2017 Porsche 718 Boxster: Going Turbocharged

Waiting to drive this new turbocharged ­version of Porsche’s venerable Boxster was like waiting for the results of a biopsy. The doctor may very well find that whatever raised the alarm is benign, in which case you’ll be happy, relieved, and maybe even resolved to get healthier. You know, eat more kale. The alternative . . . well, nobody wants to consider that.

For 2017, the Boxster (and its Cayman sibling) will sport a 718 prefix, a curious reference to a four-cylinder race car that’s older than Porsche buyers’ average age. The tenuous connection between the coming 718 and the 60-year-old one is a new flat-four engine—with 2.0 liters of displacement in the standard Boxster and 2.5 liters in the Boxster S. Turbocharging gives these two-thirds-size powerplants big output boosts compared with the naturally aspirated sixes they’ll replace. The Boxster goes from 265 horses and 207 pound-feet of torque to 300 and 280, while the S will be rated at 350 horsepower and 309 pound-feet, gains of 35 and 43, respectively. The standard six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic stay put.

We are certainly not averse to more power, particularly for the base Boxster, which should be able to crack five seconds in a zero-to-60 sprint for the first time. And Porsche says an S with the PDK and the Sport Chrono package will do four flat. But let’s not kid ourselves here: This engine downsizing is not motivated by track testing as much as worldwide fuel-economy regulations. Porsche cites a 14-percent improvement in fuel economy on the European cycle; U.S. numbers should arrive closer to the 718’s June on-sale date. Pass the leafy green stuff.

Porsche says curb weight goes up by 56 pounds on the Boxster and 78 on the S, with PDK models adding 66 pounds to the roughly 3000-pound starting weight. In part this is because of upgrades at the corners. The outgoing Boxster S’s brake rotors will be standard on the 718 Boxster, 13.0 by 1.1 inches in the front and 11.8 by 0.8 inch in the rear. The S will get wider front rotors, at 1.3 inches thick. Rear-wheel width grows by a half-inch on both models, precipitating a retuned suspension and recalibrated steering. Add another pound or two for the NHTSA-mandated backup camera and parking sensors. And add $3900 and $4500 to the old sticker prices, while you’re at it; Boxsters will start at $57,050, the Boxster S at $69,450.

Porsche’s styling department changed every body panel except for the trunk and hood, yet made the 718 Boxster look mostly the same as the outgoing model. But no surgery comes without risks; in this case we’re particularly concerned about the loss of the Boxster’s signature intake sound, which has been replaced by “an aggregate of sounds, some genuine, some contrived, all mostly angry.” Even still, the 718 will likely remain our favorite convertible between $50,000 and $100,000. For more on our first drive experience, click here.

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