718 Boxster and Boxster S revealed!

Instead of bringing a traditional 981.2 refresh, the Boxster (and Cayman) are being reintroduced as new models with turbocharged 4 cylinder engines.  Rated at 300hp in the base (nearly as much as the outgoing S!) and 350 hp in the S version, the Boxster will now take the place of the higher spec car, with the Cayman coupe being cheaper.  (The outgoing 981 Cayman was priced considerably above the Boxster.)  This is probably going to drive used 981.1s down in price, especially the Cayman. 

The interior is minor changes from the 981.1, new steering wheel, standard PCM, and revised trim round out the changes.  While PCM is standard, the navigation module is not, although possibly not of much importance, as long as the owner has a compatible smart phone, as PCM includes Carplay, and hopefully someday Android Auto. .  Note the contrasting rev counter background and the flat bottom air vents (although one might wonder why Porsche did that, without a flat bottom wheel.) The Sport Chrono timer sits in a revised and fussier but less protruding housing in the center of the dash.   Sport Chrono also includes an individual setting which the driver can tailor to what he wants - it is configurable for steering assist, throttle response, PDK programs and suspension stiffness, if PASM is equipped.  

The new sport suspension is similar to the old X73 sport suspension setup on the 981.1, with 20mm of lowering, stiffer springs, shocks/struts and sway bars, but this time it is PASM compatible - the old suspension was fixed.  Standard PASM will lower the car 10mm and adds more significant damping changes between comfort and sport, compared to the 981.1.

Transmission options aren't changed much, with an excellent 6 speed manual being standard and 7 speed PDK being a fairly expensive option.  PDK will be the drag strip and fuel economy winner, with driving involvement belonging to the short throw and very mechanical manual gearbox. 

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Exterior changes are minor - front and rear bumpers are revised, the front has wider air intakes for increasing engine cooling.  No details on intercooler locations or oil cooling, and those details will be interesting to reveal later.  Headlights do not seem to have changed but the ever popular LED Daytime Running Lights have been slightly revised.  

The rear has the most significant changes - connecting the taillights is a vent, that allows for a much more upright PORSCHE logo, so no one in the commute lane wonders what brand of car you've purchased.   It does break up the rear of the car, but I can see an argument for it being a bit busy, especially on the brighter color cars.  The larger black plastic section also vertically slims the car, giving it a sleek appearance.  The Porsche Press release uses the word, "Masculine" which might apply on a relative basis, but shows Porsche being aware of the brand image of the Boxster.  

​Porsche has added some wheel choices as well, boringly enough, very similar to the 991 S wheel choices, although some welcome additional concavity appears in the press photos. 

The big changes are the new Flat-4 cylinder engines with opposing cylinders similar to Subaru's arrangement.  The big advantage of this is an extremely low center of gravity compared to an inline or V engine, but balance and often engine note suffers.  Porsche has taken great care to make sure their motors are nice sounding, so hopefully these will follow suit.  

• The base 718 Boxster receives a 2.0l flat 4 with 300bhp - similar in displacement and output to the popular Lancer Evolution and Subaru STI models.  However, weighing 400-500 lbs less (if weight doesn't increase over the 981.1 models) will make these cars pretty exciting.
• The 718 Boxster S features a 2.5l flat 4 with 350hp - a stout output in a sub 3000 lbs car (hopefully.) No weight figures were announced in the press release, and optimistically Dudestuff hopes that this means no weight increases.  The Author's 2015 981.1 S boxster with the 3.4l motor made 315hp and weighed 2976 as quoted by Porsche with PDK, so without weight gain, this will be a very potent and exciting car. 
• More interestingly, Porsche Turbo models have always had additional horsepower a small tweak away, so it will be interesting to see how that trend bears fruit with the 718 models.   A 400 horsepower Boxster S is probably not out of the question and that would be a very exciting car indeed. ​

​Dudestuff will be keenly interested in the cooling arrangement for both charge cooling and oil and water cooling, as well as potential higher rated GTS or GTx models based on these new motors.  Most of all, we're interested to see the weight - usually when one thinks of losing 33% of the cylinders, one associates lower overall curb weight and better balance, but turbochargers, and their additional cooling requirements often increase the associated weight. 

I'm really excited for this car, it brings a level of performance to the Boxster platform, both stock and tuned that it hasn't had, except for the GT4 and Boxster Spyder models, without the additional weight of a 3.8l motor.  This could be a really nice package... let's hope Porsche doesn't have to bloat the car with additional weight.  Stay tuned for more news here, or read more at Porsche's press site.