If the new Cayman looks like the new Boxster but with a hardtop that will really upset things...

At that point, for me personally, it will be far better looking and better handling than a 911 but at a bargain price.

But they have budged, you can get a discount on a new 991, but then you can get a discount on most pricey tackle at the moment. Don't necessarily agree that Porsche have got the price point wrong with 991, but it's marginal, I grant you that Carl.

They already made the Boxster too good a couple of years ago when I had a similar conversion :

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=884...

I can completely believe it. The manufacturing cost of the cars is just one piece of a very complex puzzle. Porsche have all sorts of activities, whether it's marketing or press launches - the amount of cash they blew on the recent 991 and 981 launches is terrifying.

Tooling these things up is what really costs major money and most of the tooling on the Box and the 911 is shared. It's essentially a single platform.

It really has been a brilliant strategy on every level. It ensures the 911 models are hugely profitable and at the same time means the Boxster it totally unbeatable in its segment thanks to sharing its engineering with a car from a much more expensive segment. No wonder nobody can compete!

Yes, it's an interesting situation. I was going to say that the 991 is a bit more sophisticated in the engineering department. But then the 981 is the same, and Porsche is selling that for £37k. So seems likely Porsche could have released the 991 with little to no price increase and maintain very big margins. Perhaps they got greedy?

http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/4023763.htm

sixty three thousand pounds. For a Boxster. Ouch.

I always wonder just how much backhanders the journo's get for recommending a car.

just how many people read a review and buy rather than go look for themselves?

I see some cars that are stated as the best thing since sliced bread and in reality I would actually rather have sliced bread.
I have been watching a few old top gear where clarkson raves about a car- then watched a recent one and all he could say was how bad it was and how he could never see how someone bought one....... car I am thinking of is the Cerb, there have been a few others I have noticed.

Interesting opinion from the press - but it's only one persons view. Given that you have a 911 (albeit a few generations out of date), are you considering a Boxster to replace your 996? Unless poorly maintained and needing some fresher components, the 996 is a very nice, taut car to drive, but have you driven a more modern 911?

Of course almost nobody buys a Porsche with no extras, so actually that £37K is probably going to look more like £45K and that's going to buy you a very nice 997 "S" - Gen II that will easily outrun, if not outhandle any Boxster!

"better" is a personal thing though Mark, there are peeps on here with 600BHP, 700BHP, 800BHP turbos who would apply the same logic to the 997 "S" and say you would be easily out-run in a 996 turbo for similar money.

I think better in this context is all about the sports car basics. Looks, sound, seating aesthetic (no roof), sweet gear-shift and not too much electronic trickery.

I thought the Boxster was known for being Porsches best handling car?