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My kingdom for a Boxster
Updated: 24-Aug-2012
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I get to drive a lot of different cars, but I rarely crave after one as badly as with the new baby Porsche
I was never a Porsche lover. I think this is because: 1. I love Formula One; 2. my father hung a poster of a Ferrari F40 on my bedroom wall when I was 5 years old. And that was it: a Ferrarista for life – Italian passion and emotion would always come before German engineering integrity or reliable performance.
But, being a car journo, testing Porsches is part of the job and so, for the past four years, I have driven all kinds of cars coming out of Stuttgart and, as much as I try to deny it from the bottom of my ‘Made in Maranello’ heart, I learned to love and respect Porsches from behind the wheel. In fact, they are always the cars I most want to drive as a journalist, because they are the true pulse of automotive evolution.
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The inevitable next step in my relationship with Porsches happened two weeks ago: I found a Porsche that I would really like to own – and now not only do I feel this, I have written it down as well, meaning I can’t take it back. Strangely, it’s not a 911 GT3 or a Cayenne Turbo, but a rather simple Boxster S – the new model, code name 981.
It is so good, so capable, so pretty, that I have been surfing the internet to see how much I could get for my (I see it now) too big a house and buy a smaller one and a 981 Boxster S. I mean, does the baby really need a room all to herself? And a living room and dining room – what is that about? I have no problem eating and watching TV in the kitchen knowing my Porsche is in the garage.
The S is the top of the Boxster range, packing 315 horse power from its 3400cc flat six engine.
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There are a number of performance and safety systems to shame NASA, including PCCB Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes, PTV Porsche Torque Vectoring, PASM Porsche Active Suspension Management, EPAS Electric Power Assisted Steering and, of course, PDK, Porsche’s double clutch gear box.
It may seem like there is nothing left for the driver to do, but somehow all these gimmicks come together to create a very rewarding driving experience.
Still, the real trick of this car is the balance between its hooligan performance in Sport Plus Mode and how it can make the school run with just as much ease when you adapt a ‘legal’ driving attitude. It’s comfortable, practical, always fun, feels like a million dollars inside and is absolutely gorgeous on the outside.
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At €82.739 with the PDK, the value for money is also fantastic, even in a tax obsessed country like Portugal. Yes, the 911 is a more complete car and the new generation is nearly faultless, but I have never thought about selling my house to buy a 911. It only took 10 minutes in the Boxster though.
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