Five Classic Trials
Looking for Porsche 911 flavour and thrills without the terrifying handling and prices? The 986 Boxster S offers most of the adrenaline rush at a fraction of the cost
Porsche Boxster S
The Boxster caused quite a stir among Porsche enthusiasts when it was first unveiled at the 1993 Detroit Motor Show, prompted many to suggest that it would sound the 911’s death knell.
However, wily old Porsche ensured that 1996’s production version would never be as powerful or as fast as the 911, leading to the famous jibe that ‘you’d only ever buy one if you couldn’t afford a 911’.
These days, classic Porsches are becoming ever more expensive; even the 924 Turbos are getting on for £10,000, 944 Turbos can easily reach £20,000, and the sky seems to be the limit for air-cooled 911s. With this is mind, you have to say that the Boxster is increasingly looking like the bargain of the century. You could pick up a mint 2.5 for £6500 and still get an excellent 3.2S for less than £11k.
It’s certainly more dynamic than anything else this side of a 911. The steering feels precise, darty and never overly assisted and the steering wheel is just the right size for inputs using just your wrists. There’s a huge amount of grip, although it can be persuaded to cut loose with the help of its mid-mounted engine.
All Boxsters are powered by a flat-six, but our S model packs a 252bhp 3.2-litre mill, compared to the standard car’s 2.5-litre (217bhp and 2.7 litres from 1999). It’s particularly tuneful – you can hear it puffing and panting away right behind you, which makes the whole driving experience that much more raw and real. Second gear is particularly savage, making it feel almost as engaging in a set of bends as something wearing racing stickers. Keeping our test car’s optional Tiptronic five-speed automatic gearbox in second is slightly more involved than it would be with a manual, though. It’s pretty docile most of the time and lets you get down the road fairly briskly in Drive. Pushing the shifter over to the left, however, awakens manual mode, which can be operated using the lever itself or the thumb shifters on the steering wheel.
It sounds appealing, but it’s quite an early type of semi-auto, so down-changes can be jerky. It rifles up through the ratios quickly and smoothly, though, and lets you hold onto a gear right to the redline without any nannying interference from the electronics.
Braking is by discs all round. They’re firm but never too intrusive and ABS and traction control are standard – not that the average driver will see the tell-tale flashing warning lights on the instrument binnacles very often.
Those binnacles are deeply recessed and the dials feature the same font used in other modern Porsches. Like the 911, too, the oversized rev counter is placed front and centre, with the smaller speedometer off to the left and fuel/water temperature off to the right.
The rest of the interior is similarly minimalist, with the dash comprising heating and stereo controls, not the riot of buttons you find in some Porsches. Easy to use, but bland.
The exterior styling is every bit the baby 996-series 911, with pleasant touches like the cooling vents for the engine. The headlight design was revolutionary back in the Nineties, but looks dated now, thanks in part to those orange indicators.
Still, where the Boxster S in concerned, most people will only ever see its rear end…