Porsche Boxster - A Brief History
The Boxster is a mid-engined roadster built by Porsche. The first-generation Boxster (the 986) was introduced in late 1996 as a 1997 model. It was Porsche's smallest and least expensive vehicle, taking over from the front-engine Porsche 968, which was discontinued in 1995. Early Boxster models were powered by a 201 horsepower 2.5 litre flat six-cylinder engine. In 2000, a 2.7 litre, 217 horsepower engine replaced the original engine in the base model, and the new Boxster S variant was introduced with a 3.2 litre, 250 horsepower engine. In 2003 a minor update gave the Boxster's 2.7-liter engine 225 horsepower and the Boxster S's 3.2-liter engine 258 horsepower.
In 2005, updates were substantial enough that Porsche internally identified the Boxster as a new 987 model. Engine output was increased again, to 240 and 280 horsepower respectively for the base and S cars. In 2007, the Boxster and Boxster S were upgraded with the 2.7L, 245hp engine from the Porsche Cayman and the 3.4L, 295hp engine from the Porsche Cayman S, respectively.
Production of the 986 began at the former Porsche 928 facility in Stuttgart Germany in 1996, although a Valmet facility in Uusikaupunki, Finland also builds units under contract to Porsche in order to help meet demand. It was Porsche's biggest volume seller from its introduction in model year 1997 until the company introduced the Cayenne utility vehicle in model year 2003.
The Boxster's name is a combination of the word "boxer", referring to the vehicle's horizontally-opposed or "boxer" engine, and the word "roadster", referring to the vehicle's convertible top.
986
The styling of the Boxster is owed to former "Style Porsche" department head Harm Lagaay. His Boxster design study and the production Boxster stimulated a commercial turnaround for Porsche after several difficult years of falling sales.
The first generation of the Boxster whose visual appearance was heavily inspired by the Porsche Spyder and Speedster as well as the 550 Spyder. The Boxster was released ahead of the release of its big brother, the 996 model 911. Through consultation with Toyota, Porsche greatly decreased the cost of manufacture, and introduced large scale sharing of components between its models. Indeed, the Boxster has the exact same bonnet and front wings as the 996, and shares several other components. Its original 2.5L M96 engine is the same basic design as the original 3.2L M96 engine used in the 996; these were the first water-cooled engines employed in a rear-engine Porsche. It's widely seen that the combination of the new Boxster/911 styling and the reduced build costs through component sharing that saved Porsche from becoming owned by another car company.
The M96 is used in all 986/987 Boxsters, and most of the 996/997 range (except the GT3/GT2 and Turbo, which are based on the GT1 racing engine). The M96 is a horizontally opposed ("flat") six-cylinder layout. This layout is one of only four engine layouts that have a natural engine balance, the others being the straight six (as used in many of BMW's engines); the flat 12; and the V12. This gives the engine a characteristic smoothness throughout the rev range. The flat six is also an inherently flat engine, so can be mounted lower in the car. Its placement immediately ahead of the rear axle offers the Boxster excellent balance, a low center of gravity, and renowned neutral handling characteristics. The M96 engine design had well documented problems during early production (leading to a small, but significant number of engine failures due to cracked piston linings) however since a minor redesign in 2003 these problems are reported to have been resolved.
Boxster Model History:
1995
* 2.5L 201 bhp (150 kW)
2000
* 2.7L 217 bhp (162 kW)
* 3.2L 252 bhp (186 kW) Boxster S introduced
2003
* 2.7L 225 bhp (168 kW)
* 3.2L 258 bhp (168 kW)
The model received a minor facelift in 2003. The plastic rear window was replaced by a glass window. Porsche installed a different exhaust pipe and modified air intake. In addition, the often disliked orange "fried egg" front indicators were replaced with clear glass indicators, and the rear light cluster was also changed from red to clear.
987
The second generation of the Boxster (internally known as the 987) made its debut at the 2004 Paris Motor Show alongside the new 911 (997). The car became available for model year 2005.
The appearance of the car remains very similar to the previous generation. The most obvious styling change is the headlights which now have a profile similar to those of the Carrera GT, Porsche's midengined supercar. The intake vents on the sides of the Boxster are now larger, with more pronounced horizontal slats and are coloured metallic silver, irrespective of the paint colour on the rest of the car. The wheel arches have been enlarged to allow wheels up to 19 inches in diameter, a first for the Boxster series. The most significant updates from the 986 series are with the vastly improved interior, with a more prominent circular theme evident in the instrument cluster and cooling vents. Porsche claims that the 987 Boxster shares only 20% of components with its predecessor, despite almost being twins from the outside. The base engine is a 2.7 L 176 kW (240 hp) flat-6, with the Boxster S getting a 3.2 L 206 kW (280 hp) engine. The Cayman series is based off the 987.
For the 2007 model year the base Boxster has received a revised engine featuring VarioCam Plus to provide a 5 hp boost (245 hp; the same as the Cayman). While the Boxster S engine was upgraded from 3.2l to 3.4l resulting in 15 more hp (295 hp; the same as the Cayman S). These upgrades made the Boxster series and the Cayman series equivalent in terms of horsepower.
Source: Boxster
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