Boxster 25 Years celebrates original concept
It’s hard to conceive today, but in 1993 Porsche was down and almost out. Falling sales, a flagging reputation, muddled model range and in the 928 a sales flop of a flagship – Porsche was near crisis. Then some bright spark put boxer engine and roadster together and came up with the Boxster.
After a universal thumbs-up to the concept at its debut in Detroit, the mostly same-looking production version arrived in showrooms in 1996 and was an instant hit. Inherently good enough from day one to avoid the “poor man’s 911” tag, the Boxster was originally envisioned to recall cars like the 550 Spyder and 718 RS racers from the 1950s, aimed at a market looking for a more of a driver’s car than the BMW Z3 or Mercedes SLK.
It worked and 25 years on the two-seat mid-engined convertible is part of the sports car firmament all around the world. Given the Boxster’s role in Porsche’s history, you can hardly blame them for wanting to mark its quarter century.
So what we have today then is the 718 Boxster 25 Years. It’s an edition of 1,250 worldwide based on the current fourth-gen model in GTS 4.0-litre flat-six form, but with design cues that recall that concept car of 1993. You can buy one for £72,760, with six-speed manual or PDK auto transmission choices.
The Detroit show concept, the work of Porsche’s Grant Larson, was finished in silver metallic with a red fabric hood and burgundy leather interior with lots of shimmering copper-like elements, and it is this spec that the special edition mimics. The metallic look is achieved with the colour Neodyme which is used to pick out the front apron, side air intakes and the two-tone 20-inch alloys.
Other enhancements include high-gloss tailpipes black windscreen surround, alloy-style fuel filler cap, and, inside, Boxster 25 motifs and an equipment upgrade. Orders are being taken now and deliveries will follow in the spring.
Eleven things you might not know about the Porsche Boxster
- It was Porsche’s biggest-selling model from its introduction until the arrival of the Cayenne SUV
- Unusually, the Boxster was cheaper than its coupe Cayman twin… until the arrival in 2017 of the 718 models
- The Boxster was made in the plant that used to make the poor selling 928
- It was Porsche’s first mid-engined design since the 914
- The Boxster ushered in an era of component sharing at Porsche which sparked a turnaround in the company’s fortunes
- The bonnet, front wings, headlights, interior and engine architecture were all shared with the 996-gen 911 which came out a year after the Boxster
- The concept had air intakes low down on the sides, one of the few things that were changed for production
- Porsche originally planned to show the Boxster concept at Geneva in ’93 but brought it forward to Detroit because Porsche’s US sales had been decimated by an unfavourable exchange rate
- The first 2.5-litre model boasted 204PS (159kW), the new 25 Years edition twice the power at 400PS (294kW)
- The new car is much faster with a top speed of 182 mph 0-62mph in 4.0 seconds. The original cracked 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds and topped out at 149mph.
- Over 25 years more than 357,000 Boxsters have been built
Porsche
Boxster
