It has been over 20 years since the Boxster made its début and the car raced along to win numerous championships in the 1950s and ’60s. Commemorating the great legacy, Porsche have decided to revamp their mid-engine roadsters, and the new-generation models have been christened the 718 Boxster and 718 Boxster S. The new two-seater convertibles are more powerful and efficient than the six-cylinder predecessors.
Carrying the tradition forward, Porsche have developed a new four-cylinder flat engine with twin turbochargers, similar to the engines they used in the legendary Targa Florio and Le Mans. The new centerpiece in the 718 Boxster is a 2.0-litre, turbo-petrol flat-four engine with variable turbine geometry(VTG), and the engine is capable of churn out 300 PS and 380 Nm of torque, the latter from 1,950 to 4,500 RPM. On the other hand the 718 Boxter S is powered by an all-new, even larger 2.5-litre twin-turbo four-pot, making 350 PS and 420 Nm of torque. Both the engines are mated to a six-speed manual transmission as standard, with the option of the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) twin-clutch automatic, driving the rear wheels.
The new 718 Boxster models gets larger cooling air-intakes up front, new bi-xenon headlamps with LED DRLs, 19-inch wheels, new LED tail-lamps and bigger brakes. On the inside the 718 Boxster features the Porsche Communication Management system (PCM) with a touchscreen, a new steering wheel, and instrument cluster. The company is also offering the Sport Chrono package with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) as optional.
Porsche plan to launch the 718 Boxster models in Europe this year. The 718 Boxster is priced from €53,646 in Germany (Rs 40 lakh) and the Boxster S will cost from €66,141 Euros (Rs 49 lakh).
The new 718 Boxster twins, and their fixed-roof counterpart, the 718 Cayman and Cayman S will arrive in India following their global introduction.
Story: Ryan Lee
