Block Heater

[Mark_T]

The point is not whether it will start or not. The OP is quite right in stating that it is not good for any engine to be stated up cold at temps in the -20 to -40 range. If you are going to drive in these temps and can't always park in a garage, then you should have some kind of block heater, unless you are ok with installing an "access port" on the side of the engine like we saw in another post no so long ago.

You can get stick-on heater panels that go on the bottom of the oil pan, but with our low ground clearance this might not be a good choice. The best solution would be to have a proper block heater installed in a frost plug hole, but I could see that being pretty costly, and where do you route the cord? Probably a circulation heater in a rad hose would be the most efficient and cost effective solution. You might also want to take a look at the dipstick heaters that are available to see if there is one made to fit a Boxster.

You can always go old school and just hang a 100W light bulb in the engine compartment. I used that as a block heater in an old '61 Strato Chief I had in my younger days and it worked a treat.