Baby Boxster ?!?!
 

Just got the new Road & Track today and on the front cover is the new Baby Boxster. Not sure what Porsche is thinking. How could you get more of a baby than the Base model boxster, no offense to all the base owners, especially considering that the new Base Boxster has more horsepower than the older Boxster S, and please no flaming. HOWEVER, I got to thinking how much of a blast this car would be for an autocross. A turbo charged 4... Upgrade the turbo and a bit more boost and we might have a faster car than the Boxster S. Kinda of excited to see it!!

Ever ridden in a 914? Trust me, it can get a lot more base than the base Boxster. For example the 914 didn't have a windshield washer pump, it actually used the pressure from the spare tire.

I'd be all for a leaner Porsche.* The current base Boxster is ~100lbs lighter than the base 911 (3000 vs 3100). At this point the difference between the two is do you want a back seat or a back trunk? You actually get the opportunity to pay a premium if you want less car; Spyder anyone? The 914 was around 2100 lbs. It had a lot less safety features, but it's obviously still possible to make a fun, cheap, safe roadster. Miata anyone?


*as long as the leaner Porsche doesn't look like another 911 knock off.

i believe this is the new 'baby boxster'

http://www.roadandtrack.com/future-cars/sports-cars-of-the-future-2013-porsche-new-356

HA HA HA,

that reminds me of my post from a few months ago: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/23026-photo-baby-boxster.html where I got "tarred and feathered" by everyone that Porsche would never build this :cheers:

Keep reading and in a few pages you will see the proposed Audi R4 would be on the same platform and would also be tempting

The R4 looks and sounds more appealing than this new Porsche... :eek:

Ok so I can see how a 356 fits into the line up but why a mini suv? VW is going to dilute the brand by flooding the market with new models.

That new Audi with the 10 cylinder in it is badass. If I ever become wealthy I think the next unit might not be a Porsche. I love the car but when I add up the individual part failures I'm not so impressed, the 944 was a better built car, sounded far more solid than shutting a Boxster door and had far less problems with twice the mileage. My friends laugh their nuts off every time they razz me about putting an engine mount is a car with less than thirty on the odometer at the time...

I tend to agree with ARModen's line of thought: Adding lightness is good. If they could actually keep the weight down (south of 2700 lbs), you could have a fun car to drive.

The article wasn't real clear to me whether the New 356 was "in lieu of" the current Box or "in additon to"...

Lastly, if R&T is indeed correct about "hitting the road" in 2012, then this thing has to be pretty far along in development. Where are the concept cars? Why no more press than this?

Hey I don't mean to derail but I wanted to let everyone know the 911 GT3 is on Autoweek this Sunday.

There's nothing wrong with adding a 356. But Porsche doesn't really see it as a 356 according to the article. They just want to figure out a way to capture volume via Honda priced car. That's a bad move. Or maybe they are in bad shape and need the cash. I'm guessing that existing solely on small unit sales at high prices is causing the execs at Porsche to feel a bit nervous during a 3 year recession. Yikes recessions are not supposed to last that long! Probably because its not really just a recession...
If they do a cheapo Boxster masquerading as a 356...no doubt they will have a cheapo Cayenne as well. Next will be a cheapo Panamera. Then a cheapo Minivan. Slap Porsche badge on it and it will sell...so they think.

i think we have to look back when porsche brought out the boxster. Some thought that it would cheapen the brand by selling a 50k base porsche. But seeing that this market has brought new customers, the 356 may work, but how much cheaper do you really want to go?

Porsche actually went for the Boxster as a true concept car. They really didn't have an idea of what it woul actually cost to build until the very end of the design process. At that point they were informed by the guys with the calculators that it was going to cost more to make than the Carreras. I think that's when they brough in the Japanese guys to move the company away from the old school Porsche "hand assembled" methods. While they were certainly looking for volume (as they had none at the time) they were looking for a winner more than anything.

This baby boxster is a whole different situation. I'm sure they can quote the price of a VW/Porsche/Audi parts mix of a cookie cutter two seater down to the penny. There's nothing unprecedented in that car. The Boxster on the other hand was first 100% designed only to be a roadster that Porsche had ever built. Everything else was just a car with the roof hacked off.

p.s.
Thos concept drawings look pretty weak. I've seen better Miatas.