Before I start I must declare that I am a Ferrari owner, racer and lover. As such Porsche is normally an arch enemy. Most of the faithful from each camp very rarely see eye to eye and often avoid each other like the plague. So for me to write this piece on Porsche is a stretch and proves once and for all, above all I am just a true lover of all cars!
Porsche has to be respected for their longevity, their racing prowess and their myopic market focus. Porsche's have been racing and winning for as long as I can remember and while they are not a Ferrari their racing pedigree is remarkable. Initially their claim to fame was the basic 911. This is still their bread and butter car and over the decades has been improved markedly. But I am not going to focus on the 911, the Panamera or Cayenne. Today I want to discuss the smaller, younger cousins - the Cayman and the Boxster.
These two "entry level" Porsches are worth writing about. Porsche first made the Boxster in 1997 in an attempt to offer a lower price convertible sports car targeted at the US. When the car was first released I nicknamed it "the back-to-front car" as it seemed to look the same coming or going. Actually, we used to make fun of it at track meets and thought of it a bit of a sissy sports car. It was under powered and frankly ugly.
Over the years Porsche has improved the Boxster considerably. The first signs came from the Boxster S with an upgraded motor and better handling. Then a few years later in 2000 they took the same chassis and created the Cayman. This was the coupe version if you will but was much better looking and performed stronger than the Boxster. The Cayman was a hit and as usual Porsche soon offered an upgraded Cayman S.
The Boxster's style has grown on all of us and while still not the most beautiful car it has a certain personality. The latest version of the Boxster deserves to be talked about. Porsche has refined the car to one of the finest sports cars on the road. This latest Boxster S has some amazing specs: a 6 cylinder, 3.4 liter engine; 315 HP, 266 lbs torque, 7 speed PDK transmission, all weighing in at 2956 lbs. It does 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and tops out at 174 mph. It gives 21 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. Thanks to improved body work it looks great and best of all it handles perfectly. Actually when equipped with the Sports Package and the Porsche Torque Vectoring system it feels like it is on rails. The light weight and near perfect distribution allow this car to be flogged on a track day or through your favorite mountain road.
The base price of this new S model is $62,100 but be very careful as the option list is long and extremely expensive. If you load one of these babies up you can easily get to $100K. Choose wisely.
The new Cayman S has also been announced and has the some of the same basic specs but it is even faster. Check out these specs: 6 cylinder 3.4 liter engine; 325 HP, 273 lbs of torque; 7 speed PDK transmission, all weighing in at 3141 lbs. It does 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and tops out at 174 mph. It gives 22 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. Like the Boxster it is designed to handle. This is not your father's 911 this is really a mid engined car and it feels like it. The engine sits just 30mm behind the driver making it similar to a Ferrari.
Like its topless sister it starts at a reasonable base price of $63,800 but can be optioned out at well over $100K. If a super track car is your desire you might want to wait for the inevitable Cayman R which will be lighter and a bit faster.
So whether you want a Sunday topless toy or a serious track/mountain carver these two Porsches deserve a look. Very little is in this class of performance, price range and with this type of pedigree. No Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren, or Maserati is going to offer a price near either of these beauties. While Lotus offers the Exige S and the Evora with similar performance envelopes they are more expensive and do not offer the reliability and dealer network Porsche has. Sure there are a few hot Euro and Asian cars that can compete with the Boxster and Cayman in price and similar performance but they do not have the quality of a Porsche nor the heritage of the marque.
I would be remiss if I did not mention a few other remarkable Porsches. Currently Porche offers no less than 29 models in the US. Here are my other picks from their line up - the new GT3, the 911 Turbo, the Panamera Turbo S and the Cayenne Turbo S. All offer amazing performance and a great drive. Sadly none of them is inexpensive and several are flirting with super car pricing. If your wallet can support the adventure I would not make a sports car purchase over $100K without looking at these outstanding Porsches.
If you live in the real world, as most of us do, aspire to the Boxster or Cayman. I assure you can't go wrong with either. Till next time keep the rubber on the road.
Porsche has to be respected for their longevity, their racing prowess and their myopic market focus. Porsche's have been racing and winning for as long as I can remember and while they are not a Ferrari their racing pedigree is remarkable. Initially their claim to fame was the basic 911. This is still their bread and butter car and over the decades has been improved markedly. But I am not going to focus on the 911, the Panamera or Cayenne. Today I want to discuss the smaller, younger cousins - the Cayman and the Boxster.
These two "entry level" Porsches are worth writing about. Porsche first made the Boxster in 1997 in an attempt to offer a lower price convertible sports car targeted at the US. When the car was first released I nicknamed it "the back-to-front car" as it seemed to look the same coming or going. Actually, we used to make fun of it at track meets and thought of it a bit of a sissy sports car. It was under powered and frankly ugly.
Over the years Porsche has improved the Boxster considerably. The first signs came from the Boxster S with an upgraded motor and better handling. Then a few years later in 2000 they took the same chassis and created the Cayman. This was the coupe version if you will but was much better looking and performed stronger than the Boxster. The Cayman was a hit and as usual Porsche soon offered an upgraded Cayman S.
The Boxster's style has grown on all of us and while still not the most beautiful car it has a certain personality. The latest version of the Boxster deserves to be talked about. Porsche has refined the car to one of the finest sports cars on the road. This latest Boxster S has some amazing specs: a 6 cylinder, 3.4 liter engine; 315 HP, 266 lbs torque, 7 speed PDK transmission, all weighing in at 2956 lbs. It does 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and tops out at 174 mph. It gives 21 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. Thanks to improved body work it looks great and best of all it handles perfectly. Actually when equipped with the Sports Package and the Porsche Torque Vectoring system it feels like it is on rails. The light weight and near perfect distribution allow this car to be flogged on a track day or through your favorite mountain road.
The base price of this new S model is $62,100 but be very careful as the option list is long and extremely expensive. If you load one of these babies up you can easily get to $100K. Choose wisely.
The new Cayman S has also been announced and has the some of the same basic specs but it is even faster. Check out these specs: 6 cylinder 3.4 liter engine; 325 HP, 273 lbs of torque; 7 speed PDK transmission, all weighing in at 3141 lbs. It does 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and tops out at 174 mph. It gives 22 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. Like the Boxster it is designed to handle. This is not your father's 911 this is really a mid engined car and it feels like it. The engine sits just 30mm behind the driver making it similar to a Ferrari.
Like its topless sister it starts at a reasonable base price of $63,800 but can be optioned out at well over $100K. If a super track car is your desire you might want to wait for the inevitable Cayman R which will be lighter and a bit faster.
So whether you want a Sunday topless toy or a serious track/mountain carver these two Porsches deserve a look. Very little is in this class of performance, price range and with this type of pedigree. No Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren, or Maserati is going to offer a price near either of these beauties. While Lotus offers the Exige S and the Evora with similar performance envelopes they are more expensive and do not offer the reliability and dealer network Porsche has. Sure there are a few hot Euro and Asian cars that can compete with the Boxster and Cayman in price and similar performance but they do not have the quality of a Porsche nor the heritage of the marque.
I would be remiss if I did not mention a few other remarkable Porsches. Currently Porche offers no less than 29 models in the US. Here are my other picks from their line up - the new GT3, the 911 Turbo, the Panamera Turbo S and the Cayenne Turbo S. All offer amazing performance and a great drive. Sadly none of them is inexpensive and several are flirting with super car pricing. If your wallet can support the adventure I would not make a sports car purchase over $100K without looking at these outstanding Porsches.
If you live in the real world, as most of us do, aspire to the Boxster or Cayman. I assure you can't go wrong with either. Till next time keep the rubber on the road.