autocar_staff's avatar
Author:
Autocar staff
Login For More
Rate this article:
  • 0/5 Stars
SPEEDtv.com Store
Grand National:America's Golden Age of Motorcycle Racing, by Joe Scalzo
Joe Scalzo’s book captures the spirit of the Golden Age of motorcycle racing.
Our Price: $39.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Man-Made Thunder
The book examines the sport of stock car racing through the eyes and ears of the men behind the wheel and the wrenches.
Our Price: $49.00
Visit Button
Buy Button
Unisex Sandwich Cap
Unisex Velcro back hat with SPEED logo on front. PINKS logo embroidered on left and PAO logo on right. One size fits all.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Speedway T-shirt
Men's 6 oz. 100% Cotton Jersey Short Sleeve Tee. SPEED logo imprinted on the front center chest.
Our Price: $24.99
Visit Button
Buy Button
Ferrari Red Classic Hat
100% cotton twill. Ferrari shield embroidered on front, piping on the peak and Ferrari logo embroidered on back strap adjuster.
Our Price: $30.00 ($27.00 Member)
Visit Button
Buy Button
Footer Bg
  • Zoom More Photos Button
  • Camera Icon
Porsche Boxster S: 10 Years On and Still a Knockout
Written by: Autocar staff   http://www.autocar.co.uk
12/14/2006
London, UK
 
"Performance has gone from good to good-grief and the rest of the package has taken a similar leap forwards." ยป More Photos

Hard as it may be to believe, Porsche was on the rocks 10 years ago. To the extent that when the first Boxster was launched – in the summer of 1996 – it was genuinely a make-or-break moment for Weissach's favorite car company.

The problem, as ever, was one of money. In the late 1980s and early '90s Porsche's range of cars was too big, too expensive to make and didn't sell in big enough numbers to justify the build costs. And then came the small matter of the collapse of the global economy, at which point Porsche had to change its method of producing cars – and fast – or else risk its independence as a car company.

The answer was simple but radical. By engineering the Boxster to share as many parts as possible with the outgoing (993) and incoming (996) 911 models, Porsche virtually became a one-car company. Which meant its manufacturing costs plummeted while its profits, in theory, would return.

Some theory. Since then this philosophy has proved so successful that Porsche has risen from the ashes and is now set to climb above the stars. In the decade that's followed it has created the Cayenne and Cayman, bought shares in VW and is about to add another car to its model range, the all-new four-door Panamera. The threat of insolvency, in other words, is now a distant memory.

And it's all because of the car you're looking at: the Boxster. Ten years ago the entry-level Boxster had less than 180hp and couldn't quite top 150mph. Some purists even called it "The Weed," the Porsche that couldn't and wouldn't perform (they were wrong, by the way; although it was no rocketship, the original Boxster 2.5 went perfectly well and had – at the time – just about
the sweetest mid-engined chassis we'd ever encountered).
"Performance has gone from good to good-grief and the rest of the package has taken a similar leap forwards." ยป More Photos

Today, things may look fairly familiar on the surface (the 2004 redesign was, shall we say, one of the more "evolutionary" of recent times), but beneath its familiar lines this car is now very different from the one it was 10 years ago. Now, even the entry-level Boxster gets 245hp and can reach 60mph in six seconds flat. But the one you'll really want to drive is the 169mph S, which gets the 3.4-liter engine from the Cayman S and becomes anything but a weed in the process. That's the car we drive here.

It's amazing how much difference the addition of a mere 15hp (power is now 295hp) can make to a machine as light and agile as the Boxster. If this were a big sedan it would be the equivalent of adding an extra 100hp, possibly more. Either way, performance has gone from good to good-grief and the rest of the package has taken a similar leap forwards, even though on paper not a lot has changed apart from the engine.

Predictably, the test car was fitted with every option there is in order that it might display its talents as obviously as possible. It had carbon ceramic brakes (PCCB, $8,150), active suspension management (PASM, $1,990), the Sports Chrono package ($920) and bundles of interior upgrades. As a result, the price as tested was well above the basic $55,500.

But what a car this is. OK, some will no doubt accuse Porsche of doing what it said it would never do with the Cayman/Boxster family, which is to give them the same engines, thereby blurring the lines of identity between the two models. But in reality, who cares if the Cayman and Boxster now feel eerily similar to drive?
Page 1 of 2
Next Page »
1 2 >