Classic pearls of the future - Porsche Boxster
12/06/2014
The Porsche Boxster was the response of the sports car manufacturer from Zuffenhausen to the new wave of convertibles and roadsters in the nineties, sparked by the Mazda MX-5, among other things. The Boxster was deliberately positioned below the 911 and, in this view, classified as the successor to the more popular Porsche models 914 and 924. It also had the mid-engine in common with the 914.
To test the public's interest, Porsche presented an excitingly shaped roadster study with a mid-engine in Detroit in 1993, which was reminiscent of the 550 RS Spyder and the 356 Speedster. Harm Lagaay was responsible for the body design. The name Boxster was made up of parts of the words Boxer and Roadster.
Many would probably have liked to buy the compact Porsche sports car as such, but it was to take until 1996 before it reached the end customer. And by then it had changed noticeably. In order to keep costs down, parts were shared with other models, primarily the upcoming 996. The doors, for example, came from the rear-engined car. These design compromises unfortunately took a little of the spice out of the sports car, but the production version also won over a clientele made up of many new customers who made their entry into the brand in the DM 76,500 Boxster.
The 2.5-liter boxer six-cylinder engine behind the two seats produced 204 hp. There was even room for a trunk, which was unusually large for the class, behind the engine and in front of the passengers in the 4.3 meter long and almost 1.8 meter wide car.
The soft top could be raised and lowered electrically and disappeared completely behind the driver's seats.
In 2000, the engine of the internally named 986 Porsche was increased to 2.7 liters and the series was extended upwards with an S model with a 3.2-liter engine and 252 hp. In 2003, the performance was increased once again and the exterior was also slightly modified.
In 2004, the first Boxster model was replaced by the 987 model, which was slightly larger and of course better in almost every respect.
Although built in large numbers by Porsche standards, the early Boxster is already enjoying increasing demand among youngtimer enthusiasts, and in just a few years the first models will even reach the H registration age, so the chances of rising prices are good.
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