JP thats pretty true!! Honestly the Boxter S isnt the fastest car, and will get ripped by an M3 or Carrera and numerous cars, but if you drive that car and take it into corners and hard accleration out of them the car is amazing!! The handling, feel and raw power out of turns is impressive, the M3 i also love but is more weight and body of course..


Martin
2003.5 BS G35
Nismo Aero/Sport Package
0-60 5.4 - 1/4 Mile 14.16 *GTech* and on 19's!!

 

40th Anniversary 996!? Holy crap, people actually buy that junk!$%!!@# No offense to your friend, but for that much money he could have bought a frigging 911 GT3. I have driven a 911 and yeah..... it's one damn fine sport car. However, everything is comparative - the Lotus Elise is probably more nimble, more tossible and more agile than the 911. Then again, if one keeps going, we'd all end up on motorcycles.


CPV35 G35C Maliblue

 

I agree w/ you iLL. A lot of people that haven't driven the Boxster rag on it as the "poser" Porsche. It handles better than the regular 911 & still can't get respect (yes, I'm serious & I know they're not the fastest).

 

well i forgot to add that b/c of the 997 immenent 997 launch, my bud was able to buy his 40th ann 996 for $76K.

not bad...considering the included options
-full leather interior ($4k)
-sports seats ($3k)
-Nav ($2k)
-carrera GT paint ($3k)
-X50 package -> 30XTra HP
-quasi "turbo" body

yeah, the list at $95K vs a Gt3 at 100K makes the 40th seem like a rip, but at $76 it was a sweet deal.
Gt3s are THE SHIZNITZ, but its certainly not the daily driver that the 40th is. with 345 (real) horses - not the weak horses that nissan uses, his car absolutely demolishes my Z. That said, i'm not a fan of the 996 (boxster) interior - even in full leather. I'm holding out for the 997. Similarly optioned - the C2S 997 is 90K. A pretty penny yes, but I'll keep the car FOREVER! (until i can afford a F430 that is).

 

Nice try at a flame, q. Love your ignorance (lack of knowledge, the correct use of the word). You go tell Luca or Gordon their cars suck. First of course you'll need to educate yourself on who said gentlemen are. Mr. Murray's latest creation puts the driver way back in the car, no where near where your inability would need it, and yet is universally praised for extraordinary handling (about 400 lbs heavier than the G). The long wheelbase Italian is criticized for appearance, but receives universal praise for extraordinary handling, despite weighing 600 pounds more than a G35 Coupe (approx). Take a moment to do some studying- almost every manufacturer is lengthening wheelbases right now, and for engines in front of the driver, FM (front midship- Maclaren SLR, Scaglietti, 575 replacement due next year...) or near FM designs (DB9- 500 lbs heavier than the G) are the rule today. FM by its nature puts the driver further back in the car. Drivers sit further back in the latest F1 creations as well, in comparison to 10 years ago, as well. And somehow humans are still able to drive these cars well, despite not sitting where you would have them sit.
One thing on which we do agree is the fact that the 911is a great icon of performance. It was not my intent to say that the G and 911 are in the same league. They're not. IMHO, the 911 is the timeless champion of performance defined in cars. I need to win the lottery.
My point was merely this: R&T compared the cars I mentioned- 911, Z06, M3, and 350Z. The actual winner of the performance per dollar comparison was the Super-Vette (which also has the driver way back in the car). What was more surprising, however, was how well the Z did in raw performance on the track, and in their track test, it was from exit (too pushy) to entry (way down in power vs. the aforementioned competition) where the Z lost almost all its time against the others, not in the corners.
From the guys that actually do this for a living: "We're sports car folks here at Sports Car Int'l, but darn if the G35 doesn't offer better real-world balance of ride and handling [than the 350Z]". Key phrase "real-world." Not parking lot racing, not race track pool table smooth. The other place, you know the one that 99.9% of us spend 99.9% of our time: The open road.
So to summarize, guys that live and breathe sports cars prefer the G to the Z regarding the original question posted. The Z does impressively well against cars costing a heckuva lot more dough in the handling department. If you can afford a 911, then don't bother stopping at a Nissan/Infiniti dealer. Light cars are easier to make handle well than heavy cars. I've asked Santa to import an Elise for me here in Canada for Christmas, and have promised I'll be good from now till Christmas of 2050 if he delivers. Heavy cars can handle well, too. Finally, as you can tell, I didn't take your comments "as a personal attack", especially the part about "makes you look like you dont know what the Hell you're talking about."

Cheers,
Derek


DB

 

Great handling for a heavy car. Believe me, despite their name & price, many modern, current Ferraris are GT cars. The 360 Modena is the cheapest, but it handles better than all the other Ferraris except the Enzo. The 360 Modena & the Enzo are easily the 2 lightest Ferraris.

Just because most manufacturers are lengthening wheelbases doesn't mean anything w/ regards to handling. Most of them are also increasing weight w/ each successive generation of the same model, does that mean weight helps handling? Long wheelbases are good for ride quality, not handling.

The G35c has excellent handling at the limits. I live in Toronto. Drive around the entire GTA, there's few places where the turns are really challenging. In 95% of driving situations, the G35c feels heavy, not nimble.

 

nice post derek.

Have it your way.

I suppose that the MB SLR is a "great handling car as well?" Long w/b and all.?
J_P brings up a great point - and yes, real wrold is real world. However, I just cant shake the fact that the Z (despite its built in understeer ) seems livelier and turns in crisper than the G. I'msure both cars are set up from the factory to push for safety reasons.

Sports car intl. Now THAT is a quality magazine. Along with the UK publications EVO and CAR - thats all i read. Magazines that *actually* critique a car, and say bad things about them. Not these BS american rags that continually prasie the latest and greatest.

I'm happy we agree re: the 911 at least. I dont know if i can make the 8 month wait. Ah..its prolly a good thing as i'll wind up with an '06 which *hopefully* has even more power...MUhwahahahahahaha Mooohwahahahahahhaha




sorry.

 

Q,
You are one lucky b*st*rd if you have only 8 months til owning a 911. What impresses the most about the 911, is the fact that they have kept the car on a diet. Car still weighs around 3.1K. How? 6 cyls for one. Not 10 or 12. Precise execution and attention to detail for a couple others. 3.8 litres (they've said 4.0 is tops) and 7800 rpm. Wow. And the level of luxury is still awesome. Avoiding the tempation to make a 500 hp car (normally aspirated trim), like both the big Italians and MB, the 911 achieves performance thru keeping the lbs per hp down. Which means the big wheels with big brakes stuffed into the wheel wells are even more effective than were the car 400 or more lbs heavier.(btw, I speculate that's one reason for the 19's on next year's G.)
It's a nasty spiral many manufacturers are in right now. Gotta have more power than the other guy. Gotta keep it safe. Add some gizmos to do that. Gotta make the drivetrain more robust to handle the power, as well as the chassis. Gotta have some lux too. Now bigger brakes are needed to stop the thing= bigger wheels. Hmm, weight is really up there now, better make more power to offset- and so on.
I'm sure it's a nice car, but that is exactly how VW managed to get a Golf GTI up to more than 3000 lbs! A Golf! They once weighed less than 1800 lbs. My old G60 Corrado, with 40 hp less, had the same power to weight ratio 14 years ago as the anniversary GTI does today. (And was better looking ;o) ) It was a full 1000 lbs lighter than my G. Light cars are few and far between today, especially here in the land of 5 mph bumpers (hence no Elise).
Being a fan of SCI, you've surely seen the best car for each decade series they've been doing. I'm of the opinion that once they finish the decades (next issue), they ought have a final "best ever". Despite not topping any one decade, when I think of best ever, I cannot think of any car other than the 911, period.

Cheers,
Derek


DB