Agreed, this really only cements the 986's position as the best looking Boxster.

That said, it's only the fussy rear lip that I really don't like on this new design. The rest is tolerable.

But my god it looks huge. In fact, that's one of the reasons why the 986 is the nicest Boxster. It looks relatively petite. Even the 987, which is in reality only a little bit bigger than the 986, looks like a big car.

pothole,

Spot on. It also feels like the rear half of the car is too big in some of these photos. I also like that on a 986 a nice set of 18s is a good match for the proportions and lines of the car. This desire to move to bigger and bigger wheels is just odd. Certainly those are the 20s from the 991S they have on that car. It's just silly.

Yeah - I actually think the 986 looks best with a combination of 17s and a low ride height.

But the new 981 in those images is running on 20 inchers as you say, which gives you some idea of just how massive the car is.

I find this to be a great leap backward. Both the 986 and 987 are light-years ahead of this. The front and rear are okay but the side strake and air scoop are just plain UGLY. I already don't like that kind of style but to have the scoop suddenly start at the back edge of the door just makes it look like something is missing; i.e., a transition. They've managed to make a sow's ear out of a silk purse.

I felt the same way til I found my car with 18" Sport Classic IIs. Now I am biassed. :)

Glad to hear it because my 986 is going to my father's caretaker (my cousin has helped me as I'm physically unable, she always loved the 986) I have no choice but to select something with PDK, still not loving the idea at all.

From these images, it seems the tail is way better than the rear on the 991. Overall, I think it looks pretty good, though it's tough to judge a redesign from a few spy shots... I'm looking forward to seeing this and the 991 in person.

The huge side air intakes are what ruins the design for me. Those are big enough for a jet fighter!

works for the guy with only one arm. He seems to be having a better time than most with two arms and a gear lever.
Salzburgring ´08 Porsche Cayman S vs. Boxster S - YouTube

I don't want to chop one of my hands off to enjoy PDK/Tip if that's what you're trying to get at.

+ 1 Pothole, My 99 Box has 18s and is lowered 1in. and looks Great. I do think that the current Boxster Spider is the best looking and performing Boxter made to date.

I hate the rear end on the 2012 but I will have to see it in person before I can say that I hate the new 2012.

jbs,
The Spyder is a spectacular car. I can't same I am a fan of the lines of the car with the speed humps though. It is definitely a matter of taste though.

I like the new design except for the wing extending over the tail lights. I especially like the front. It looks more like a super car now and more aerodynamic.

Well I guess those photos are wrong.... because it looks nothing like what's in the video!!!

Porsche 991 Woke me up this morning in SF!!! - YouTube

It looks great. Especially the back end. I guess some change is good. The cool thing about any vehicle with over a decade of changes, like the Boxster, is that you can buy the year(s) you like and disregard the others.

My first two impresions were 1) MR2 and 2) the guy is tiny. I googled some pics of a 987 and an apparently normal person has shoulders that are about 4"-6" higher than the guy in the 2012 car. I know the trend is to put passengers lower in the car for safety, but - damn - they look really odd to me when the only thing you see is their heads poking above the doorline.

The CGT reference did get my brain to forget the MR2 - I think I'd now a fan of the side intakes (I'm OK with the ones on the 986 and disliked intensely the ones on the 987, so this is an improvement).

The rear view...I dunno, but I'm reminded of a newer Audi TT. Not really inspiring to me compared to the almost 550-like hindquarters of the 986. It's slightly less ungainly than a 997 'vert. As someone who used to own a Lexus SC430, I'm certainly willing to purchase a car with an ugly back end - if everthing else about the car is almost perfect.

But, damn, those wheels sure look "donk"!

This is all for sake of safety. Higher door height will most likely result in lesser risk of injury from side impact... you cannot put your arm out the door like all old cars. You feel like you're sitting inside a tank with your head poking out. This is the one reason why I'm keeping my 986 for a long long time...

Oh no, they copied the MR2, how cheap; was my first thought. Ok, enough about the funky body styling. We need details of the power supply, tranny and suspension options.

A few of you were thinking MR2... The first thing I thought of is Carrera GT.

[url]http://www.sportscarcup.com/porsche-carrera-gt/silver-porsche-carrera-gt/[url]

Looks like most manufacturers are going smaller glass due to safety.

I find the spoiler making a sort of beltline with the small bars going across the taillights to be a strange touch, almost like trying to make the car seem very upscale (not necessary IMO, it's already a Porsche, and has only been improving in quality since the days of vinyl rear windows). It would just be bizarre if the spoiler were the entire thing from one light to another, so I'm glad they didn't do that, at least.

A friend of mine took a look at these photos and feels that this car might actually be smaller than my 986. I feel just the opposite, while I know he may be right, but the car just appears to be massive with the driver looking so small in the images. It seems like the car's gaining mass, which I hope is not the case. I will say, though, the first thing that popped out of his mouth was "looks like an MR2".

Everything from the nose up to the end of the doors definitely comes off very Carerra GT, which I don't think is a bad thing to go back to some successful (or at the very least, memorable) roots. The intakes look very out of place to me, just something about the shape of them. You can tell they want everything to look like it flows together, but for me that's one spot where it doesn't happen, and then there's the spoiler/beltline mentioned earlier at the rear. The rest of the car forward is very safe-looking typical Porsche styling. I'd be interested to see how the car looks top up.

As for the video I saw posted earlier, if that Boxster was any sort of camoflauged up, that could explain the difference in appearance, but either way, I'm not entirely thrilled about the styling direction....guess we'll have to wait for official pictures to see what's really on the table.