Is the Boxster the unloved stepchild?

[dmairspotter]

The other evening I was far away from home in a hotel bar. A guy came in wearing an official Porsche Motorsports shirt.

I was returning from an SCCA racing weekend (not in a Porsche) where there had been a discussion about the fantastic support Porsche provides for people racing it's cars.

Not being shy (and having had a couple of drinks), I walked over to talk to the guy about the way they run their support organization. It turns out he is a fairly big fish in the Porsche Motorsport organization, on his way to a different venue. I told him I was a racer and that I had a Boxster as a road car and his immediate response (and I quote here) was "You have my deepest sympathy".

It didn't bother me really (then or now) but I was puzzled that a management type guy in a major car manufacturers motorsports organization would feel that that was an appropriate response. I sometimes think that Porsche builds the Boxsters as an evil necessity so they can get money enough from the suckers to build "real" sports cars.

Too bad, because the Boxster seems now to be recognized as the best two seater sports car on the planet. I wonder if 30 years down the road people will look back on the Box the same way that they look at some of the air cooled cars today? "Man those were real Porsches!"

Just some rambling thoughts.

[coreseller]

Mr. "Big Fish" sounds like quite the *sshole. I'd write it off as just that, an asinine statement by a snob. Sounds like he belongs in a BMW .

As an aside, I drive an air cooled 911, a guy down the street picked up a used 997 series 911 last year, apparently I'm unworthy of a return wave when we pass each other. Jerks come in all flavors, don't let them get you down.

[Kiritsugu]

I've never seen it that way, but sometimes it seems that way, especially with how Porsche seems to "suffocate" the Boxster engines with the cats.
If anyone is treated as an unloved stepchild, It's the 944. I think it's okay though. If well maintained.

[jacabean]

i don't get it . The automotive press always loved the Boxster since day 1 . it gets better with every revision . so many people knock it . It's a mid engined roadster !


Boxster voted best sports car fifth gear - YouTube

[ProjectM96]

Well I know someone with a TPC twin turbo 430whp Cayman S(close enough), and it beats all the GT3's that come to the track. I was in the passenger seat when the driver was making sharp turns at 80mph passing those GT3's and Z06's. It was a blast.

Also, a hot women(seems to be 28 years old) waved to me a couple of times from her 997 Turbo S and we played around on our commute to work. My driving confidence allowed me to keep up with her. That made my day.

And yesterday I waved to a Boxster that also waved back.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by ProjectM96

Also, a hot women(seems to be 28 years old) waved to me a couple of times

Pics, please, or it did NOT happen. Thanks.

[ProjectM96]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Pics, please, or it did NOT happen. Thanks.

haha. I will take a pic as soon as I see her again. I see her driving on my commute to work about once per week.

[mountainman]

I recently did a very, very spirited drive on some very very twisty roads and I was 4th in line behind a new C 4S, a year old 997 turbo and a new GT3. I was in the 08 boxster S with the 3.4 and I had no problem staying right with them and they all seemed surprised and commented on it. On a straight pull any one of them had a tremendous advantage, but on a nice twisty road course they have very little advantage and certainly did not enjoy it any more in spite of their much higher purchase price.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by mountainman

I recently did a very, very spirited drive on some very very twisty roads and I was 4th in line behind a new C 4S, a year old 997 turbo and a new GT3. I was in the 08 boxster S with the 3.4 and I had no problem staying right with them and they all seemed surprised and commented on it. On a straight pull any one of them had a tremendous advantage, but on a nice twisty road course they have very little advantage and certainly did not enjoy it any more in spite of their much higher purchase price.

and if LeMans didn't have a single peculiarly lonnnng straight it might not have been so ideal a race for the rear engine Carrera. Good thing the engines last.

[thstone]

The Boxster IS the poor stepchild of Porsche because it always gets the short end of the stick. Where is the 3.4 or 3.6 model? Where is the Turbo model? Where is the GT-3 model? The Boxster is looked down on by people because Porsche looks down on it.

And as long as I'm ranting, Porsche started it all with the cutesy name: boxer engine + roadster = Boxster; Oh how clever! WTF? Right then and there the car was branded not to be taken seriously.

In Porsche-think, if you want a serious entry-level sports car, you buy a Cayman, a car with a rightful sports car name. Do you think for a minute that Porsche ever considered calling it the Coupster? Heck no!

[Perfectlap]

There is EXTREME Carrera kool aide drinking within Porsche Motorsports. The engine will ALWAYS be in the rear. ZERO deviation from the script. unbelievers aka infidels, can knock themselves out with front and rear engine "commercial downgrades". Case in point: when Patrick Long was a tadpole at Porsche and not yet a fully ordained factory driver he was not allowed a Carrera for personal use. He could only ask for a Boxster.
Yes this logic is completely retarded····roadsters are roadsters·····GTs are GTs····sports coupes are sports coupes.
Only in the kool aide mind is one a substitute for the other. Secondly, it shows the brain washing of young drivers to revere the Carrera as the apex of Porsche.
Meanwhile in the long run as a sprint racer, the Carrera has zero chance of beating mid engine Ferrari. Ditto for the prototypes.
Endurance is all they have as far as racing and the mids steal that show right from under them every summer.

P.S.
The kool aide permeates down to the casual Porsche owner. Generally a tip off for a poser. I once started a poll in a track oriented forum asking if given the choice of engine placement in their next GT3 would they check the box for mid.
Fully 2/3's said yes to a mid engine GT3. I then posted a similar question in the "standard" Carrera variants forum and I was flamed right away and told to go away LoL. 2/3's of those guys responded that they would only buy a rear engine Carrera.
As you can see there is a disconnect between the rabid Porsche track enthusiasts and the mothership.

[mountainman]

who cares what they think. I have 2 boxsters and a 996 C 4 and unless the weather warrants all wheel drive I generally always walk past the C 4 and drive a boxster. Way more fun to drive on a twisty road where horsepower is not nearly as important as balance. Most people who look down on the boxster really have no experience in them and just have a need to feel special.

[dmairspotter]

The Boxster IS the poor stepchild of Porsche because it always gets the short end of the stick. Where is the 3.4 or 3.6 model? Where is the Turbo model? Where is the GT-3 model? The Boxster is looked down on by people because Porsche looks down on it.

My thinking exactly. It was just so strange to hear it so blatantly from a Porsche corporate guy. I wonder what my customers would think if I all but told them the equipment they bought from me was **************** and they were rubes for buying it?

FWIW, I'm old enough that I don't care what anyone thinks about the Box. It's the best two seat drop top sports car I can afford, and it may be the best one period. It's not my ego crutch, it's my daily smile machine.

[Johnny Danger]

After I was done telling that "blow-hard" how the boxster was design to emulate Porsche's first real two-seater mid-engine sports car, the 550 Spyder, as opposed to the Volkswagen Beetle-esque 356, I would have placed a "danger choke-hold" on his neck, followed by a judo chop !

[jacabean]

it's funny how the "mid engined " Carrera GT is never mentioned buy these 911 fools .

[husker boxster]

That 'look down your nose' attitude starts at an early age. In 2007 I was attending a Cubs game at Wrigley "Stadium" as Jeff Gordon calls it. I got there early and had my 01 Lapis Blue S parked in a spot just outside. A group of teenagers walked by and one said "ooh, look at the Porsche". One of the other guys says "that's not a real Porsche, it's a Boxster". I let them go on their way but thought about saying "so you wouldn't drive it if I threw you the keys". But I don't have the stones that JD has or his judo chop ability.

With my current inventory, I've got enough invested that I could afford a rather high buck 911. But I don't want one, they're not my cup of tea. Different strokes for different folks. Porsche should understand this and not consider us a necessary evil.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

In 2007 I was attending a Cubs game at Wrigley "Stadium" as Jeff Gordon calls it.

Us locals call it Chicago's largest bar.

[Flavor 987S]

Being fortunate enough to currently own both a Boxster (2006 987S) and an 911 (1997 993 Turbo) I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about this subject. I could go on for hours. But I won't. Been there, done that. Got the t-shirt.

Regarding what the "big fish" said, it should come as NO SURPRISE to us Boxster owners. But, it doesn't make it right, nor palatable. I also think it speaks volumes about that one person, than it does about any specific group.

Most people who say silly stuff about a Boxster, hasn't ever driven one, or hasn't established much seat-time in one. We (986 Forum members) have been saying for years, if Porsche built a Boxster with 911 power, there'd be a drastic drop in 911 sales. Actually, Porsche did build a Boxster with 911 power, it's called a Carrera GT. And a little out of my value proposition for a weekend toy.

With regard to the new 981 Boxster, in my 8 years as a Porsche enthusiast, I've NEVER seen more positive comments about a Porsche from the "911 contingent" as I have currently. This is great for Boxster owners and all involved.

Lastly, let's not lose sight that Porsche did move the new 991's engine slightly more center-mass. So, maybe my statement above is not so far fetched.

[Chuck W.]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Being fortunate enough to currently own both a Boxster (2006 987S) and an 911 (1997 993 Turbo)

I owned a 1997 993 cab and sold it and bought a 1997 993 turbo at the same time I had my 2001 986 Boxster S. All great cars. But when it came time to thin the car stable we kept the Boxster. Even while owning the 993s, I enjoyed the drive of the Boxster S more.

There were several others on the Rennlist 993 board that had Boxsters and spoke highly of them. Ones that have never drove one put them down. There will always be the purist that believe if it is not a 911, it is not a real Porsche. Then ones that think if its not air cooled it is not a real Porsche, then others that believe the 911 SC was the last real Porsche .... and so on.

Oh well, they don't know what they are missing.

[recycledsixtie]

You have my deepest sympathy that you have run into a Porsche snob. His opinion is just that - his opinion. Unfortunately there are many people like that but there are many decent human beings out there too. Move on.