What's the news?
OK, first of all - those of you who consider yourself Porsche-philes and are, this morning, shocked and dismayed at the news that Porsche is dropping a four-cylinder boxer engine into the Boxster (and eventually the Cayman too) should get over yourselves. Not only will this be a faster, more powerful and, crucially, more efficient Boxster it will also simply be the latest in a long and oft-glorious line of four-cylinder Porsches. The 968, 944, 924, 912, 914 and the original 356 all had four-banger engines.
And anyway, this is a particularly impressive four-cylinder engine. It comes in 2.0-litre or 2.5-litre capacity with power outputs of 300hp (718 Boxster) or 350hp (718 Boxster S). Both engines use a clever variable geometry turbo to achieve these very high specific outputs (the Boxster's 150hp per litre is approaching what the full-house 911 Turbo S can manage...) and Porsche claims that it's the only manufacturer to offer this turbo tech on a production petrol model.
In spite of an overall gain of 35hp compared to the outgoing six-cylinder engines, Porsche claims that the new engine is 13 per cent more efficient. The 2.0-litre packs an impressive 380Nm of torque across a broad rev range (100Nm more than the old naturally aspirated Boxster) while the Boxster S gets 420Nm. Equip a standard 718 Boxster with the PDK paddle-shift gearbox and the Sport Chrono option pack (which includes launch control) and it'll sprint to 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds. We'd remind you that this is a 2.0-litre engine... In the same trim, the 718 Boxster S does the 0-100km/h sprint in 4.2 seconds.
Where these smaller capacity Porsches might start to make some serious sense for Irish buyers is on the efficiency front. Fuel consumption is a claimed 40.9mpg for the 718 Boxster, and 38.7mpg for the 718 Boxster S. CO2 figures haven't yet been released but they should be a significant improvement on the current models' emissions.
It's not just an engine transplant for the 718 Boxster - there are some other changes too. There are new lights (now with Porsche's signature four-point LED daytime running lights as an option), new wheelarches and door sills with bigger air intakes. There are new door handles and new 19-inch and 20-inch wheels. The rear has been redesigned to make the car look wider and lower, and there are new tail-lights too.
You can spec the 718 with optional Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), which involves 10mm lower ride height for the Boxster and 20mm lower for the Boxster S. As with the recently updated 911, there's now a Sport Response Button as part of the Sport Chrono pack which deploys maximum possible thrust, with the turbo on overboost, for quick overtaking manoeuvres.
The interior gets a mild makeover, with the new Porsche Communications Management (PCM) touch-screen, and it comes with a vehicle security tracker as standard.
The new Porsche 718 Boxster and 718 Boxster S are available to order today from Porsche Centres in the UK and Ireland. First deliveries will be in the Spring. The 718 Boxster is priced from €67,963.00 RRP and the 718 Boxster S from €86,057.00 RRP.
Oh, and the name? The 718 number is designed to both bring the Boxster (and Cayman) into line with the rest of Porsche's sports and racing lineup (911 Carrera, 918 Spyder, 919 Hybrid etc.) but it's also a hark-back to a classic, mid-engined, lithe little racer built between 1957 and 1962. That had a four-cylinder engine too, and was good enough to take two Le Mans 24hrs class wins, and came second in the Targa Florio. Still worried about losing two cylinders?