safety regulations , which is BS because there are other modern sports cars that are smaller. I鈥檓 not talking about the latest artificial 鈥淭鈥?models. I agree it was a marketing exercise. My guess is they are getting ready to debut the 718 Spyder/GT4 and want to build up some energy. It was made back in 2015, why debut it now?
Yes, it鈥檚 the 50th anniversary of the original. USA on public roads. Lack of roof is the second reason. Being USA is Porsche鈥檚 largest sports car market that means it was dead before design pen hit the paper. Do you think Porsche with give the 718 spyder the same suspension as the next gt4 - based on the gt3? The 981 spyder did not get the Motorsport suspension. Agree, this was a pointless exercise, wasting time, money and engineering resources! Yep. Once again Porsche steadfastly refuses to compromise their values by developing, marketing, and selling cars that people (a) want to buy; and (b) actually can buy. Why isn't anyone capable of competing with these chuckleheads? I guess it comes down to the sad fact that there no longer is much of an actual market. Do you think Porsche with give the 718 spyder the same suspension as the next gt4 - based on the gt3? The 981 spyder did not get the Motorsport suspension. I don't expect the '718 Boxster Spyder' to get a front gt3 Motorsport suspension.