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Porsche Finally Reveals the 718 Boxster with Turbo Flat-4 Engines and Sexy Looks

For a company that's said to make the same car over and over again, Porsche sure has a lot of imagination. How else would you explain the new 718 Boxster model, a mid-life refresh with a hint of 918 hyper in its eyes?
2017 Porsche 718 Boxster 13 photos
Photo: Porsche
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Porsche's updates are famously unnoticeable, but this one is the opposite. From every angle, the latest Boxster appears more modern than its predecessor. However, the true story here is what's underneath.

The rumors were mostly true, especially the recent ones. Drivers can indeed now look forward to smaller engines with more torque and better fuel consumption.

To be precise, the entry-level model is powered by a 2.0-liter with four cylinders instead of the previous six. Despite this and the loss of 0.7 of a liter in displacement, power has gone up 35 PS to 300 PS while torque figures of 280 pound-feet (380 Nm) can be expected even below 2,000 rpm.

The base model will do 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds (100km/h in 4.7s) when fitted with the PDK gearbox and the Sport Chrono option. That should keep you from losing drag races against those pesky S3 owners.

Porsche partly chose to use smaller engines because of fuel consumption. While an improvement of 13% might sound trivial at first, we think 34 mpg is great for a car of this type.

As for the 718 Boxster S, we see another half-liter added to the same flat-4 setup for a grand total of 2.5L. Through the magic of a variable-geometry turbocharger, Porsche gives its customers access to 350 ponies in its smallest car. For the record, that's the same as what a 911 Carrera had last year. With its quick-shifting PDK gearbox, the S can reach 60 in 4 seconds (100 km/h in 4.2s), 0.5s faster than before.

For now, there's no word on the GTS version of the 718 Cayman. But we're hoping they will receive new turbo engines within the next few months.

Expect US dealerships to receive their first 718s in June, with a price of $57,050 in base form and $69,450 for the S version. For the record, that's around $7,000 more.

Porsche justifies this with a comprehensive list of changes. These include a face that's as beautiful as Charlize Theron's and a rump that's been taken to the gym. Inside, drivers are treated to a new steering wheel design inspired by the 918 hypercar and the latest Porsche Communication Management infotainment system.

Even though we like a faster, more economical convertible just as much as the next guy, there are a few things about the 718 Boxster that boggle us. For exam, why is the Porsche accent strip on the underside of the rear wing where nobody can see it? And how can Porsche get away with a car that becomes 10% more expensive every three or four years?

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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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.
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