Porsche's third-gen Boxster 07 | 03 | 2012
PORSCHE UNVEILED ITS third-generation Boxste at the Geneva Motor Show. The cabriolet, which will go on sale in Scotland's Porsche dealerships on April 28, has a roomier 911-style interior and a lightweight aluminium body.
The new Boxster will also come in a choice of two upgraded versions of Porsche’s classic horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine. Both units have direct injection, with slight power gains and impressive reductions in fuel consumption. Prices start at £37,589 for the Boxster, and rise to £45,384 for the Boxster S.
The most noticeable change to the new Boxster is its styling, penned by Porsche design boss, Michael Mauer.
Adopting a cab forward stance, the new open-top has heavily sculptured flanks which feature longer doors. There's also larger wheel houses to accommodate wheels up to 20 inches in diameter, and a rear end which is reminiscent of the classic 911 ducktail.
Watch our video of the all-new Porsche Boxster
The newcomer also enjoys a roomier cabin, thanks largely to a longer wheelbase and wider tracks.
Codenamed 981, the new Boxster gets a fully automatic cloth hood which no longer requiring manual assistance. Cleverly, it stows behind the cabin in a fully exposed position, with no need for a tonneau cover.
The newcomer is also well-specced: the Boxster gets an Alcantara interior, 18in alloys, auto stop/start and Sports mode, remote control hood operation, audio CD with 7in colour touch-screen control, a universal audio interface offering MP3 connectivity and a three-year warranty.
Step up to the Boxster S, and you get 19in alloys, partial leather interior and Bi-Xenon headlights in addition to the power advantage of the larger 3.4-litre engine.
It's understood the new car is more than 100kg lighter than the outgoing model, which had an all-steel body. It's also likely the entry-level base model will duck under the 1300kg mark .. and that's despite delivering more equipment.
The new Boxster also gets a new electro-mechanical steering system developed in partnership with ZF.
See more official photos of the all-new Porsche Boxster
The base Boxster now gets a comprehensively reworked horizontally-opposed 2.7-litre six-cylinder, replacing the larger 2.9. Despite that, the power output has actually been increased by 10bhp to 265bhp.
There's also chunk of electronic economy wizardry, including auto stop/start, brake energy recuperation and a thermal management system that dispenses with the gearbox oil cooler. The result of all these means a 15% improvement in furl economy, up to 36.7mpg.
The Boxster S sticks with the 3.4-litre engine which is found in the current model, but once again it's been significantly revised for efficiency. The S — which enjoys a 5bhp hike to 315bhp — now delivers 35.3mpg: that's up from 30.1mpg.
A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, but there's also an optional seven-speed PDK double clutch gearbox. This comes with revised software for what Porsche calls “more rapid and smoother shifts”.
The PDK ‘box also has a so-called sailing feature that, like that seen on the 911, decouples the engine during periods of tailing throttle on downhill grades, cutting engine revs to just 700rpm for brief periods of added fuel saving.
Fitted with the optional PDK gearbox, the new Boxster will cover the 0-62mph sprint in 5.7sec: the Boxster S covers the same sprint in 5.0sec – a reduction of 0.1sec and 0.2sec respectively.
Read our roadtest of the Porsche Cayman R
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/scotcars
Jim McGill