Timeless design
 

Is it just me, or are 986 boxsters looking more and more appealing? are our cars slipping into being classics, something about the way a 986 looks from behind or side profile with the top down is just, i dont even know. As a kid i always saw Porsche a little bland in comparison to other cars with similar performance, but something about the curves and sleekness of our older boxsters is very appealing and rare these days.

I couldn't agree more.

Correct!
I was never a big Porsche fan for various reasons, none of which we're judgement on weather it was a 'good car' or not. The style was cool but never overwhelmed me. Two other factors were financial and the lack of ragtops. The 986 was not affordable to me when launched, but the look was pretty cool and certainly not a copycat design, unless you consider the 356's.

Certain cars just look right. Although a subjective statement, I doubt you'd find many folks that disagree that an Alfa Spider, Jag XK anything or other favorites weren't great looking, timeless designs.

I don't think the 986 is in the same cosmetic class (yet) but it is distinct recognizable, which is a great start to immortality!

I'm not a fan of the combination of hard angles and soft curves that make the 981. IMHO, the cars are also getting too big...

+1 on every word in this thread so far. I've always been into the silhouette of cars. Really tired of the current trend of sharp lines competition. :barf:

I think certain aspects of the 986 is starting to look dated, which in inevitable for a modern design, but overall the lines of the fenders and its width are pretty much in keeping with the type of Porsche that will turn heards for years.

At the same time, Porsche sell these cars where everything is an option and too many on the road look very bland. This car was not designed to have small wheels, no aero treatement or a barebones interior. If you look at the 93 concept car, the design was for a very well appointed car. I see the same thing happen with the 996 Carrera when it has vanilla looking wheels and virtually no options.

You can have two well-optioned Boxsters or Carreras parked next to the same model from the same year without any options at all and one looks a lot more dated while the other still looks fairly current. Take a 97 Boxster slap some 18" replica wheels on it, Litronics, GT3 aero, the classic PORSCHE door decals, and most aren't walking by thinking "17 year old car" if say a 2011 987 S is parked right next to it. That's usually a good sign of a car that's going to look good for a long time..

The 986 is not a future classic I´m afraid, too many built and not special in any way. Don´t get me wrong, I love my Box, but there were "too many" built for it to achieve any classic status. The first Turbo and the 959 are classics to come. Not even the 914 which I have driven a lot, is special enough.

I tend to agree with everyone here. The 986 has classic lines that lend it to a timeless look. That said, too many were made for these to ever appreciate value significantly. It might help them hold value a bit better than other entry-level Porsches like the 924.

Additionally, since there were so many made they have less of a 'something special' feel for those of us in urban environments where Porsches/BMWs/Mercedes/Audis are common sightings. I see on average at least 2 Boxsters (986/987/981) each day not counting my own.

Are these cars beautiful and timeless? I'd say so. Will they ever be something to bet your retirement on? Nope. Will these cars consistently deliver performance and fun? Yes!

They certainly have the capability to be classics.
 

Being a limited production vehicle does little to define a car as a classic or determine how collectible it will be one day (ex: every muscle car built). Just take for instance the early S30 series Z cars...they were a dime a dozen when I was growing up and you would see one all the time. The production numbers were very strong for most all the various models and iterations but now days you rarely see one because they were either not cared for and eventually sent to the scrap yard, or they rusted away. A well maintained early example can sell for significant money today and they will continue to appreciate. Did anyone think the daytona./superbirds would be worth $200k+ one day when they were on the market? Boxsters are not likely to rust away like some of the others but they could wind up neglected, abused, and scrapped till the remaining cars begin to appreciate....not to the extent a vintage ferrari would by any means but I do think they will appreciate some day.

In terms of eventually being a classic and compared to other Porsches it ranks above the 924, 944, 968, 928 and 914. IMO. Unfortunately that's not saying too much as to this group except some exceptions (914-6, 944 Turbo S, very late 928s and a very few other). Too many made and when cars get to the point where repairs cost more then the car (with the known engine issues this one is easy) the possibility of it becoming a classic becomes slim. I love my Boxster but I do have high hopes for it becoming classic. Maybe I'm wrong and in 20 years analog drivers cars like the Boxster become desirable and with this being one of the last from Porsche plus it's good look it might become a classic.

by that that standard nearly all Porsches are used cars. Few have recovered their original sticker prices in the second hand market, certainly not when you consider what it cost to buy a Porsche in earlier periods of substantially higher interest rates. They were much more expensive in past than a new 991 or 981 sells for today.

I may be mistaken but a genuine collectible is a car that regardless of mileage is now traded for a price above its original purchase price. Very very few Porsche have reached this point. The 550 is one, the 73 RS another.
However most older Porsches today, particulalry the air-cooled, if mileage starts to go up high, the price goes down quickly and below its original sticker. That's technically still used car status (albeit a resilient used car) and not yet a true collectible.
So if the Boxster never becomes a collectible it will simply be like just about every other Porsche made since the 550.

I think the 986's are the best that Porsche has come up with so far.

The lines are very sleek and sophisticated, and I think the look is classic.

I say that, even though I drive a 987. The earlier (with de-ambered headlights) design is fantastic.

People talk of the value related to an air cooled Porsche, 10 years from now, maybe that will be accompanied with people talking about; the last manual, the last non hybrid, the last analog steer, the last before VW, the last before the Cayanee, maybe even the first water-cooled. Our cars will never be worth what a 550 is because too many were made, but i do see the boxster as being an appreciated older car at the very least. Late 90s cars are starting to look very very good, sometimes a good design needs to age like wine for it to really be appreciated and fulfill its full potential. Others have mentioned jags and alfa romeos and i could do nothing but agree.

i feel this thread needs some photos :cheers:
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also i happen to have this on hand
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Original dealer promotion from 1993, i don't even remember how i got a hold of this but i do have it haha.

To the original posting...
This because your ability to appreciate and differentiate forms Is evolving and becoming more complex. Newer cars and their designs help SOME of us evolve- and changes the context within which we compare the older. The same thing happens to men ( and women?) with regards to women's bodies. Jake, believe it not, in 25 yrs., you'll appreciate a young women's beauty more than you do now. You'll swear " they didn't look like that when I was that age"....And you'll probably appreciate the flowing, complex, organic lines of the 986 even more too. I think cheaper cars utilize simpler forms because that makes them cheaper to produce/ stamp out. So our cars really do have something special- complex, organic forms and more curvature/ inch which made the body panels much more expensive to produce. You're on to something Jake! And Porsche spends the dough on quality design whereas, say GM didn't, when they added fake scoops and wings etc. as an attempt to ' build excitement!' into their much more affordable offerings.

well I'll say this about the Boxster/Cayman and 996 Carrera. They will be cars with manual transmissions and non-electric steering and old school flat six's like you say, that the owner can actually drive the wheels off at any track day or autocross, and no matter the weather it can be taken out for a spirited drive, thus it will not be a garage queens treated with kid gloves like so many other Porsches.

It's genuinely a "best of both worlds" workhorse group of Porsches that get a heck of a lot of flack from the "purists" but you'll be out shredding tires while their home waxing or saving up to finish that $10K engine rebuild.:D

I bought my 2000 S about a year ago but at the time I was looking at any sports car - I was not married to Porsche despite already having a 914. Looking at comparable sports cars that were also designed in the '90s....many of them LOOKED like '90s cars. Or had awful interiors. Even with the older style climate control look - I think the 986 Boxster very much holds up despite being an aging car.

For the record, I believe 986's will be scarce in the years ahead because of the comparatively high running costs coupled with a dud of an engine ( which is horribly expensive to rebuild or replace). Future classic? - you bet- strong initial public reaction and most hitting the crusher due to repair costs equals rarity.

Why do they have to be replicas?

I don't know about becoming a classic, or not, and don't much care. I do believe the lines of the car are sensual and absolutely fantastic. With everyone's predictions of driverless cars (as opposed to the current zombie drivers) and the death of manuals, I do believe there will be an appreciation in 10-20 years. However, I will be too busy enjoying mine to worry about that. I would have taken either a 986 or a 987, but found a 987 first. I do like the side scoops a bit better, feeling they are more proportioned. And I like both versions better than the current.

With regards to design vs. function, I have a '07 Triumph Trophy and a '11 Ducati Multistrada. The Trophy has sensual flowing lines, and gets much more attention when I am out on it that the Duc, despite the Ducati being a much more modern and sophisticated bike. So, people appreciate style.

BTW, in '76 my brother and I had a line on a Daytona with the hemi. $2600. We thought about it, but were both students and figured we a) couldn't afford the gas and b) would probably wreck it. In retrospect, much as I like to think we would still have it, we were probably right - and be contributors to the appreciating value.

Understanding the expected, ever-present 986 bias, I'm curious to what everyone thinks: Is a car still "classic" if it's been heavily modded? I mean when looking at "classic" car auctions, most of the high priced are stock, right? Not putting on a GT2 bumbler, different wheels (not OEM), etc... So, is the debate really a question of, "Can a 986 be made to look timeless with appropriate modding and still be considered classic?" I mean, I'm biased against the _ _ 6 because of the fried egg headlights and the, ahem, dated interior, but if the 986 were truly classic, wouldn't the generations that followed be closer to the general appearance of the "original" much like the 911s have had a slow evolution?

Sure, I get that >96% of people here love the 986, but a majority of those here have modded it, which begs the question of how can a car be classic, when you mod it into something that has parts that were never included during production? By definition, you create something that can't be considered classic as it has become unique, right? Which is fine if that's what you want to do. I mean, hey, it's your car, right? Maybe unmodded parts can be classic, but the car as a whole may approach "timeless"...? But it's been modded and isn't OEM.

Personally, I agree with the people that argue low production numbers make for a stronger argument, but I don't know that any Porsche car beyond the 911 could be considered "classic" even with the carrera gt having low production numbers. Having said that, I'm not sure which model of 911 can be considered classic, but I think the simple fact that you could look at 911s separated by 20 years and not make the mistake of thinking either car isn't a 911.

Because authentic 18 inch Carrera lights cost nearly as much as the 97 Boxster resale value.

Regarding all the talk of "too many of them to be valuable", I suspect the fact that about 70% of all Porsches ever built are still running means that they'll never be vanishingly rare. But who cares, really? That number is 70% because they're well built (not perfect, but what is?) and alluring enough that people are willing to treat them well, keep them repaired and restore them when they get shabby looking.

In other words, I think they'll never be rare because they're great cars. If you want rare, try to find a running Yugo and pay the big bucks it commands.

I feel exactly the same way!
Love my Box!

Carrera GT, 356, first Turbo, 959. Alle true classics that you need to pay for more for than when new.

Timeless indeed...

http://home.comcast.net/~rwrenegades/pcar.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~rwrenegades/pcar2.JPG

To quote Paris "That's Hot!"

Honestly I would have agreed until I saw the 981 in the flesh
It looks great on pictures, but what a stunner in real life

As much as I like you guys and gals if I won a 2014 Cayman/Boxster in a lottery I would sell my 2001 Box in a heartbeat. Porsche's updating every year works magic on me....

Not willing to spend that amount of $$$$ on a new one so I am staying on this forum for a while. As regards stock yes absolutely. Everything I do is OEM. No addons, no desnorkelling etc so when I come to sell it will not look like a boyracer......:)

+1 on the above. Anyone else ever watch the BarretJackson auto auctions?
1964.5-1966 Mustang & VW bug, highest volume production cars made until the Japanese invasion & neither was a high quality car. Any drivable example will sell for more than it did new today. Here in CA any convertiblehas value. I laugh everytime I see a Dodge Dart convertible!

Only time will tell...

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Even in gloomy weather the cars lines are quite timeless.

Are those Speedline wheels?

They REALLY make the ride. :)

TO

Yes, Gemballa Speedline Corse

Quite possibly the best looking wheels I've seen on a boxster. 18's?

They're 18's. I've always thought they fit the Boxster perfectly.

Yup, they look like the concepts wheels.

Just an observation; I think we're all working with different definitions of 'classic'.

I'd like to say that I think that in 20-30 yrs. 986's will be rare as in less than 944's are now due to their maintenance costs ( and that problematic engine) and that when seen driving down the road, they will be desired and revered because they ARE a unique design, obviously a Porsche sports car and to many car guys, an icon- themselves. There are other 2 seaters but in north America, there are only 2 'good' ones: MR2 and the Boxster and only ones a PORSCHE.

I'm bumping a somewhat old thread, because I didn't want to start a new one, but I think I can end the debate. ;)

On January 13, 2014, the 986 and 996 officially became Porsche Classics.
Although, having sold 164,874 of them might make them less classic. :cheers:

IMO, it is way too early to call the 986 a classic regardless of one's definition. As to the design, I do tend to agree with the OP, however. Yes, it looks a bit dated compared to the new Boxster Cayman. What would you expect for a vehicle design that is now 20 years old?

However, IMO the 986 was a brilliantly executed, amazingly cohesive and original design that positively screamed "Porsche'. The cars roots in the 'giant-killer' 550 Spyders of the 50's - the cars that put Porsche on the map in racing circles, are readily apparent. The curving, rather than angular forms are, well - sexy, rather than masculine, IMO. The same, of course, is true of the original Jaguar XKE - a car that Enzo Ferrari called the most beautiful car in the world.

While the new 981 appears muscular and masculine, to me the 986 evokes the female form - something which for me and many men, brings out an emotional and visceral response that a muscular, male form can never achieve. Heck, I think of mine as a beautiful and sexy woman who, if treated with respect, will provide incredible thrills and satisfaction. Is she a bit fragile? Yes. Does she need to be 'warmed-up' before going for it? Ditto. But once she is ready.....

IMO, the design is also one of the most cohesive and balanced of any car since the XKE and the original 911. Rather than a clash of angles and curves, a modified 'C' shape is carried throughout the design from the front grills, through the intrument cover, the door handles, the mirrors, the side air intakes, the doors, the door windows, the rear fenders, the rear tail-lights and upper brake light, the exhaust (in the base). It is even carried through into the design of various of the interior components.

The car may never become a 'classic' in the true sense of the word, but it is a beautiful design that should always be admired.

Brad