Matt Farah loves the 718 Boxster!
 

Just published - fresh from testing in Portugal - he seems to like it! Nice colour too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71dPKCqVegs

I just saw that video in my cue earlier today and watched it. At least he's flogging it properly so we can better hear and see what it's capable of. I'm still on the fence about this car, but good vid.

Can't wait to take one for a spin at the new Porsche dealer opening just a few miles from the house. Matt's video shows promise.

When he first revved it up, it sounded like a beetle with a cherry bomb muffler.

Every reviewer/writer/journalist loves every Porsche. If they don't, they aren't invited back to drive the next model.

With that being said, Porsche isn't likely to build a truly crap car so its easy to find good things to write about, but very, very rarely (never say never, but its almost never) will an automotive writer publish a negative appraisal of a new car when their ability to earn a living depends on manufacturer's giving them access to their new cars. Burn those bridges and a writer is effectively out of a job - which is simply not going to happen.

Almost everything that he says in the video was written by Porsche and provided in the press kit. All he does is recite it.

And I had to laugh when he said that he "ordered up the loaded model for testing"!! Hah. As if. He tested the same model as all of the other journalists who were invited to the event.

Sorry to sound so negative, but if you saw how these "test events" are conducted you'd walk away dismayed and never watch another one.

^ I agree. At this stage of development now that the Boxster has been setting the bar in class for literally two decades, Porsche have to pretty much go out of their way to build a crap roadster.

The mystery to me is why the other makes have basically given Porsche the mid-engine mantle when the basic recipe can produce a car that's pretty much above average. Car makers that already sell a decent number of sports cars have the basic know how to build a great mid-engine car. Like for instance Chevy, they could have been selling a Boxster/Cayman mid engine car ages ago. Yet they still treat discussion about a mid-engine Corvette like it's a top secret military weapon and leave the GT4 to get all the press. Chevy, Mazda, etc. could build a car that handles as well, and is flat out quicker than all the 981's at a steep discount.

p.s.
My nearly 20 year old flat 6 with a Fabspeed exhaust sounds 1000X's better than this 718.
You should hear me light up the toll booth from a standing start. :)

Explain Jeremy Clarkson to me then.

I've said many times before. Porsche makes the best of everything. I hate SUVs, but Porsche makes the best one. I don't quite like hybrids but the cayanne e hybrid is a nice way to transport ones family. In the modern world Porsche has to produce a lot of things we don't like, but they make the best of these things. And while I am no fan of turbo sports cars or 4 cylinder sports cars, Porsche has by all means produced the best one on the market.

This has lost something the old boxster had. But I prefer it's styling to the 981 and it's about as quick as the GT4 around the ring without super sticky tires. So it's clearly very fast and the video proves it has a boxsters character. Also the tech and infotainment is tasteful and minimal. So props to Porsche I've come around on this car. I'd drop my money on the 981 spyder instead, but this is one nice car despite its less then ideal exhaust note.

I'm not on the fence on this car. I can't afford it.

"but very, very rarely (never say never, but its almost never) will an automotive writer publish a negative appraisal of a new car"

Sure, there are a few but they are rare.

I like everything about this car apart from the engine. On paper this thing is great, and you can't argue with the performance. The trouble for me is that if you buy this type of car it has to be special in every aspect, it's the feel good factor. 4 pot engines belong in mass produced sensible a to b cars, not in an exotic sports car. A guy asked me the other day what the engine was in my Boxster, and I said a flat 6 with a grin on my face. Try that while saying flat 4, it doesn't work.Then you get to the sound, well I rather have that car with a less powerful 6 than that 4. Performance isn't a problem even in my 2.7, in fact it's enjoyable thrashing it. How much of the 718s performance could you really use on public roads. I'm not sure.

Now throws the market open for all those 986 /7 's with broken engines to fit Subaru engines and not be frowned upon?

Quote: "4 pot engines belong in mass produced sensible a to b cars, not in an exotic sports car."

I think this is a big factor. The only other $55,000+ performance car I can think of is the Alfa Romeo 4C.
My admittedly quick and sloppy research has revealed no others. Are there others? I found lots of fast capable performance oriented cars with 4 cylinders, but nearly all are under $35,000. Maybe this is the beginning of a trend?

Ultimately, this won't affect most of us who buy used, and there are many years worth of clean 986s, 987s, and 981s to pick from.
I guess I'm just more curious about Porsches future on an emotional level since I have been a fan of their work for so long.

I'm pretty sure you can get a 7 series with a 4 pot now. Apparently value is no longer in the engine, at least in the new market. Used there may be an issue.

The 968 4 pot was priced higher then the 982 considering inflation I think.... It is one of the worst selling Porsche's of all time.

Okay, I was thinking there was a BMW where a turbo 4 had replaced the 6 in one of its trims, but I couldn't remember which one. Thanks! :)

Yeah and while the z4 has a 6 the base is a 2.5 and it's soon to be replaced, likely with a 4 cylinders. Slk just got replaced with slc and those are all 4 except for the AMG which is only a 6.

While not a sports car the 5 series BMW has a 4 cylinder option. The new Mercedes E-class also has a 4 cylinder now. For me it a turn off especially when you consider the money you have lay out for these cars. It's doesn't seem to matter to the consumer though. I'm not so sure that will be the case for a expensive sports car. For me a 2.5l turbo six would have been much more desirable.

Why not have both?

Probably my favorite thing on my 986 is the wail of flat-6 as it spins past 5,000rpm. Its intoxicating. I'll never get rid of my car because it puts such a smile on face every time I drive it simply for the sound it makes.

However...

Porsche needed to improve fuel economy AND increase the performance on the new models. The cheapest and easiest way to this is to come out with a boosted engine. I can't really fault them for it, but I agree, the new car does not sound nearly as good as the old car, which makes the total package a lot less romantic and appealing to many. For many of us, romance is a big factor that determines how much enjoyment we derive from our sports cars.

On the other hand, 350hp out of the box in a 3000lbs mid-engine car right out of the box is damn impressive. The other thing to keep in mind with turbo-charged cars is the availability to inexpensively (relatively speaking) add tremendous power to the stock engine. I predict that for a minimal investment (compared to the MSRP of the car), new 718S owners will be able to tune their cars to make anywhere from 420-450hp without extensive modifications. Given the other running gear on the car (carbon brakes, 7-speed PDK, PASM suspension) I think you're going to see these tuned cars become absolutely wicked track machines. I predict they will punch wildly above their weight class and embarrass a lot of serious cars.

It is a slow day at the office so I put this together for reference. Lets assume that a 718S with a tune and some mild upgrades will be able to make 440hp. As a comparison:

------------------- H.P. --- Gears --- Weight (lbs)

Porsche 718S: --- 440 -- --- 7 ------- 3050
Ferrari F40: ------ 471 -- --- 5 ------- 3000
Audi R8: ---------- 440 -- -- 6 -------- 3400
C6 Vette Z06: ---- 505 -- --- 6 ------- 3200
Ferrari F430: ------ 490 -- --- 6 ------ 3300
911 997 turbo: ---- 473 -- -- 6 -- ---- 3200

I won't drone on, but I think you guys get my point. The mid-engine layout of the 718S is superior to the Vette and the 911. These new cars are going to have the capability to be VERY fast. In that regard, the new machines are a great leap forward compared to previous generations of Boxsters.

That being said, I'll probably never be good enough on the track to even take full advantage of my bone stock 986, so I'll continue to stick with the flat-6 symphony as it always has put a smile on my face.

I was just about to say this. The tuning potential of modern turbo engines is ridiculous. A $500 canned tune on an S3 or 235i for instance gets you like 60whp. No joke. I'd imagine similar options will be available for the 718. Engine noise aside, the car will be quite a thrill to drive with 400+ hp. Can't argue with that.

I don't care if it's missing two cylinder, if I could afford one, I probably would!

Not Chevy but GM anyway, it was called a Fiero, and considering it was off the shelf doggy components that car could rail a corner pretty well.

For all the four cylinder hate going on, keep in mind this first version will be the slowest one they put out. You can keep your chrono, PDK and air conditioned seats. Give me an RS version with none of that and "bits of rag to open the doors" and I'm down.

Jeremy Clarkson probably hates the Boxster because it can be thrown through corners and outrun cars with far more horsepower without even being a skilled driver. I find it telling that the personal cars of both of the other two hosts on the show are a Boxster S.

I'm not overly excited about the sound of the new 4-cylinder turbo but I bet its a kickass engine if you can get over it sounding like a Subaru...

I'll try and keep it short but my comment above comes from owning a 2012 GTI and we now have a 2016 GTI. What VW has been able to do with their turbo I-4 engines is impressive. What's more impressive is what a simple ECU tune can do for these engines. I had a 2012 GTI with a stage 1 tune which transformed that car from being an ordinary 200hp 210tq hatchback to a really fun, quick car. The stage 1 tune required no supporting mods and gave that car a bump of 71hp and 101tq at the flywheel! The 2016 will gain 87hp and 114tq from the same tune which puts the new GTI at 291whp and 367wtq. I think thats really impressive! Not to mention my 2012 was still able to average over 30mpg. I'm sure VW is taking all they've learned over the years with these 4-cylinder turbo engines and applying it to the new Porsche engines. A great example is the adjustable veins in the new Porsche engines. Torque was pretty minimal on my tuned GTI so I'm sure it is or can be tuned to be pretty non existent.

With all that said I'd rather listen to my flat 6... I sure wouldn't mind having a new Cayman or 911 to go along with my Boxster though!

Having had a 2011 GTI with Stage II tune I would agree the transformation wa impressive for such little money. Not a great sounding motor but the DSG upshift burps could be fun, especially in a tunnel.

We are definitely going to see some monster Boxsters in the next year or so. I can see a tuned Boxster S tearing up a Carrera S, at least until the Carrera also has a tune.

Turbo 4's can be so much fun! I had an '04 sti making around 430 hp and tq. It was ugly, loud, obnoxious, not very comfortable, and had cheap interior. But it pulled like crazy.

This review by Probefart? is pretty good - even better if you can understand German!
The more I see and hear the car, the more I like it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqt1j9vERZk#t=16.33525

I like the sound of STI's - At least it doesn't sound like a Prius (yet!);)

I don't care if it's faster or not, it's a sell-out and sounds like crap ! It looks like my last Boxster will be a 981 ! (when the price comes down a bit). If I get tired of the power, I'd prefer a 3.8 swap to the turbo car.

I know the direction Porsche is taking with the boosted 4 bangers will make our NA cars a more desirable classic breed

I remember when the 914 came out. POS everyone said, worthless crap. Well, 914's today are commanding nice prices. Same applies to the 924, 944 and 968.

Will the 986 ever be pulling prices like the 993 or the last true 911's? Not likely, but I do think as the numbers out there decline we will see a bottom and a slow but gentle rise in values. Address the obvious issues like IMS bearing, AOS, water pumps, etc, and these cars can run a long long time.

My car still gets ooohs and aahhs and to a person they can't believe it is 13 years old and how little I paid.

Another road test, this guy has some harsh words about the engine. Seems like an honest review.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOJbgw29Y20

Pretty informative video which gets into alot of details about the car that these types of video's usually don't do. Understanding German helps otherwise this is pretty useless.

I guess the reviews are really piling up now.
http://youtu.be/CT1JNv3Pk_M
This one is also German, but presented in English.

I guess the box is still king. But it's the 4 cylinder king instead of 6.

Also some say that this is in part making way for the Porsche 988 or some sort of mid engine Ferrari competitor with the 911 going a little soft. McLaren is pushing to compete with the sports series the r8 and 458-now 488 just got updated so it would make sense for Porsche to come out with something around now.

Maybe a downmarket hybrid sports car sold around 150k to 200k, but there has been talk of a mid flat engine Porsche with possibly a flat 8 for a while.

Interesting. The Boxster/Cayman is the best drivers car that Porsche make, and the 911 would be better off as a GT in the line up. A high end mid engine car permanently in the line up, makes sense and I'd love to see it not that I'm likely ever to own one. I called in at my local Porsche dealer yesterday, and there are a few 981 Boxster's left but no manual ones in Australia, so I'm out of luck :D

I'm hoping that Porsche will come to their senses with the engine in Boxster and the next one will sound more like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkP5Svl16Qg

The best sound ever!

Yes, brings me back to Rennsport Reunion last summer. It even better in person when there's three on the track doing battle.

Stopped by the dealer today. The 718 sounds great and looks perfect! The technician spoke very well of the turbo system and claims that the S sounds very mean.

From the Parade:

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I think the VW Vanagon just found it's ultimate motor conversion.

An automotive journalist's vulnerability to being "cutoff" is mostly tied to his readership exposure & accuracy of content. Jeremy Clarkson was virtually immune, now not so much.
I picked up a Aston Martin from Matt Farah friday, he had some criticism for it. He had just bought a Focus RS.

That one is a manual swap isn't it?