2011-2012 Boxster Photos

[blue2000s]

Economic times may delay the intro, but smaller, lighter, and closer to the original concept sure appeal to me. If you cringe at the thought of a turbo 4 replacing the big 6, remember that the 944 turbo was faster than the standard 911 in the late 90s and is almost as fast as a Boxster today.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/porsche-boxster-2011.html

[limoncello]

Nice catch.
Looks: Still looks right, although it's clearly not anywhere near production standard, so hard to say exactly what the end product will be. Lines appear to remain true Boxster.
Lighter: Always a plus, anytime! :dance:
4 cyl? mmmm... In a lighter car, I'm sure they could get the HP/torque and performance, but what about image? Hard to say on that one...
Price (most economical Porsche): probably not a bad idea in today's world, but part of the Porsche experience is exclusivity, so you can't go too low either (not that I'm really worried on that account).
Overall: Porsche management has a strong record of building sports cars, selling sports cars, and making a profit all the while. I'd bet they get it right, and that there's a fun Boxster out there in future-land.
Colors?

[jmatta]

Glad to see the Boxster returning to smaller, lighter; the car grew when the 987 was introduced over the 986. Turbo four could be alot of fun...many times easier to coax more power out of a forced induction engine.

Just look back a the Tag Porsche F1 motors of the 80's (though they were sixes); the amount of power extracted per liter was quite strong.

[Jaxonalden]

Did you get a look at the instrument cluster? I like that set-up, probably getting oil pressure & volt meter in one and oil temp and a boost gauge (if the four banger has forced induction) in the other.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/porsche-boxster-2011.html

I'd love to have more gauges, idiot lights in any sports car is ridiculous. Idiot lights are for minivans so soccer moms can concentrate on the road, yell at the kids and call in take-out pizza at the same time.

[vincesf]

A turbo 4-cylinder should work nicely in the 988/981 version of the Boxster. A 325 hp 6 cylinder would also work nicely for the 988/981 Boxster S. Would love to see a Club Sport version that strips some of the sound deadening materials for another 150 lb. weight savings, as they are planning later this year for the Cayman. Heck, I would even like a plexi-glass engine cover. My only criticism at this point are the dash vents, which I am hoping have no resemblance to the production vents, and yes I too like a more comprehensive array of real gauges, which appear to be present on this version of the prototype.

Whatever the outcome, Porsche has a very tough act to follow as some owners will claim that they ruined the styling or that a 4-cylinder engine represents a step down. Quite frankly, if the car is significantly quicker, more efficient, and becomes even more nimble, it will be difficult to find fault with the new 988/981. It has "best in class" written all over it, just like the 986/987 has been for over 12 years.
vincesf

[blue2000s]

Too early to tell on the gauges. Maybe it's the same gauge pod as the next 911 on this proto. Maybe they just use the gauges for the development mules, although all that info can come through the ECU more accurately and recorded on a laptop. I agree though, gauges are better than idiot lights and I would like to see them on the car, I just don't think it's very likely.

I've read that the internal designation for this car is 981 as opposed to 988 and the new 911 is 991. Not that it really matters.

[cas951]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

Economic times may delay the intro, but smaller, lighter, and closer to the original concept sure appeal to me. If you cringe at the thought of a turbo 4 replacing the big 6, remember that the 944 turbo was faster than the standard 911 in the late 90s and is almost as fast as a Boxster today.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/porsche-boxster-2011.html

Correction. Late 80's. 1989 was the last trubo shipped to the US. In 1989 at one point the 944 turbo was the fastest car Porsche produced that topped out @ 161 mph. This same car even outperformed the 1989 911 turbo on a track test. Today a stock 944 turbo in good eng shape will give a 986 S a run. Turbo lag is what kills it but with a chip and shimmed wastegate it will perform in the 987 S league or better. It seems Porsche intensionally put restriction on the intake plumbing of the 944 turbo. By removing the stock airbox and snorkel, stock AFM and replace with a MAF and cone filter throttle response was inproved drastically specially in the 4k rpm range. Here's a graph of someone measuring a stock airbox vs a MAF.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=385273

A turbo 4 Boxster and lighter weight will be a great combination. I can already picture Porsche intentionally restricting this car as they did the 944 turbo so it doesn't outperform the S and 911's.

[cas951]

I know this topic sort of died but I wanted to raise one more faq on Porsche and their other turbo 4's they made in the past. I don't think they will make the Boxster turbo this potent but look at the potential.

http://vista.pca.org/stl/968t.htm

This is the last turbo they made.
8 valve SOHC in-line 4, aluminum block and heads
Bore and Stroke: 4.09 x 3.46 in (104.0 x 88.0 mm)
Displacement:182 cu.in. or 2990cc
Horsepower: 305@5,400 rpm
Torque: 369 lb-ft@3,000 rpm
Power to weight ratio: 9.5 lbs per horsepower