It may look pretty much the same as the old Boxster, but this new one – now called the 718 Boxster, supposedly in honour of the mid-engined, four-cylinder 718 of the early-Sixties - is actually a whole lot more than a mere facelift. And it’s all because of what’s under the bonnet (do mid-engined cars even have bonnets? Who knows…).
The sonorous flat-sixes of old have been trashed for a pair of all-new, quite parsimonious blown four-cylinder jobs, 2.0-litres in the standard 718 Boxster and 2.5-litres in the S. But what they lack in cubic capacity, they more than make up for with added oomph. A standard Boxster now makes 296bhp, where once it made 261, and the S has been upped to 345bhp from 311.
The result is we now have a Boxster – the entry-level Porsche, if you like – which is capable of 0-62mph in 4.7seconds. That’s 0.8secs quicker than the old car. The S can do it 4.2 seconds, so equipped with the PDK and Sport Chrono pack, a 0.6sec improvement on the car it replaces.
Here are some more numbers, for Porsche has provided many. A normal Boxster manages 170mph, has 74lb ft of torque more than it used to and, claims Porsche, does a little less than 41mpg – a 5.1mpg increase on the old car. Similarly, the S does 177mph, has 44lb ft of torque more than the old car and manages a combined 38.7mpg.
Source: www.topgear.com
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