Porsche Boxster 2009 News

The open-top two-seater has a completely new lightweight body and revamped chassis. Weight has been reduced which combines with with a longer wheelbase, wider track, larger wheels and new electro-mechanical power steering to take the mid-engined roadster's dynamics to an eye watering level. The new Porsche Boxster also boasts improved performance and up to 15 per cent greater fuel efficiency with less than 8.0 litres/ 100km achievable. It has a new look too with the body sporting shorter overhangs, a more forward windscreen, distinctive silhouette and expressive edges. Occupants are enclosed by the redesigned, fully electric roof which now dispenses with a convertible top compartment lid. The interior offers more space and reflects the new Porsche design language with raked centre console originating from the Carrera GT. Both Boxster and Boxster S run flat-six engines with direct petrol injection, the efficiency of which is further enhanced by electrical system recuperation, thermal management and start/stop function. The base model's new engine delivers 195 kW from a 2.7 litre displacement - up seven kilowatts over its predecessor despite a reduction in capacity. The 3.4 litre Boxster S now delivers 232 kW - up four kilowatts. Both models feature a manual six-speed gearbox as standard with the seven-speed Porsche (PDK) available as an option. Both sports cars achieve their best fuel consumption and acceleration performance with the PDK. With gear changes without interruption to the power flow, the Boxster sprints from zero to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds, the Boxster S in 5.0 seconds. To enhance driving dynamics even further, Porsche offers the Sport Chrono Package as an optional extra, featuring dynamic transmission mounts for the first time. Also new on the roadster is Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with mechanical rear axle differential lock. The new Boxster generation goes on sale in Europe in mid April, with sales in Australia beginning a few months later. Local pricing will be announced close to then.

Porsche engineers have carved away at the basic Boxster to slash 80kgs off the bottom line before re-inventing it as the new Boxster Spyder, the ‘purist's form of the Porsche sports car’.Weighing in at just 1275kg in its international trim the Spyder is the lightest car in the Porsche garage, an outcome which Porsche claims gives it the heart and soul of the legendary 550 Spyder — the car in which James Dean took his last ride on September 30, 1955.However, Porsche Australia will be putting back in at least 15kg in deference to the Aussie love of comfort and cool air.  "Our cars will have a considerably higher standard specification level than those in other markets," Porsche Australia's Paul Ellis explains. "Air-conditioning will be standard as will the entertainment system. Our customers expect a richer mix in their cars."Australian pricing hasn't been finalised yet with the 5 per cent tariff reduction still to be factored in to the mix before the car goes on sale next May, however it will carry an 8 per cent premium over the Boxster S and best estimates have the launch price for the 6-speed manual at around $145,000.For that car comes with a seriously focussed sports attitude, a manual soft-top roof that encourages owners to leave it stashed away in the boot and a road presence that turns heads wherever it goes. The 3.4-litre flat six engine is tuned to Cayman output with 235kW and 370Nm which, in its lightest incarnation, can get the Syder from standstill to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds utilising the 7-speed PDK gearbox and Sports Plus engine mapping.In the United States the same car — less the airconditioning, radio and a few other treats — will sell for $US61,200.  Porsche Australia expects to sell between 30 and 40 of the Spyders a year on what is conceded to be a short model run."The car is not a limited edition but, like the GT2, it is a special paying homage to the great Spyders of the past and there is no guarantee that there would be a Spyder version of the next generation of Boxster," Ellis says.

January/February kicks off with the Turbo version of the 911 and the GT3 race/road car.  An even racier version of the GT3 arrives in April.  Porsche Cars boss Michael Winkler says the GT3RS will be ‘very radical’.  "It will not be the car you want to take home or to get the groceries, but it will be road-registerable," he says."We have orders for 24 already, but I can't even give you a ballpark figure yet on price."  “Production starts in February… if we sell 20-25 I'd be very happy.Also arriving in April is the 911 Sport Classic with three already on order, according to Porsche Australia PR boss Paul Ellis."This is one for the Porsche purists; a tribute to the iconic things we've done with our sports cars," he says.  "It has woven leather seats and a big duck tail which is a tribute to the famous 1973 2.7 RS.  There is a slight bubble in the roof as a salute to the Spyder, it has black five-spoke Fuchs wheels, more power than the Carrera S and manual only highlighting it's for the purist."Also coming in April is the Boxster Spyder which is another niche product with Porsche Australia expecting to sell about 20-30.  It will be limited to one production year like GT2 and GT3.  Meanwhile, the next-generation GT2 arrives toward the end of next year.Winkler says the new Cayenne was also due late next year with a hybrid version.  "As much as 25 per cent of total Cayenne sales could be hybrid but probably more likely about 15 per cent," he says."I would expect hybrid sales would be more a substitution for buying the V8 because of the power it delivers from the combined petrol and electric powertrains."

It's a cut-down, lightweight Boxster with more punch that gets its inspiration from the classic 550 Spyder of the 1950s.  The newcomer is called the Boxster Spyder and will be revealed early next month at the Los Angeles Auto Show before first-quarter sales in 2010.The bad news? Less, once again, costs more at Porsche and the Spyder will be priced above the $141,900 currently charged for the 3.4-liter Boxster S.  But the company says supplies will be limited and the car is aimed at people who want maximum droptop driving enjoyment."It's fun. That's exactly the reason for this car," says Michael Winkler, managing director of Porsche Cars Australia.  "It's lighter, quicker and more radical. It's the sort of car you will see more from Porsche in the future.  It is intended to be driven with the top down. It's a hobby car. Very emotional and intended to re-invigorate small sports cars and put some relevance back into them."European sources have hinted at a Porsche speedster for several months but many believed it would be based on the 911, not the Boxster. Now come the details.  The most significant change is the weight. The Spyder hits the scales at 1275kg, the lightest model in the Porsche line-up and 80kg below the Boxster S.  The engine is a tuned version of the regulation flat-six design, with 3.4 litres, direct fuel injection and 238kW, up 7.5kW from the Boxster S.Porsche says it will jump to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds, run to 276 km/h without the roof — which would flap at top speed — and returns economy of 9.3L/100km with the PDK double-clutch gearbox.The biggest physical change is the cutdown windscreen and the softtop roof, which is a complete departure from the Boxster and intended to be stored more than used.  Porsche says the car has better cornering grip with a lower centre of gravity, as well as improved braking.The Spyder becomes the third model in the Boxster line, although it is never going to be a big seller.  "It's intentended as a halo product for the Boxster and Cayman range," says Winkler.  "We're only looking to sell 20 or 30 cars. Maybe 40 at the outside.The Spyder will land sometime between March and May.  Winkler hints there will be more to come on the sports car front, although he stops short of confirming anything for the Cayman."You will definitely see us going more edgy with sports cars. The reason we've done the Cayenne and Panamera is that the business case with those products allows us to focus more on the core values with our sports car," he says.  "Thanks to Cayenne and Panamera we don't need high volumes to make the business case for cars like the Boxster Spyder."

It's a go-faster Boxster with a cut-down windscreen that could easily revive the Speedster name at Porsche.The last Speedster was a 911 from the 964 series, which sold as a limited-edition model in 1994 during the runout before the next full change of the 911 body.The new Speedster could easily point to a final burst before an all- new Boxster comes to showrooms.The Speedster test car was caught by the Carparazzi photographic team at the Nurburgring, where it was run alongside an updated 911 GT3 RS and Cabrio which are expected before the end of the year.Porsche is also working on a major change to the 911, although there are no clear indications yet of what is coming from Germany.The Boxster Speedster is, according to Europen sources, coming soon.But Porsche Cars Australia says there is no news on a Boxster plan, despite an ongoing development program for all models including the Boxster."Whoever has done that should work for us as a designer," jokes Porsche, "There are mind games, always, but no plans."Still, the pictures point to a car which will have a more seriously sporty edge than a regular Boxster.The windscreen has been cut down by around 10 centimetres, meaning a modified canvas roof for testing.There are also domes behind each headrest, a popular choice for cleaning up the airflow on speedsters including the latest McLaren- Mercedes SLR, although these are obscured by the cut-down hood.Mechanically, the European connection points to the same engine in the recent Design Edition of the Boxster S, with 225 kiloWatts.

It has ruled out any chance of a four-pot price-fighter to cut the entry price for the Porsche family, despite recent rumours from Europe.Any talk of the next-generation Boxster in 2012 taking on a turbocharged four in the tail was strongly denied by Porsche's executive vice-president for research and development, Wolfgang Durheimer.In China to help launch the luxury four-seater Panamera, Durheimer says Porsche is chasing better fuel economy and lighter weight across all its models but a four-cylinder is not part of the plan, at least at present."A lot of people are around hinting about what we could do," he says."Of course, in the past we had four cylinders but at present we don't have a project under development."Despite Durheimer's denials, Porsche's own engineers say the six-cylinder boxer engine can be converted into a four cylinder without too much trouble, giving an engine capacity of 2.4-litres.Despite his denials, the Porsche engineering chief admits some of the ideas used in Volkwagen's smaller twin-charged turbocharger/supercharged engines have merit. And, since Porsche owns VW, there is room for collaboration."Together with VW we have a very bright future ahead of us, we have the chance to share forces," Durheimer says.But he says any transfer can only happen if VW and Porsche are not direct competitors.Porsche last had a four cylinder in the 924 and 944, a series built built between 1976 and 1988.The 924 was originally designed as a VW sports car but Porsche took it over as a replacement for its mid-engine 914.If Porsche does decide on a four-cylinder model it can gain some inspiration from VW's own BlueSport roadster concept, which was shown at this year's Detroit Motor show. The performance two-seater sports car has hybrid-like economy but uses a mid-engine 2.0-litre turbo-diesel.The BlueSport uses light-weight, high strength steel, tipping the scales at just 1200kg.While denying a four, Durheimer is strongly in favour of Porsche hybrids. The company has already confirmed it will use a petrol-electric drive-train in the Cayenne SUV and Panamera in 2011.Durheimer says hybrids will be around "for a very long time" and present a solid case to bridge the gap between fuel economy and performance.However, diesel and petrol engines are also becoming more efficient, he says."Petrol and diesels are getting more and more efficient but hybrids will help bridge the gap," he says. 

What should have been the main attraction in the car world was reduced to a sideshow as the heads of America's Big Three sat down in Detroit on the same day to beg for the billions they need to stay in business.There was plenty of shiny new stuff but all the talk was doom and gloom, even from car chiefs who do not have the same live-or-die pressures as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler."I think it is fair to say this is the worst we have seen," the head of the world's fifth-largest carmaker, Carlos Ghosn of the Nissan- Renault alliance, says as he delivers the keynote speech at the opening of LA '08."And we are not certain. Is this the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning?", Ghosn says of the critical cash crisis which is affecting nearly everyone in the car world.Still, there is plenty of new stuff and news on the strangely subdued stands in downtown LA.The latest Ford Mustang, for a start.And then the world debut of the latest Mazda3 and Lexus RX, the great looking new Nissan 370Z, the updated Porsche Cayman and Boxster, and even a droptop Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4.It's no surprise, either, that some of the special impact in LA is reserved for cars which are chasing the elusive path to a future beyond petrol that satisfies American lawmakers' deepening desire for transport without emissions.The Mini E is the obvious champion, but LA also has the electric Mitsubishi i-MIEV which is likely to become Australia's first plug-and- go volt car, and all sorts of new-and-old battery-powered concept cars from the Big Three and a growing number of hybrid production cars including the Mondeo-sized Ford Fusion.As well as the radical looking Honda FC Sport Concept, which was done to prove that a hydrogen-powered future car does not have to look as boring or family as the company's upcoming Insight or the benchmark Toyota Prius.The show is a mis-hit for General Motors, which canned its concepts and parties, although Ford stays totally committed with a Mustang which makes the running for an event which typically draws around one million visitors in a city which is the car capital of the USA and, by extension, the world."I think there is a mixed emotion at the show," says J Mays (SUBS: CORRECT), the design director of Ford Motor Company."You still have to try and tug hard enough on the heart strings that people forget about the purse strings. It's a yin-and-yang situation."Looking over at his Mustang, and across to the Honda FC, Mays expresses what many people are thinking. Even at a time when it is more politically correct to attack the car chiefs, and their private- jet flights to Washington, than to talk about a show which takes another important step towards the world beyond petrol."Automobiles are escapism. It's not just transport," says Mays."People ask if it's appropriate to launch the Mustang at his time. Damn right it is. It puts a smile on your face and enhances your quality of life."That is definitely true of the Mustang, which still looks muscular and fresh despite a chassis which trails well behind the Ford Falcon, and the open-air Gallardo and even the second-generation Nissan Cube, which could just make it to Australia one day.And the 370Z looks tauter than today's 350, with the promise of more go and much better cabin quality, and the Mazda3 is fresh and happy.The Mini E looks just like the regular petrol-power car but is a milestone car which has the power and range to win people to electric."It's an important time in the history of the global car industry," says Carlos Ghosn.He worries about the impact of the global recession, and the money pressures on carmakers trying to evolve faster than ever before, and the challenges of safety and emission regulations.But, just like the cars on the LA Show stands, and the regular car people who flood in once the doors are open, he is bottom-line upbeat and bright."The one thing that is certain, absolutely certain, is that people will continue driving cars. Cars have no substitute. We have convergence on the issues, but divergence on the solutions," Ghosn says.And that is pretty much the way things looked in LA.