Porsche Boxster News

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. 

...yet business should still refrain from being pessimistic, says the head of Porsche.Dr Wendelin Wiedeking, the president and CEO of Porsche, believed that the economy was 50 per cent psychology and that negative attitudes based on poorly thought out assumptions would exacerbate the situation."I am everything but a pessimist," he says, "so I can only warn everyone even in the current market to see the future only in a dark light."However, Dr Wiedeking says the symptoms of the financial crisis could not be ignored.He pointed to "unsolved problems" that some manufacturers had been "neglecting for years" as having the ability to threaten the existence of some companies."It is a fact that this crisis will see both winners and losers," he says.Dr Wiedeking, speaking at the launch of a new-generation Porsche Boxster, says he was taking from personal experience.Porsche had experienced near bankruptcy in 1993 that resulted in the death of two models the 944 and 928 and the birth of the Boxster."The 928 and 944 no longer contributed to our profits," he says."We urgently needed a fresh product. Porsche was worth 300 million Deutschemarks and we needed an investment of 1.5 billion Deutschemarks to create a new model."The Boxster concept was shown at the 1993 Detroit motor show and the public embraced the car. It started production in early 1996 and until 2008 and consistently exceeded sales forecasts."We have sold up to 28,000 Boxsters and (its fixed-roof twin) Caymans a year and they have become an indispensable part of our product portfolio," Dr Wiedeking says.For 2007/08, Boxster and Cayman sales fell to 21,747 as the model ended its first generation lifespan."But this was still the third-best result ever since the start of Boxster production in 1996. And this figure is all the more remarkable considering that the global economy slumped significantly last year as a result of the crisis in the financial market.""We have learnt from the corporate crisis we experienced ourselves in the early 1990s and we have done our homework."We at Porsche have the definite intention together with Volkswagen to be among the (corporate) winners."Even though this year we will not be achieving the record sales, revenues and profits we saw a year ago, we are still looking ahead full of confidence."Through our share in the Volkswagen Group now more than 50 per cent we have secured our business case on a long lasting, ongoing basis." 

Porsche's most spectacular production is a sleek, spacious, ultra-modern and futuristically-styled masterpiece.In comparison with its four-wheeled namesakes, it shares everything but performance.The Porsche Museum, sited on a roundabout opposite the factory in outer-Stuttgart's Zuffenhausen estate and adjoining the company's humble 1948 wooden workshop, is a temple for followers of motor sport, admirers of Porsche and lovers of cars.So vast is the Porsche Museum audience that despite its whopping $200 million cost, it could even contribute to the company's future bottom line.Klaus Bischoff, one of the museum's curators and a regular visitor to Australia with Porsche museum cars, said the futuristic Italian-designed building housed 80 cars and yet displays would draw from a collection of 403 machines.He expects 200,000 visitors a year when it opens this week (January 31) to the faithful and the curious with adult entry at $16.Comparisons will be drawn with Stuttgart's other car museum, the Mercedes-Benz tower. But they are, like each company's philosophy, quite different.Even Porsche aficionados will be staggered by the contents of the museum.The curious, with only a remote sense of the company, will be impressed by a collection that includes its founder's late-19th century foray into electric vehicles — pertinent given Porsche's soon-to-be-released petrol-hybrid models — and breadth of race campaigners.But perhaps more impressive is that the 5600sq.m Porsche Museum replaces a room of 20 cars that, until now, was Porsche's only attempt at showcasing its past.It indicates the growth of Porsche but more importanty, a new-found opportunity to look back on itself.Porsche has found time — and since the completing its takeover of Volkswagen, the funds — to reflect.It admits that the $200 million museum comes at a depressed time in a sales yet it points out that it believes this is a blip and that better times are soon ahead.Technically the museum started four years ago and construction started a year later. The exhibits are basically on one level though ramps and stairs invite guests to explore.Pride of place in the 100-year-plus journey is a roughened aluminium bodyshell with Porsche-trademark teardrop lines.This is the Type 64, built in 1936 by Ferdinand Porsche to house an eight or 12-cylinder engine. It was one of three handmade by German coachbuilder Reutter and despite its appearance, has nothing to do with the creation of the Volkswagen.Three Type 64s were made but only this one — the third — was used by Ferdinand Porsche for inter-country travel.After winning the contract to build a people's car the plans for a sports engine were dropped and it was fitted with a 24kW 1.1-litre unit destined for the Volkswagen to become a mobile testbed.It was destroyed after WWII by the Americans — according to Mr Bischoff — and only recently started on its long journey of restoration.The Type 64 was the first car to be fitted with the Porsche name yet this didn't happen until after the war.Ferdinand Porsche trained as an electrical engineer in the late 19th century though expanded into the internal combustion engine and extended into all aspects of automobile engineering.Though known as the father of the Volkswagen, it was his son Ferry who was the father of the Porsche.Ferry built the Porsche "Number One" in Austria in 1948 as a car for himself with no intention for mass production.The mid-engined two-seater roadster, with a Volkswagen engine upped to 30kW from 16kW, became so desirable by car buyers at that time that production became reality.But for production reasons and a need for extra seating put the engine behind the rear axles — where it remains today on the 911 — and a roof was added.Only 52 of the 356 models — handmade in aluminium — were built in Austria before the business moved in 1948 to the Zuffenhausen site and started car building in 1950.Ferry counted the first mid-engined car and the 1947 Cisitalia as the most important of his creations.The Cisitalia was a design brief given by a rich Italian businessman who wanted a greater Italian presence on the Grand Prix race tracks and the podiums.In an era of huge, front-engined race cars, the Porsche-designed racer defied the trends. It was relatively tiny and had a supercharged 1.5-litre 12-cylinder engine placed behind the driver.The nose section was short and the low weight and its balanced distribution of the car made it an instant hit. An optional drivetrain could make it an all-wheel drive.The Cisitalia made Porsche wealthy enough to make his first car, the 356."If the Cisitalia didn't work, there would be no Porsche today," Mr Bischoff said.Displays run through Porsche's production car and race car history. As a sampler: 1953 America Roadster — Built for the US market and the precursor to the Speedster, this had a 1.5-litre 51kW engine and weighed only 605kg. 1959 Type 754 — The prototype of the 911 was designed by Ferdinand Porsche (grandson) as a four-seater. His father disagreed and it became a 2+2. The first 911 appeared in 1964. 1960 718RS60 Spyder — the 118kW ancestor to the current Boxster that in 1960 won Targa Florio and the 12 Hours of Sebring. 1962 804 — the last pure-bred GP winner from Germany won drive Dan Gurney the GP of France. It had a 1.5-litre 136kW eight-cylinder engine and all-wheel disc brakes. 1964 904 Carrera GTS — First fibreglass Porsche that had a 2-litre 178kW eight-cylinder engine but also ran with four and six-cylinder units depending on the race. Won Targa Florio in 1964. It was designed to close the gap between Porsche's racing and production cars and therefore became the precursor to the 911. 1970 917 Gulf oil racer — Had a 4.9-litre 463kW V12 engine and averaged 249km/h at Spa in 1970. Nicknamed "Taxi" because of the volume of people who drove or were passengered in it. 1973 917/30 — One of the most powerful ever made, this 882kW 5.4-litre flat-12 ran to 385km/h driven by Mark Donohue and was so good the US race officials changed the rules to expel it from competing.There is also some of the gifts made by Porsche to Ferry and Ferdinand such as a four-door Porsche 928 wagon and a four-seater 911.Displays include cut-away 911 models, automobilia with a Porsche theme over the decades, the first Porsche diesel — don't get overly excited, it's a tractor — and its 1956 Jagdwagen 4WD military jeep.In addition, there is a glass-encased workshop where customers and museum cars are restored, and a top-class restaurant. 

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. 

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Porsche plans to build 1960 special Boxster RS 60 Spyders but only 12 are destined for Australia.These will be over here around April/May and priced from $157,800.The new Boxsters are a throwback to the 718 RS 60 Spyder that swept all before it in the 1960s, beating much bigger engined machines.The 718 RS 60 started its winning run by claiming the Sebring 12-hour race in the US, which at the time, counted for the Manufacturer's world championship.The tribute model is distinguished by the Porsche SportDesign Package in the front end, a modified exhaust system with the sports exhaust combined with the twin pipe arrangement bumping up power from 217kW to 223kW.There are wheel spacers, which do a good job of placing the 19-inch Porsche SportDesign wheels further out for a more aggressive on-road squat and also improved traction.The Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system is standard.It is coated in striking GT silver metallic paint that is complemented by Carrera red leather with the ragtop roof also in red.Stainless steel doorsills carry the RS 60 Spyder insignia and a silver plate in the glove box lid is further authentication of its special model status.Other points of difference are a new gearshift lever, unique design touches for the sports seats, centre door linings, steering wheel and handbrake.The hood for the instrument binnacle has been removed to expose the cluster.A few more touches include a black windscreen frame, rear light clusters and centre console in red.The seat backrests, roll bars and seat belts are all finished in silver.The new-age racing version of the RS Spyder, a sizzling V8-engined prototype, starred in the American Le Mans series with the twin Penske Racing entries finishing first and second in the LMP2 category.Australian driver Ryan Briscoe was one of the series stars in the No. 6 Penske machine. 

Physics tells us that even a Ferrari pushed to the extreme will eventually lose its grip on the road, often with cataclysmic results.It happens when the gravitational force acting on the car exceeds the driver's desire to go in the other direction.We know because we found the limits of the bright yellow Porsche Cayman that we were driving on Dubai's $150 million grand prix circuit last week.The beauty of race tracks, at least modern ones that is, is that they are designed for this eventuality, with run off areas where cars can slide harmlessly to a halt without hitting anything.My little "off" happened on a section of the circuit doused with water, part wet and part dry, to make things that little bit more challenging.Reaching the apex of the corner, I applied too much throttle too soon (at least that's the way I remember it) forcing the rear of the car to flick sideways.I watched as the Porsche in slow motion described a full circle around me before coming to a rest.Intact, but with a slightly bruised ego, I was able to drive off again, hardly missing a beat.In fact, it was over so quickly, that no one realised it had even happened - but they say confession is good for the soul.We were in the United Arab Emirates at the invitation of Pirelli tyres to test their new high performance P Zero.The Italian manufacturer reckons the P Zero is the best performance tyre in the world and it is a claim I find difficult to dispute.The Dubai circuit was divided into a number of areas, each with a different exercise designed to highlight the advantages of the tyre.At each stop there was a smorgasbord of cars from which to chose, but before we got started we treated to some hot laps in the V10 Lamborghini Gallardo,At full noise, in the hands of a professional driver, it's an experience one is not likely to forget in a hurry.As a matter of fact, I recorded the event and it is destined to live for evermore as a ring tone in my mobile.The most telling exercise of the day was one where we drove around and around in a tight circle on a wet and slippery section of track.Two Audi TTs were provided for the exercise, one fitted with P Zeros, the other with a competitor's tyre.At the risk of sounding like an advertise- ment, they were like chalk and cheese - the P Zero had appreciably more grip.We were able to drive a number of different cars on the day, not all of them fitted with Pirellis.They included Audi's S8, Porsche Carrera and Cayman and Boxster and Benz's S 65 AMG, CLS 63 AMG and CLK 63 AMG - to name a few.Although by no means the most powerful of the group, the Porsche Boxster shone on the track, with its sharp handling and responsive six pack.Pirelli is marking the launch of the new P Zero - the fourth since the birth of the original back in 1987 with the Ferrari F40 - with the release of a short film.Called Mission Zero, it's directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Uma Thurman and is a kind of a car chase minus the rest of the movie.It features a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder - finished of course in Kill Bill Yellow.