You'd never think of the Porsche Boxster as a direct rival for the Lexus LC 500. After all, one is a flagship luxury coupe and the other an entry-level German sports roadster with decades of history. But in Australia, the GTS version of the Boxster is about the same price as the LC 500.
That immediately makes the Boxster GTS seem overpriced. But you have to keep in mind that Porsche gives you a lot of performance for the money, and this is currently the fastest version of the Boxster.
The controversial decision to downsize has left the baby roadster with a 2.5-liter flat-4 that's been turbocharged. This makes 365 HP or 269 kW, as the Australians like to put it and 430 Nm of torque. The 7-speed dual-clutch is optional and goes up against Lexus' standard 10-speed automatic.
Some have compared the new Porsche engines to those of Subaru. The GTS is lower than all the other current 718 models, but it's not necessarily a pleasant or exciting sound. Meanwhile, the Lexus LC 500 has exactly twice the displacement, five liters, but its V8 breath in the air unaided by a turbocharger. This results in an excellent, honest soundtrack, vaguely reminiscent of the older Aston Martin models.
Looks are always subjective, but we think you're going to get noticed more in the Lexus, particularly as the Boxster does a good Beetle impersonation. Of course, car fans will know what you have, and they might also suspect that your toy is faster than any old Lexus. This Australian test proves it. The GTS is faster to 60, 100 km/h, over the quarter mile and braking back to 0. It's merely the superior sports car.
Weight is one of the telling factors, with the V8 Japanese car tipping the scales at nearly 2 tons and the Boxster being a relatively light roadster. But Lexus never wanted to make a Porsche rival, so the discussion is unfair.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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