Porsche Boxster S Sport Edition review
by Mike Grundon (26 May 2008)
On this latest occasion, the evolution of the Porsche Boxster S has been a quiet and understated squirm of growth and development. All of the practical improvements to the driving experience in the most recent upgrade are utterly marginal so perhaps it's only fair that the under-skin changes are barely reflected by any external bodywork . . . unless you get the Sport Edition, that is.
The standard Boxster S is the performance version of the open-topped, mid-engined sportscar we all know and love. It's a thing of fabulous, understated beauty with its smooth and rounded bonnet, its muscular flanks and its big wheels in big wheelarches. Forty grand well spent, says I.
However, for a little over £3000 more, you can have the Sport Edition I have outside there now. It has a few extra fins and ripples to show that it's special and the standard inclusion of the best goody in the bag of what are normally add-ons - the Porsche Active Suspension Management system or PASM.
More of that in a tick, but first let's prepare the canvas. In 2006 Porsche took the Boxster S and gave it a bit of a going-over. The flat-six engine was bored out from 3.2 to 3.4 litres and changes were made to the valve timing and control mechanics.
This boosted the power from 280 to 295bhp, shaved a tenth of a second off the 0-62mph sprint time making it 5.4 seconds, raised the top speed by 2mph to 169mph and paid for it with half a mile per gallon cut from its average fuel consumption. As far as I can make out, the already excellent interior hasn't been touched.
Oddly enough I couldn't feel the difference between this and the last model I drove. "Why bother with all the effort for such marginal changes?" you might ask. "Why indeed?" I may answer.
Don't get me wrong - the car is fabulous. It has style and class, it feels like a racing car and with the roof back there's a skipload of fun to be had. I've covered several hundred miles of motorway, trunk road and country lanes down through the west country in this one and every mile has brought a smile to my face. As before, I feel I can place it exactly where I want to on the road, it inspires confidence in all driving conditions and, quite frankly, I'm proud to be seen in it.
Barring rain, snow or locusts, the roof should be wound back every time you get into the car. You manually unclip it with a handle in the front, then hold down the electric button until it's folded back into the gully behind the front seats. With the Sport Edition this reveals body-coloured rollover hoops which are an interesting adaptation of the normal steel pipes you'd expect.
This past weekend has been a cold one, but I've just turned up the heater to pump hot air into my lap, pulled on a woolly hat, clicked the stick into the first of the six gears and shot off into the environment to have fun.
Still weighing in at less than 1.4 tonnes, all of it crammed into a car that's small enough to wear like a running shoe and gripped to the road by a comparatively huge rubber footprint, it's a massively enjoyable drive. Pootling along slowly isn't a chore - which is nice when you want to pose down the High Street - but it does remind you it's a sports car in that its steering is stiffer than the hatchback you left home in the garage, the turning circle isn't as tight and the pedals are heavier to operate. I like that feeling - it's the feeling of latent performance, sporting integrity.
Anyway, all these things can be said about the current Boxster S, but buying the Sport Edition is not just an act of whimsy or caprice. It's a decision you can make with your heart and defend with your head.
The external bits come in what's known as the the SportDesign package which Porsche, tells us, "brings additional racing style to the exterior of the Boxster while reducing aerodynamic lift". Well, never having felt the need for more ground effect in the last model I can't comment on the aerodynamics, but the package includes flared blades on the bottom of the spoiler at the front and a "revised rear apron with diffuser design inspired by the stunning Carrera GT supercar".
Basically it's got an arrangement of subtle cut-outs and fins either side of the twin exhaust ports at the back. All of it nicely complements the little wing that rises out of the boot lid when the car reaches speed. It looks good. What more need you say?
The best practical bit is the addition of that PASM I mentioned. It has been available in the past as an extra-cost bolt-on, but once you've tried a car with it on, you'll never want to go back. Basically it drops the ride height by 10mm, and gives you the push-button option of selecting a firmer ride if you're . . . er, pushing on a bit.
Unlike some systems I've tried, the change in pliancy is quite marked and in a car like this that can be either tooled sedately around the country lanes or hammered into the corners on a track-day, the variety of choice is worth having.
So is the Sport Edition worth the extra cash over the Boxster S? Well, yes it is, in my view. Adding up the combined price of the suspension system plus the 19" Carrera alloy wheels alone will come close to accounting for the £3000 difference. You may find you have to take sleeping policemen a little more slowly to avoid grounding the apron at the front, but it looks the business and it still goes like stink.
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