Footage of the Boxster

While editing videos over the weekend, I realized, “I’m short on footage of the Boxster,” so I asked my husband, “How about we head to Royu Driveway this evening with the Boxster and GT3?” He replied,

Sounds good. Since we’re at it, let’s time it to catch the sunset.

So I checked the sunset time and prepared to leave accordingly. …But, just as expected, the sky started to cloud over right before we were about to leave. Seeing that, my husband asked,

What do you want to do? It’s clouding up, but still want to go?

It was hard to back out at that point, so I answered, “It’s cloudy, but it looks clear over there, so let’s give it a try,” and we set off in the two cars.

The Comfort of the Boxster

The 981 Boxster has plenty of torque, making it easy to drive even for someone like me who isn’t very confident behind the wheel. (Even though I used to complain about how hard it was to drive it, haha) Even when I think, “This hill might be tough in 3rd gear,” just pressing the accelerator a little harder powers it up smoothly without any trouble.

On gentle slopes, the auto-hold function doesn’t engage, so the car might roll back a bit when starting off, but the Boxster’s strength to hold steady at that moment gives the driver a reassuring feeling.

Before driving a manual, I didn’t pay much attention to torque, but now I finally understand why “everyone talks about torque being important.” (laughs)

Royu Driveway, Rain…

The road just before the Royu Driveway toll gate has many cat’s eyes, so I drove the Boxster carefully. But just after passing the toll gate, I opened the roof and switched to Sport Plus mode. In the 981 Boxster GTS, Sport Plus mode activates the auto-blip feature.

Thanks to this auto-blip, the Boxster growls boldly with a “Vroooom” every time you downshift. My younger daughter riding shotgun was unusually excited, saying, “Wow, that’s amazing!!”

But then…

The sky started to look ominous. Of course… haha.

And just one minute from the lookout point, raindrops began to patter on the windshield. I thought about continuing to the lookout, but just in case, I pulled over to the shoulder and closed the roof.

The moment I closed the roof, the rain intensified. I felt relieved thinking, “If we had kept going to the lookout, that would have been a disaster,” but I also felt sorry for my husband, who always takes care not to get the soft top wet. I’m really sorry.

When we arrived at the lookout, my husband said over the walkie-talkie,

How many times has this happened now? No rain at the base, but rain and wind at the lookout? We must be seriously cursed by the mountain god. Haha.

And I thought, yeah, that’s exactly right (-_-)

I didn’t have an umbrella, so I couldn’t get out. But looking through the car window, the sky south of the lookout looked fairly bright, so I decided, “If we wait a bit, the rain might stop,” and stayed put.

However, contrary to that hope, the rain only grew heavier with time. Here’s what it looked like then:

This is no good. Let’s go home (T-T) pic.twitter.com/MLctgWFuj9

— Mina – Porsche Blogger (@Mina_Panamera) August 25, 2019

Driving the Boxster in a Torrential Downpour

At this point, waiting any longer made no sense, so I thought, “Let’s move to the photo spot by the sea. The forecast said cloudy, so it probably isn’t raining down at the base.” and we left the lookout.

On the way back,

It was my first time driving the Boxster on a mountain road in such heavy rain, so I was a bit nervous, but it was perfectly fine. There was no slipping in corners or any feeling of the tires losing grip; it was very stable.

That said, I wasn’t driving fast, so it might be different on the highway, but still, the Pilot Sport 4S tires really are amazing.

ポルシェ ボクスターGTSのタイヤ交換−ミシュランパイロットスポーツ4Sに替えてみた感想

Since I couldn’t push the car in the rain, I switched from Sport Plus mode back to Normal mode on the way home, but then I felt the shift shock every time I downshifted.

The auto-blip feature just made me feel like I was a better driver than I actually am; I still have a lot of practice to do.

After we reached the base, the rain was still falling steadily. Given that, I gave up on taking photos by the sea and decided to head straight home.

Back home, my husband gave me a disbelieving look and said,

Seriously, you’re still a rain woman, huh? (laughs) From now on when we go to Royu, we have to check the rain radar, not just the weather forecast. The forecast said cloudy until just now, but it changed to rain already.

I really had no comeback (-_-)

Actually, I’d been thinking, “I want to see the first sunrise at Royu next year,” but after this experience, I’m sure if I go, it’ll be either heavy rain or thick fog, causing trouble for everyone, so I definitely shouldn’t go.

In the end, I didn’t get any usable video footage that day and it felt like “I just paid 410 yen to get the car wet on purpose,” but driving the Boxster in a torrential downpour was a rare experience, so maybe it was valuable in that sense.

Still… if I had been born long ago, I think I could have been quite successful as a “rainmaker.” That’s what I’ve been thinking lately.