Porsche Boxster History
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The Porsche Boxster is a two-door luxury roadster with serious sporting potential. Tremendous steering feel, a range of responsive engines and characteristic Porsche quality have led the Boxster to the top of the segment over its 15-year run. Competition from the Audi TT, BMW Z4, and Nissan 370Z Roadster make for a tough crowd. Priced from $47,000 to over $60,000, the Boxster is at the upper end of the price range for the category.
The Boxster first hit the market in 1996. From its inception, it was praised for its performance prowess, but criticized for its noisy cabin. The horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine has grown over the lifespan of the car from 2.5-liters at its introduction, to 2.7-liters in the base and 3.2-liters in the S models by the end of the first generation, and eventually on to 2.9-liters and 3.4-liters for the current Boxster. Power has risen accordingly, from the introductory car's 201 horsepower output to the current top-of-the-line model's 320 horsepower. Over the two generations, several special-edition models have been offered, though the basic two-seat, rag-top layout has remained undisturbed until the introduction of the Boxster Spyder this year.
The current Porsche Boxster range is divided into three models, the Boxster, Boxster S and Boxster Spyder. The entry-level Boxster gets a 2.9-liter engine and 255-horsepower output while the upgrade to the Boxster S brings a 3.4-liter engine rated at 310 horsepower. The new, low-volume Boxster Spyder model gets the same displacement as the Boxster S, but with another 10 horsepower. All models are available with either a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission. While the standard Boxster and Boxster S are available with all the luxuries you'd expect from a modern Porsche, including electric seats, power accessories, leather interior and high-tech features like ParkAssist, the Boxster Spyder does without some of the luxuries to present a more focused, lightweight package for the true enthusiast.
The primary differentiation between the Boxster and Boxster S is the engine, with essentially all other features shared or available on both models. One primary difference between the engines in the Boxster and Boxster S is that the larger 3.4-liter engine uses direct injection, while the 2.9-liter version uses sequential multipoint fuel injection. The Boxster Spyder also uses direct injection, and adds a number of performance upgrades to the intake and exhaust systems to extract more power from the engine. As you move up the range, larger wheels, tires and brake systems are also specified to better handle the increased performance.
Looking ahead to 2011, the Porsche Boxster lineup is expected to stay largely the same, though Porsche is known for adding small technological improvements and minor appearance changes from year to year. Despite the go-fast potential of the Boxster, its light weight and small size enable it to achieve solid highway fuel economy figures, with the manual scoring 27 mpg and the PDK 29 mpg in the base model, and the Boxster S rated at 26/29 mpg highway for the manual/PDK.
