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Originally Posted by / / / M3
That's because the 986/987 was designed in the 1990's. Cars from that era were made entirely out of steel (and relatively thick one, compared to modern cars). A BMW, Mercedes or Audi from that era will feel similarly "robust". In comparison, the 981 and 718, which use a lot of aluminum, do not have the same heavy duty feel.
It's a small 2WD two-seater, made mostly out of aluminium, with a small 4 cylinder engine. 3000 lbs isn't all that impressive for that kind of car IMO.
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The 987 was designed in the early 2000s, but yeah, it is old. The 987 has an aluminum hood. The 987 Cayman R also has aluminum door skins. The 981/718 have an aluminum hood, hatch, and door skins. The front fenders and the unibody exterior are steel. Portions of the 981/718 unibody also use aluminized steel, though there is not a ton of weight savings. On average, the 981/718, is around 50lbs lighter than the 987 and much of that weight saving came from the aluminum exterior panels and plastic side sill/side intake area.
I can't tell any difference in build quality/material thickness on the 981/718. They seem just as "heavy" and robust as my 987.
A Miata RF weighs around 2500lbs. A 987 Cayman weighs around 2950lbs. The current gen Miata is substantially shorter (18") and narrower (3.5") than the 987-718 Porsches. That certainly accounts for some of the weight differences. Put a Miata and 987-718 on a lift and look at how much more substantial the parts are on the Porsche and you'll see why they feel so much more solid. The Miata uses lots of stamped parts whereas many of the parts on the Porsches are not. The interior carpet on a Porsche is thick and of high quality especially when compared to the super thin and lightweight stuff used on a Miata. The carpeted 3" thick foam panels that cover the front and upper engine covers on my 987 weigh a whopping 41lbs total.
The Miata and 987-718 take different approaches to performance and quality. I'm not saying a brand new Porsche is worth the price for what you get, but I'd have to say an entry price of ~$39K for a commonly equipped Miata RF is pretty crazy too.