Remember when the Boxster was the entry-level sports car in the Porsche lineup? Pepperidge Farm remembers, and so do us car-loving folks. But once the Porsche added the 718 suffix to the German mid-engined hoonmobile, things went a little bit south.
It took Porsche almost 20 years to understand that a convertible is usually priced higher than the coupe. In the eleventh hour, somebody had an idea: “Can we make the facelifted Boxster and Cayman switch places, with the Boxster now acting as the fancier car of the two? Just like that?” And yes, the German automaker went with it, thus upping the retail price of the Boxster.
Motor Trend’s assessment of the 718 Boxster S hits the nail on the head perfectly. In the United States, pricing kicks off from a ridiculous $69,450 including destination. As tested, the pictured vehicle costs a mind-boggling $92,980. Don’t know about you, but that money for a turbo-four? Hell no!
Then there’s the prefix: 718. It’s unbelievably hard to shake the feeling that Porsche added these three numbers to the Boxster name as an excuse for the naturally aspirated boxer engine in the pre-facelift model going the way of the Dodo. If you think about it long and hard, you’ll also come to the conclusion that the 718 Boxster S and the 718 racing car of the 1950s' share only three things: the name, the Porsche badge, and the number of cylinders.
Carlos Lago of Motor Trend highlights that the 2.5-liter boxer in the 718 Boxster S lacks in the aural pleasure department, and that’s a fact. There’s also the matter of specialness, and the all-new mill certainly doesn’t feel like the preceding six-banger. Worst of all, however, it doesn’t sing when you rev it hard, nor does it exhibit that jaw-dropping induction sound of an N/A H6.
When all is said and done, the 718 Boxster S feels just like any other convertible when driven normally. The Mustang in Shelby GT350 attire, on the other hand, starts from under $60k and feels really special even at idle.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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