According to Porsche, almost all body parts are new.
Have you seen it before? The designations Cayman and Boxster live on, but under the model name 718. Porsche has dusted off the designation for an old racing car from the late 50s. It also had a four-cylinder mid-engine, just like the new 718. But there the similarity stops. The Cayman and Boxster will no longer be sixes, but live on as turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engines. There are two engines, - a 2 liter with 300 horses and a 2,5 liter with 350 horses for the "S" version. Both are gasoline, of course.
You may have heard it before? That four-cylinder Porsches are not real Porsches? I'm thinking primarily of the Porsche 914, 924, 944 and 968. But the original Porsche 356 was a four-cylinder, not to forget James Dean's famous 550 Spyder, and the later 912?
Some also argue that the Boxster and Cayman aren't real Porsches, either - despite having sixes - or rather, had.
I have seen the torque curves on the new engines. On the 2-litre it is 380 Nm, goes straight up and lies flat between 1950 – 4500. The 2,5-litre has 420 Nm between 1900 – 4500. Those who move from a previous Boxster can get a different driving experience in it new car than they did in the old one, where you could pull the engine up to the red mark and feel the power on the way up. Porsche's challenge has been to create a driving experience that puts your mind in the direction of a sports car. Unfortunately, I cannot give an answer as to whether they have succeeded in doing so, but I can at least assure you that the sound image is absolutely perfect.
Mid-mounted four-cylinder engine brings to mind the Toyota MR2, – smooth-driving and fun with a tuned 1,8 liter Avensis engine behind the seats. After all, it was just a Toyota. By using components from ordinary cars, Toyota was able to keep quite pleasant prices. Porsche owners, on the other hand, don't like to share engines with regular cars. The old 924 had a regular four-cylinder Audi-100 engine under the hood. It had the same characteristic rasping sound in the exhaust pipe that the Audi 100 had around 1980. It was alright in the Audi - but not in the Porsche. As far as I know, the new boxer engines in the 718 are unique to Porsche, even though the engineers at Porsche are heavily involved in several large multinational engine projects.
I came across the Porsche 718 Boxster at Oslo Porsche Senter's stand at the car exhibition at Aker Brygge here the other day. The price tag was, as I recall, just over NOK 1,1 million. I was a little surprised, because the prices of the Boxster then start at NOK 822. I went in on their websites (click here) and configured a standard 718 Boxster as simply as I could, - but aimed for it to look similar to the car on display. This included, among other things, the following visible equipment:
Graphite Blue paint, 20 inch Carrera Classic rims, PDLS lighting system, PDK gear system, Adaptive cruise control, Leather in Graphite Blue, BOSE system (don't know if the show car had it, but you just have to have it), Digital radio and navigation. Then I got equipment for NOK 238, which brought the price up to NOK 500. If I add adaptive suspension and a couple of other things, the price easily ends up at 1 million. You save NOK 067 by choosing the Cayman (with roof), but that's little consolation.
There is still something about the new 718 that caught my attention. The details in Porsche's equipment list, which are far from free, also act as eye-catchers. There were more people than me who stopped at this particular car. According to Porsche, all body parts are new, except for the windshield, hood and rear trunk lid. I can't put my finger on it what it is, but that er something about the new 718. I also noticed that on the other tweeters. I would love to see a 718 in my garage.
It has what I would call a high "must-have" factor.
See
Porsche.no
