987 owners...no offence

[pothole]

Originally Posted by pierre shags

The first thing that distinguished the two models for me was the vent, the second was the squatty L-shaped headlights of the 986. For aesthetics the 986 lost me right there. They are - I hope strong language won't get me kicked off the list - UGLY. They mess up the beautiful clean lines of the hood and fenders typical of all new Porsches - a real mistake.

Hmm, speaking of objectivity...the fact is that the 986 lights, like them or loathe them, actually integrate more smoothly and neatly with the bodywork than the 987's units. Look at shut lines and intersections around the light units, the hood, the fender/wing and the front bumper on a 986:



Now look at the 987. Just inside the headlight unit, it's all very busy/messy/clumsy where the fender, hood, bumper intersect (I'm particularly talking about the awkward looking slither of fender that extends down to meet the bumper):



I do agree that the 987 looks more "aggressive". But for my money the 986 is so much cleaner, lither and prettier - it's a clever update of what it is to be Porsche. The 987 is relatively unsubtle. That said, I do very much like the rear end of the new gen 2 987:



My perfect Box would probably be front 3/4 of the 986 with the 987.2 rear 1/4. Actually my perfect Box is the original concept:





Stunning. Shame neither the 986 nor the 987 is as pretty. But the 986 comes a lot closer.

[chaudanova]

Cool pics! always love seeing that original concept boxster...

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by pothole

Hmm, speaking of objectivity...the fact is that the 986 lights, like them or loathe them, actually integrate more smoothly and neatly with the bodywork than the 987's units. Look at shut lines and intersections around the light units, the hood, the fender/wing and the front bumper on a 986:



Now look at the 987. Just inside the headlight unit, it's all very busy/messy/clumsy where the fender, hood, bumper intersect (I'm particularly talking about the awkward looking slither of fender that extends down to meet the bumper):



I do agree that the 987 looks more "aggressive". But for my money the 986 is so much cleaner, lither and prettier - it's a clever update of what it is to be Porsche. The 987 is relatively unsubtle. That said, I do very much like the rear end of the new gen 2 987:



My perfect Box would probably be front 3/4 of the 986 with the 987.2 rear 1/4. Actually my perfect Box is the original concept:





Stunning. Shame neither the 986 nor the 987 is as pretty. But the 986 comes a lot closer.

I agree, the concept car is by far the best looking Boxster. Note how much further forward the driver sits than in the production cars, more exotic proportions, like a Lamoborghini. The concept is a much smaller car than the production car too. Maybe the new rumored "baby Boxster" will bring things closer to the original concept.

[pothole]

What I think is incredible about the concept is that it's nearly 20 years old but you could almost stick it on a show stand today as a concept and it would look new and fresh. That kind of informs what I prefer about the 986. It's simpler and more timeless. It's aging really well, better than the 987, I reckon.

[blue2000s]

Great curves in this view

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/2009-11-04_1993_Porsche_Boxster_Concept.jpg

[pothole]

Brilliant. I also love the way they did the front shut line - how it starts on the bumper, carries right through in between the headlamp and turn-signal light in the main light cluster and then feeds seamlessly into the hood/bumper shutline. They carried this over onto the production 986, though slightly less dramatically, which is one reason why it's so resolved and clean. The 987 is a clutter of lines and intersections, some of which end rather abruptly. It's simply not as deft or resolved.

[JTP]

This is starting to sound like a Mustang vs Camaro debate except it's debating between the same car.
I remember when the concept car was introduced. I immediately fell in love with it. Same thing when I first saw a Boxster on the road in early '97, I knew I had to get one. I love my 986 but I can appreciate the new designs too. I really like the 987-2.
Atleast Porsche preserves the overall design of their cars from generation to generation. Not like alot of other companies where the same model is completely different from one year to the next.

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by JTP

This is starting to sound like a Mustang vs Camaro debate except it's debating between the same car.
I remember when the concept car was introduced. I immediately fell in love with it. Same thing when I first saw a Boxster on the road in early '97, I knew I had to get one. I love my 986 but I can appreciate the new designs too. I really like the 987-2.
Atleast Porsche preserves the overall design of their cars from generation to generation. Not like alot of other companies where the same model is completely different from one year to the next.

Definitely agree, JTP, though I think a healthy debate is quite alright.

Overall, you're correct, and the design hasn't changed so severely that one can't recognize the car in an instant. There's things to appreciate in the design of both generations.

Another thing to keep in mind is the compromises designers have to make with new safety standards for bumpers and such, where hoodlines now have to be a certain distance from the front bumper because people like to walk in front of buses and get hit by the passing cars, it would seem. This also requires a slight change in the car's body design, as the rules were quite different even just 4 years ago, so that could explain some of the changes seen of recent.