Porsche Boxster Spyder 987 vs Boxster 981, is less more? X73 vs PASM, 6MT vs PDK, Hydraulic Steering 

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Good to see the 987 being featured. An underrated modern classic.

Great review, well done. On the 987 Boxster Spyder, if you remove the glass between the head rests (grills on the headrests also remove easily but not necessary for the effect) and put the roof on without the second smaller weather seal roof part it leaves the whole back of the cabin open to outside sounds including the exhaust without the wind noise associated with the roof off. It is a completely different experience to a standard Boxster, 911 convertible or Targa with the roof down. Once you have experienced it this way you will rarely drive it any other way. No other Porsche operates this way, later Spyders can’t do this as they have one piece tops. It is such a magical way to drive the car and all of a sudden the roof makes complete sense, looks awesome and will never be repeated again. I’d love you to try it this way if you haven’t already and see what you think.

I like how casual this video is. also very informative

Great hits from the past- great video. Peace from Australia

Great video chaps - very informative 👍

Great video. Great to get a review from people with real experience with what they are reviewing.

I own a 2013 981 BS with sport chrono, pasm, padm, Pse. It sounds amazing and feels great. 😀

On my second 987 boxster started with a 2.7 manual now have a 987.2 3.4 pdk , and as much as the pdk is fantastic i still miss manual , looking forward to a Scotland road trip next year beautiful place , great video guys ...

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing!

Get the x73 on the 981S and you’re golden. I had that setup on my cayman. Wheel spacers all around and she was just perfect.

I own the the same Spyder 987.2 PDK and just love it, never get bored of looking at it and driving it! Taking on and off the roof is romantic, there's contact and communication with the car, that's what Spyder and Roadster are about!

New sub from new Zealand, looking at purchasing a 987 boxster soon, cheers

Brilliant video, gentlemen. I own an S2000 CR which is the S2K version of a Spyder. Love using a manual in every context minus a track for time and traffic for calf comfort. Cheers from California.

Great video

Good video! 👍

Thanks for this video ... I have a 987 2.7 with spyder setup (springs, camber, ...) ... and dreamed about the 981 GTS I 'm driving often in PDK ... Great car but I miss the steering feeling and the rough side of the 987 ... this video shows that I the pefect successor of my 987 ... would be a 987 spyder manual ! tks

Beautiful car and perfectly optioned. I’m looking to buy a 987 Spyder and can’t find this combination of manual gearbox, sports chrono, extended leather and carbon seats. I’ve found a black one with everything but the manual gearbox and was tempted to buy it until I saw this video. Thanks guys you’ve stopped me making a compromise I would likely regret shortly after buying.

Great review, and well done for doing it, there are very few 987.2 Vs 981 Reviews out there to look at. I daily a 987.2 Cayman R manual (it is an 8 mile commute through very mild traffic) What these guys were saying is bang on. It would be a shite car to drive through any sort of traffic and a pdk would be better for that. I test drove a m140 and an Alpina D3 both of which are faster but didn't 'feel' as fast, you'd look down and see from the speedo the speed you were travelling. Jumped in the R and wanted to walk away but then went back to buy it. Knew there would be days I would regret the purchase (like in the midst of a corona lock down and looming recession) also days I dont want to drive it somewhere for fear of leaving it in a car park etc. But on the day I bought it, I knew I would look back and regret more not buying it in future if i hadn't gone for it. Which 8 months on I know would definitely be the case now. I get 27 MPG out of mine with next to no motorway driving but factor in premium petrol - Tesco momentum or shell V power, as if you don't have the 98 octane fuel, power is cut by the engine anyway. (beware BP 'ultimate' which is 97 and not enough!) Love the feedback and the rawness of the car, for me you want to feel like your in a fast special car?! Switchable sports exhaust is a must, its now my number one option on any future sports car except maybe a garage queen weekend warrior that could be load all the time! On your daily PSE is like having 2 cars, 1 you can trundle to work and not make a scene, 2 you push the binocular switch and get the I'm in a special car feeling again. I do agree the 981 especially GTS is louder and screams more at the top end, plus with those crackles put in. If sound is the main thing thats what gets you off consider the 981 for sure. 3.4 a must else the sound will not be what you want it to be and trust me you will wish at some point you had the full fat version. (Happened to me with my previous car, which was a mint z4 2.5si, I bought it on condition as it was a step above everything else I had seen, but after a couple of years I couldn't shake the feeling that I should have waited and found a nice full fat 3.0L!) The one question I have now is, where do you go from a 987.2 S/R/Spyder or 981 S /GTS if you own any of those models?? As the 981 wouldn't provide enough extra for required money if you owned a 987.2 and if you own a 981 (or 987.2) To get a car with significantly more performance you suddenly jump up a whole new price bracket into 60-70k cars. Seems a lot of money to spend for such minimal gains?? So to sum up you can not go wrong with either car imho, just maybe consider PDK if you want to daily on busy roads....

I had a 986 Boxster; the US models were fairly softly sprung. I installed a Euro/Rest of World M030 and it was far, far tighter. Similarly, the X73 in my Cayman GTS was beautiful. In my 944 Turbo I installed my own Koni adjustable dampers/coil overs (replicating 968 Turbo RS settings front and rear), and people would say "for street I soften them and for track I stiffen them" but that's not how it works. As a mechanical engineer, it is well known that while you can stiffen damper settings, that doesn't necessarily make it handle better, because the damper rate must be matched to the sprung mass and spring rate. PASM means having springs that are a bit stiffer than stock, but not by much, so the car will float. And if the dampers are in normal mode, the car be underdamped, as if you're driving on worn dampers, floating all over the place; in sport mode, it's over damped, which feels weird, with bumps crashing through the suspension with the springs working hard to keep up. It's a silly set up. Of course, light weight trumps all, so I'll look at the 987.2 Boxster, despite being quite keen on a 981...

I just watched half the video, only to realize that you compare the 987 Spyder against a normal Boxster 981 --- I was hoping for a 981 Spyder

This was not a limited edition model. It sold in limited numbers though because the roof is too basic, this being part of its charm and exclusivity.

Do you think the non-S would give you more of that 987 feeling at sensible speeds or not really?

My dream is to just put the top down on a Porsche Boxster 987. I still love 981.

How come it has this steering wheel? its not the standard one with the manual cars.

Is there much of a step on in terms of refinement from road and wind noise between the 987 and 981?

Which configuration do you need to get pops and bangs in the 981? Sport Chrono? Or does every 981 do it?

I noticed u hiding ur smile from time to time during ur drive in the spyder 😅

I'm actually considering getting a 981... And then the idea of the 2011 Spyder came up.. HmmThoughts?

987 hands down a nicer car!

9:43 min I guess you only feel the LSD if you switch PSM off.

I find the 981 exhaust sound is when the flat 6 lost their classic sound! I loooooove how that 987 Spyder sounds! Perfect, classic Porsche sound!

I could compare my 981 Spyder with my modded 987 Boxster S, “ A newer Porsche is a better car but a worse Porsche”.