A sad sad video
 

http://youtu.be/kon9hlFts94

I feel like I have attended a funeral. I've always valued my Boxster but after watching this video I feel like it's as special as a Carrera GT.

http://youtu.be/PonFO-vGesE

http://youtu.be/y1LhUzL3qdU

http://youtu.be/hJtloiw4D-M


http://youtu.be/GofiykYshuM

So, his only complaint is about the sound. That's ridiculous.

I say just get over it. :p

It's a Subaru in porsche drag...

I don't know boys. As much as I want to say I'll get over it, the flat six just sounds like a Porsche to me. Yeah sure, the 356 was a flat four. But since the inception of the 911, the flat six is the heart of the Porsche spirit. Sad is right big Jake.

No doubt it's a brilliant, endlessly capable car that I'll really like when I get to experience one in person..... But the sound is one of the elements that comes together with the others to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I'm charging across that tach while holding it in each gear as long as possible. I just wonder if the new car will be a bit less emotionally effective than the previous generations?

Pwave, I think this 718 is the best modern sports car.... But modern sports cars sure do suck.

It's just not very special, it's fast and flashy and probably pretty fun to row through the gears but the car lost so much of its magic.

This just feels like the beginning of the end, I'm more upset about the 4 then the turbo, that being said though idk why they couldn't put the turbo 3.0 in 911 and a non turbo 3.0 in the boxster, I see that as an ideal strategy.

It's just so sad to see the review be so basic and appliance like compared to reviews of Porsche's past.

It's no doubt still a Porsche and still stupidly fast, but it just doesn't seem to be auto journalisms favorite car in the world anymore.

Hammond and may both owned a 986 when new, the cars have been on car and drivers 10 best list repeatedly, the 981 was touted by Chris Harris as the best sports car in the world. This new car just seems like another brz, 350z, rx8 with a very heafty price tag to match.

Impressive Torque, HP and economy coupled with the expected handling. I didn't think they could pull it off. I thought the sound was definitely Porsche and Sport car sound...

I find this all very ironic. When our cars came out enthusiasts complained they were mass produced water cooled atrocities. Keeping this in mind, the 986, at the time, was a larger departure from what porsche was all about than the 718 is now. Next thing you know the whole lineup will be electric and the next generation of porsche owners will be harking back to the "good ol' days" of flat 4's with turbochargers.

Exactly. Just as stated in the video. Everyone had the same "it's over" outlook with the 986. Same for electric PS.

It's not the beginning of the end. It's a constant state of change. Tech is always evolving. It will never, ever stop. You either go with the flow or become a bitter cynic and get left behind, rambling about "the good old days". The human animal is a nostalgic one. :D

If we're lucky, this may add some $ to ours down the road (for those nostalgic types).
Oh, don't get me wrong...I don't like the 718. I think it's ugly as hell and has completely lost the sexy curves introduced by the 986.

Putting a water pump into a car is a far cry from putting a four pot turbo in it. I get the 996 vs 993 comparisons. However, the sound of the Porsche, the flat six Symphony if you will, is dead and gone in these cars.

But it actually produces more power and is more efficient, so the only thing you're losing is sound.

That seems fairly equivalent to gripes about water cooling to me. ;)
I like the sound of the flat 6, but Jakes generation will grow to love the sound of the flat 4 turbo in 20 years when the 2017 718's are the 20 year old budget Porsche, and more and more cars make no sound at all due to being electric.

My 968 and 912E were 4-cylinders, and so were the 356s. 912s, 924s, 944s, and 914s of yore. The history of Porsche is not just 6-cylinders, as many of us who enjoyed the 4-cylinder cars of previous generations can attest.

The new 718 may not have the 'sound' of the flat 6, but may nevertheless provide a wholly wonderful ownership experience. We have so little to go on at this point in the way of hearing from people who have bought the new Boxster because they're not for sale yet. Magazine road tests are in short supply as well.

Patience.....patience........my bretheren. I choose to think that the brain trust at Porsche knows what they're doing.

Sound is a lot to a Porsche though, in the most pure bare bones sports car in the lineup outside of the GT program I think it's a lot.

Not to mention this car is going to have 968 syndrome, a good car, and a quality car... But no one wants to pay 70k for a 4 cylinder no matter how fast it is. I just don't see 718 resale being anything impressive in the slightest.

If you haven't had the opportunity to hear a 2015 Boxster S' then by all means go check one out. Be sure to stand right behind the car when they start it up. The tragedy to the sound complaint is that the 2015 is absolutely right. The exhaust note is intoxicating with an urgency that is unbelievable. Makes my 98 sound like it is idling at 400 rpm. So just when it's perfect, It's gone.

My BMW 228xi had a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with 240 hp, rated at 0-60 in 5 seconds.

I had reservations about BMW's decision to begin utilizing a 4-cylinder in place of their 6-cylinder engine, which was devine, in my opinion (good horsepower, good torque, and oh so smooth). However, my experience with the 228 was more than satisfactory and restored my faith in BMW's decision makers.

I wouldn't expect anything less from Porsche's decision makers, so rather than panic now, let's wait until the new Boxster/Cayman cars are introduced, tested by the car magazines, and bought by the masses. I'm guessing that they'll like both the 300 hp four in the base, and the 350 hp in the S.

And by the way, my computer's speakers reproduce sound pretty poorly so that hearing the new 718 in a YouTube clip will hardly be a meaningful experience.

The 718 sounds sporty but it just isn't nearly as shrill as a flat 6.

It's like the sound difference between a 986 and a 991 gt3

Yes they're comparable. Yes the 986 still sounds pretty dang great.

But the gt3 is just that much more shrill.

991 GT3:Boxster 986::Boxster 986:718

I had the pleasure of owning a 944S2 which had the big 3.0l 4 cylinder. Loved the car like all the other Porsches I've owned and no sound was definitely not high on its attributes list. You will all get over it with the 718.

If you consider cars like the new Mazda MX-5 Miata, Chevrolet Corvette, and Porsche Boxster as modern sports cars, you won't get many people to agree that they suck.

I feel that several mx-5 owners see the values of old mx-5s and would at times prefer one, and I doubt many would take a 718 over a 981 spyder. The corvette is an exception because gm had to get their crap together after 2008 so any gm car is its best ever.

(Also it's important to note that the mx-5 and corvette didn't drop to a 2 cylinder and a v6 either, I bet that if they did people would be a lot more angry.)


Considering that though someone with more technical knowledge may be able to help, is there something about the flat 6 design that would've made it difficult for Porsche to shut down several cylinders when not needed like the corvette c7 does?

Really they should just put Eco buttons on modern sports cars that basically put them in limp mode and 11th gear to get through testing then allow the owners themselves to press the sport button instead and turn off auto stop start.

The reviewer in the video seems like a bore. I bailed half way through the video.

It's a shame he chose to have the roof and the windows closed. My favorite sound isn't so much the exhaust, but the air intake over my left shoulder with the top open and the windows down. Until I've heard the 718 myself from that position I'll reserve judgement.

Agreed, He complains about the sound then drives with the cabin sealed tight? He is another pompous ass British auto 'expert'. I'm really tired of hearing that the sound is the only draw back for the 718. If that is the case they have done a bang up job. If everthing else is 100% then nit picking about the sound is just that, nit picking.

PS . . I do love the sound of my '03 S regardless!