What Do You Think Of Porsche’s New 718 Boxster?

To me it’s all going to come down to “sound”. I’ve had boxster + Cayman S and the wail of the flat 6 near 7200 RPM was something I enjoyed a lot. But those cars were always a bit short on torque and power. So the turbo 4 will be a winner *IF* they can tune it to sound great (not easy, ask F1) and also have a decent RPM range. It would be sad if it ran out of steam at 5500 or something… It’s a beautiful looking car as upgraded – cannot wait to see the Cayman – and the logic of the cabrio costing more than the hardtop has been restored (good for my future cayman purchase). Also, the base model now makes about the same HP and way more torque than the old S(s), so the base could finally be a car you buy without regrets and be the bargain buy of the lineup ! Especially since it is a turbo and you know those can be tuned aftermarket sooner or later !

For the majority of people who buy these cars this will be an improvement. Most sporty car buyers are poseur idiots, so the turbo will sound to be an improvement. The huge low down torque along with pdk will make it feel really fast for wife no2.

We know its not an improvement because it weighs more. If going to a 4 reduced weight 200lbs and improved dynamics I could see the improvemt arguement.

Fortunatly porche seems to be developing a “classic” 991 and cayman line. These cars will still be NA flat 6’s and offer manuals. As they will be freed from having to offer creature comforts, ease of use or paper spec performance, from a drivers perspective they will be a dynamic improvement over all current offerings.

So porche is going to offer two types of car and two types of buyer using one bodyshell style but very different motors and dynamics.. One turbo pdk for the volume crowd, and one NA 6 for the driver crowd. This one(turbo 4) is not for the driver crowd, and to its intended audience should sell just fine..

I’m pretty ambivalent about this product update. And yes, despite the name change to a number, it is merely an update.

The move to “all turbos” does concern me. I understand the pollution control realities, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like how that change is being imposed. The good news is that my N/A Porsche will appreciate in value. But I do hope that Porsche is able to offer a N/A Flat 6 as an option, and hopefully at a non-outrageous price…and an official statement in this regards would be greatly appreciated by the customer community who are dreading this change.

On price, the +5\% increase concerns me, mostly because it is in addition to a +20\% change in currency exchange rates, which for the USA market means that Porsche is effectively getting a +25\% price increase. We’ve seen Porsche try to protect their market before by “Escaping Upscale”, not successfully, plus using that approach today runs directly contrary to their interest in growing volume. Perhaps if there actually was any news of a new sub-Boxster product for the younger aspirational customer market that’s in the low-$40K range I can begrudgingly accept this strategy here, but we all know that a 914 or 924/944 doesn’t really seem likely, which means that the strategy will continue to be disinterested in cultivating future automotive enthusiasts. I already see this trend in our local PCA chapter, as there’s been being fewer & fewer younger faces around (other than the children of current PCA members who are family members, since they often can’t afford their own Porsche … at least one that’s less than a decade or two old).

The engine downsize doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve driven plenty of turbo cars which were highly enjoyable, it only depends on how Porsche tuned this engine.
I like the minor design changes aesthetically-wise, I think it looks better than the current Boxster.
The only negative side I see in this is if, in fact, it’s bigger and heavier than the current Boxster. I’d loved to see it get a bit smaller and lighter, but at the same time I’ve heard rumors about Porsche wanting to release a new entry-level car, smaller and cheaper than the 718 Boxster, which would mean that by increasing the overall body size for the 718 Boxster they can be preparing the Porsche range for that new “baby Porsche”.

Nevertheless, I’m sure the 718 Boxster will be super fun to drive, and I’m willing to bet sales numbers will be good. Saying that it taints the brand (and the brand’s history) is an overreaction, in my humble opinion.

The only thing bothering me is that Porsche pretends this car is something new, although it is actually nothing more than a extended facelift of the existing Boxter… Otherwise, owning a flat-6 911 I am looking forward to more downsizing, fake sound etc. etc. Make me feel more proud and happy about my dated looking 911. So this is all in all great news to the Petrolicious community, isn’t it! : )

Somehow you missed why this is going to be a flop.
1. A turbo 4 in place of a NA Flat six (that’s enough of a reason to pass)
2. Large price increase for 2 less combustion chambers. Only Porsche has the balls to try this.
3. Turbo lag.
4. Let’s see if we can may the name a little more confusing. It is very clear that they want to have the positives halo of the NA Flat 6 Caymans and Boxsters but the marketing folks want to revive the 718 model which was really a short lived race car. That was 1/2 the size of this over weight 4 banger.
5. The official weight is not available yet, but the experts say it will weight about 100 lbs more. 3100+ It appears that the turbo weights more they the 2 missing pistons.

This is what happens when auto companies start thinking they know what we need. I predict the following:

Porsche will drop the Boxster and Cayman names with in 24 months or less from the 718. Once they do not get the sales numbers (read enhanced profit margins) they want they will go into defensive mode. They will bring the Boxster and Cayman back as another model.

A reality check is about to happen.

I’d have to agree with GS about preferring NA over turbo for the driving experience. I’ve driven turbo cars and the power delivery took some getting used to.

Also, that video in the article had a few shots that reminded me of this (from the year 2000) https://youtu.be/45f11Bqb83c

another n/a to mourn over.
at least they keep a manual gearbox option.
off to the lotus dealer
😉

That is one sweet looking monster machine! Wow! I love the styling of the rear end.