Meet the 718
David Booth reports there is more to new Boxster than just the name
Though you can barely tell from the outside — only the grille, headlights, tail lights, and some new louvres are different — this really is an all-new Porsche Boxster.
New as in a brand new name; the “718” badging is Porsche’s way of giving its entry-level sports car some 911-like heritage and refers to the 1957 to 1962 open-cockpit successor to the famed 550A. Oh, and the powertrain has been upgraded — the Boxster is now powered by a pair of turbocharged boxer fourcylinder engines — but then you probably already knew that.
Faster than ever, the 2.5-litre S version scoots from a standstill to 100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds, thanks to 350 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, and the new Boxsters also consume 13 per cent less fuel. So, while the S version of the new 718 edges ever closer to 911 performance with a top speed of 285 km/h, it also sips 0.9 L/100 km less fuel.
One noteworthy example of how serious Porsche is taking the “S” in its top-of-the-line 2.5-L 718 Boxster is that while the base 2.0-L is boosted by a standard turbocharger, the bigger-pistoned variant gets a variable-vane turbine.
It even gets a second waste-gate, all in Porsche’s keen quest to “drive power in the best possible way” but “with exceptional efficiency.”
Indeed, so focused is Porsche on ridding the new Boxster of dreaded turbo lag that it has added something it calls Dynamic Boost. Essentially, when you’re racing about at full throttle and take your foot off the gas to slow for a corner, the 718 will keep the throttle — and therefore the “boost” — wide open, only cutting the fuel injection to slow the proceedings down. The result is a full head of steam — full turbo boost — as soon as you get back on the gas. This, says Porsche, “gives the turbocharged engine the quick response of a naturally aspirated engine.”
And for those Porscheophiles worried that the addition of turbocharger and jettisoning of pistons will somehow resonate less passionately, know that no less an authority than Car magazine’s Georg Kacher deemed the exhaust note “moody” with “a baritone growl at higher revs.”
To contain all that new-found power, 718s get wider rear wheels, lowered suspension and even quicker steering. Speaking of which, the 2017 Boxster’s steering wheel now contains a manne-tino-type rotary selector — shades of Ferrari — to thumb your way through the vehicle modes. Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual each have different levels of stability control intervention and suspension damping.
The new 718’s interior will come with that most important of options — a stick shift — though it will have one gear less than the optional seven-speed PDK. The 718 Boxster will arrive in Canadian dealerships this fall, with prices for the standard model starting at $63,900 and $78,000 for the S.