Next Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder: Update!
Upcoming Spyder is due with the 911 GT3's 4.0-litre engine. Consider our interest piqued
UPDATE - 16.08.18
Porsche is putting the finishing touches to its sharpest and fastest Boxster yet, as shown by new spy pictures of an undisguised 718 Spyder being flung around the carousel at the Nurburgring. Due for reveal later this summer before arriving on roads in the winter, the new, driver-focused drop-top will eschew turbocharged boxer power for - hooray - a naturally-aspirated flat-six, plucked directly from the 911 GT3.
What output the motor - which is capable of revving to 9000rpm in the GT3 - will produce in the Boxster is yet to be revealed. There is, however, growing suspicion that the peak horsepower figure could start with a 4, which would make this midship convertible, a successor to a car that pushed the Boxster Spyder bar up into the stratosphere, one very serious performance proposition. We await the car's launch with bated breath.
ORIGINAL STORY - 01.02.18
It's easy to characterize the last Boxster Spyder: it was absolutely the best version Porsche ever made. Hands down, no argument. It was this way because - having long held back from making the 981 generation as good as it could be so as not to overtly challenge the superiority of the 911 - Zuffenhausen finally yielded to buyer demand (and manifest destiny) and installed the 3.8-litre flat-six in its mid-engined model.
It helped of course that the Spyder was very much the sister car of the Cayman GT4, was only available with a manual six-speed gearbox and had shed rather a lot of weight - most notably from the electric mechanism that previously powered the roof. Looking spectacular didn't hurt either; the signature twin hump rear deck being even more pronounced than it was in the 987 version.
With the template now well established, it's fair to say we've been rather looking forward to the next iteration - and the latest spy shots of it from Porsche's winter testing base don't do anything to dispel the sentiment. Nor does the suggestion that the 718 model will now get the same 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine as used in the 911 GT3.
The appeal of seeing (and hearing) Porsche Motorsport's 500hp, 9,000rpm masterpiece in a Boxster (not to mention the next Cayman GT4) would be self-evident against any backdrop, but it's made to seem doubly so by the varying degrees of disgruntlement focused on the 718's turbocharged flat-four. Whatever you think of that engine, the contrast with an atmospheric and twice-larger capacity flat-six is likely to be striking, even if Zuffenhausen chooses to mildly detune its output.
That seems probable given the hallowed positioning of the GT3 in the 911 lineup, but as the Spyder (and GT4) can be expected to significantly outdo the 365hp delivered by the recently launched GTS, it is unlikely to be by much. And while the option of a seven-speed PDK is likely to be made available this time round, the six-speed manual transmission will remain the default fixture.
Also standard will be the Spyder's long-running diet plan. As the pictures show, the soft-top is set to return in manual format, and Porsche is presumed to have again done away with the model's sound deadening (good) as well as its infotainment and climate control (not so good - but expect their reinstatement to be a no-cost option). Expect too the price to have gone up: it won't have escaped Zuffenhausen's notice that the 981 car immediately appreciated in value once registered, and the manufacturer will (correctly) assume that its 4.0-litre engine rather adds to the lustre.
Images: S.Baldauf/S.B. Medien
what
the old one was far better to drive and saved 80kg over this 20kg effort along with even longer gearing and EPS how can a review say it's the best one lol.
It's basically a GTS with a 3.8, that's about it. also nothing like a GT4 bar the same engine, the whole platform in the GT4 was 1/2 GT3 and 1/2 new !! with 245/295 CUP 2's
You can dry your eyes, though. Rumours on several forums that the Boxster or Cayman may get canned for the next iteration, due to dropping sales in the US and elsewhere.
what
the old one was far better to drive and saved 80kg over this 20kg effort along with even longer gearing and EPS how can a review say it's the best one lol.
It's basically a GTS with a 3.8, that's about it. also nothing like a GT4 bar the same engine, the whole platform in the GT4 was 1/2 GT3 and 1/2 new !! with 245/295 CUP 2's
You can dry your eyes, though. Rumours on several forums that the Boxster or Cayman may get canned for the next iteration, due to dropping sales in the US and elsewhere.
I'll ignore the 'overpriced Beetle' comment as an attempt at humour since nobody with even 1 brain cell would think that's what a 911 is these days, but the 'Boxster dropped all together'? Have a word.
2017 Boxster sales were up 9% on the previous year. Hardly a sales flop.
Source: https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-de...
ETA: This is a pretty good site. Use the drop downs to select the region and model for the sales figures. I am not sure how accurate etc, but they do show a slight dip in the US for the Boxster and the Cayman...but hardly 'bin the lines' levels of problem: http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/porsche/...
They are the victim of their own decision on that one, IMHO - the F4T has not gone down well and 2017 (and perhaps 2018) will be the dip pre-acceptance that you would expect....apart from the fact that they are halting production for a chunk of this year, so ignore my 2018 comment! Ha ha
You can dry your eyes, though. Rumours on several forums that the Boxster or Cayman may get canned for the next iteration, due to dropping sales in the US and elsewhere.
You can dry your eyes, though. Rumours on several forums that the Boxster or Cayman may get canned for the next iteration, due to dropping sales in the US and elsewhere.
ks".And we wonder why manufacturers just build cars to be bought by the masses?
Overpriced beetle..mmm I actually happen to think the Cayman is one of the best looking cars out there and got a buzz out of mine every time drove it. Better than a 911 imo..so in ordering a GT4 this was not about feeding the vampires, it was about truly owning something to treasure. The difficulty is breaking into the elitism short run models create. Some honour by the dealers is what's needed, not just a private owners club mentality. I bet this is going to be an epic drive. I drove a 3.9 six back to back against a 911 targa 4. The Boxster was so nimble and truer to the cause... and only 40k less!
Overpriced beetle..mmm I actually happen to think the Cayman is one of the best looking cars out there and got a buzz out of mine every time drove it. Better than a 911 imo..so in ordering a GT4 this was not about feeding the vampires, it was about truly owning something to treasure. The difficulty is breaking into the elitism short run models create. Some honour by the dealers is what's needed, not just a private owners club mentality. I bet this is going to be an epic drive. I drove a 3.9 six back to back against a 911 targa 4. The Boxster was so nimble and truer to the cause... and only 40k less!
Are you saying that because it’s free it can be crap? PH content had been top quality for years.
Are you saying that because it’s free it can be crap? PH content had been top quality for years.
Are you saying that because it’s free it can be crap? PH content had been top quality for years.
Some of the best examples of content provision are via what would appear to be free platforms. Not just in media terms, either.
Put it this way - if I knew that I could earn £1m from ad revenue by putting out awesome content that cost £100k, then I absolutely would. However, if I could make the same £1m by putting out s
te that only cost 75p to make, then I would choose the latter.In this instance, I suspect the real issue is that Haymarket have no incentive to produce anything better than we currently get because they have done the maths.
For the record, in the absence of awareness of any competitors, I think Pistonheads is perfectly fine for the time I spend here.
Are you saying that because it’s free it can be crap? PH content had been top quality for years.
Some of the best examples of content provision are via what would appear to be free platforms. Not just in media terms, either.
Put it this way - if I knew that I could earn £1m from ad revenue by putting out awesome content that cost £100k, then I absolutely would. However, if I could make the same £1m by putting out s
te that only cost 75p to make, then I would choose the latter.In this instance, I suspect the real issue is that Haymarket have no incentive to produce anything better than we currently get because they have done the maths.
For the record, in the absence of awareness of any competitors, I think Pistonheads is perfectly fine for the time I spend here.
In a utopian world, every article would be perfect, but in the race to get content live, it isn't always going to be perfect. To perpetually complain about it on a free site is poor form. I pay very heavily for some magazines, the writing is exemplary, but it costs £15/mth so I'm paying for that level of service.
But your last sentence says it all. And I agree.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff