I received the August issue of Pano today. Inside is a 5-page article on the mid-engine roadster offerings from Porsche.

914 vs. boxster:
about 1/2 to 1/3 of the HP, less front/rear track, worse drag factor, tiny tires, shitty acceleration and max. speed ...

no wonder the 914 kicks some serious boxster butt at the AX!
Andy

Wow dry weight for a 914/6 is 1925 that's light.

Does a longer wheel base have any advantages?

QUOTE (SirAndy @ Aug 9 2005, 02:04 PM)

914 vs. boxster: about 1/2 to 1/3 of the HP, less front/rear track, worse drag factor, tiny tires, shitty acceleration and max. speed ... no wonder the 914 kicks some serious boxster butt at the AX! Andy

I think they made a mistake on the drag. The 914 is smaller all around.

You really have some marketing problems when ya gotta compare a new car to a 30 year old model...and one that PCA refused to initially accept as a REAL Porsche for applicants to the club....

You mean "you really have some problems when your entry level "sports car" weighs 3000 pounds..."

QUOTE (olav @ Aug 9 2005, 02:15 PM)

Wow dry weight for a 914/6 is 1925 that's light. Does a longer wheel base have any advantages?

That 1925lbs number isn't right, though it's been published elsewhere. The dry weight listed in the spec book on the '70 1.7/4 was 1980lbs, and there's no way the /6 weighs less than the /4. Even if the /6 has gasburners on it and the /4 has steel wheels, that doesn't even cover the difference in engine weights. The rest of the tub is nearly identical, with really small things like no rain tray or side engine mounts, etc. on the /6. Engines out and wheels off, I'd guess the '70/4 and the '70/6 are within 20lbs of each other. The 2.0/6 weighs 125-150lbs more than the 1.7/4.

I'd actually believe that someone at the factory messed up and switched the /4 and /6 dry weights in the early publications, and the 1.7 weighs 1925lbs, and the /6 weighs 1980lbs. This still doesn't account for the huge weight increase for the '70/4 and the '73/4, which can't be easily explained by things like the door bars, the bumper tits, or the heavier engine mount on the '73. There's not 200lbs of weight there.

It'd be more interesting if they included the 904.