Porsche Macan Turbo

As an instrument of driving joy, the Porsche Macan is a whole different kind of special. It’s no mean feat achieving the title of Best Driving SUV in the World, but that’s just what we dubbed it when we first drove it in India back in August 2014. It’s not so much a sporty SUV as it is a somewhat tall sportscar. Porsche has done this by taking the Audi Q5 as a base and then promptly re-engineering it to the point of no recognition. And all that praise, believe it or not, was heaped on the diesel version! Good as Porsche’s 241bhp, 3.0-litre oil burner is, if we’re going to compare this to a sportscar, it should have a petrol engine, right? In the Indian line-up, the only petrol variant is the Turbo. Yes, I know, all Macans are turbocharged, but only the most powerful versions of Porsche’s cars get the privilege of wearing the Turbo badge, so this one has a lot to live up to.


It starts by packing in a large 3.6-litre V6 with two turbochargers strapped to it, a powertrain that is unique to the Macan. 395bhp and 56.1kgm is the result, and Porsche claims that’s good for 0-100kph in 4.6sec. It may be a relatively compact SUV, but it still weighs 1.9 tonnes, which makes that time just incredible.The engine and AWD system may take much of the credit for that, but you have to also acknowledge the brilliant seven-speed PDK dual-clutch auto; no slushbox like you get in the Cayenne. Sure, you might have to put up with the odd stutter from the gearbox when you’re just ambling, but let’s face it, you’re rarely going to amble in one of these. Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus are your driving mode options, and this alters not just the powertrain, but the steering, suspension stiffness and ride height too – unlike the Cayenne, where they can all be controlled independently. At anything more than half throttle, this thing just flies, accompanied by a slightly stifled growl. In full Sport Plus, it feels properly manic, and more akin to a 911 Turbo than a Cayenne Turbo – which is really saying something!

That’s because, unlike the Cayenne which feels big and heavy despite the intense acceleration, this one just doesn’t feel its size. It’s like a chunky, AWD hot hatchback with a seemingly endless power supply. And that’s true of the way it behaves in corners too. Hunkered down as it is in Sport Plus, there’s a bewildering lack of body roll, or any drama at all for that matter. You’d have to be seriously reckless with the throttle through a bend if you want to unsettle it, so immense is the grip. The steering, at least in this mode, is just so crisp, quick and pinpoint accurate. And I’m not sure how Porsche does it, but like the Cayenne, this thing does all this while also being able to ride really comfortably. Yes, there’s a bit of a stiff edge, but you can only feel it on the worst of roads at low speeds. The rest of the time, it just steamrolls everything.


As with all its models these days, the Macan Turbo’s base price doesn’t give you a stripped out car onto which you have to add basic equipment from the options list. You do get a good amount of standard kit; in fact there’s a bit more than even the diesel car, including the amazing 18-way adjustable sports front seats. But this is a Porsche, so you can still go much further with options, like the 20-inch wheels – not necessary on a sensible diesel, but on a Turbo, why not. You also get a more aggressive front bumper and square, rather than round, tailpipes.

As before, the elephant in the room is the price. At Rs 1.11 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi), it’s Rs 11 lakh more than the already exorbitant Diesel S. When you consider that luxury SUVs of a similar size cost almost half as much, you might cringe a little. But this is the greatest handling SUV in the world, remember? And if you’re going all-out with the Turbo, it means that practicality certainly isn’t your consideration. What you’re getting for your money is a true-blue (literally, in this case) sportscar that can also go anywhere. And yes, it has earned the badge on its boot.

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Porsche

What It Is: Porsche’s upcoming mid-size SUV, the Macan, caught testing wearing almost no camouflage. The Macan, which carried a code name of Cajun—short for “Cayenne Junior”—is smaller than the Cayenne and designed to bring even more buyers into the Porsche fold. Our spy photographers previously captured a Macan prototype out for testing, but it had considerably more camouflage than the car you see here. We’ve also gleaned new details about the Macan’s powertrain in the interim.

Why It Matters: Although brand purists will cry foul, the Macan is poised to become quite the moneymaker for Porsche. Of course, this cash flow will help bankroll the cars these purists love—the excellent Cayman,Boxster, and 911—in a similar fashion to the successful Cayenne and Panamera. The smaller, more affordable Macan also gives Porsche a seat at the table in the ultra-hot luxury-crossover segment.

Platform: If the Porsche Macan’s basic stance and profile seem familiar, that’s because underneath, it’s an Audi Q5. Some dimensions will be altered for the Porsche, including its width (which will grow) and height (which will shrink). As is visible in these photos, the Macan will have Porsche-specific styling, right down to its sporty door mirrors and intake-riddled front end. This prototype is wearing odd headlight and taillight stickers intended to throw off an examination of those critical styling elements, but the cut-line for the front peepers is visible and roughly mimics those of the Cayman and Panamera. The fascia carries a heavy Cayenne vibe, as do the body sides and roofline. Out back, the rear window is steeply raked, and the fast D-pillar is stylishly thick, if detrimental to blind-spot visibility. Overall, the car closely imitates the Cayenne, but with smaller, tighter, and even sportier proportions.

Powertrain: The Macan will come in two trim levels: S and Turbo. Both will be powered by versions of Porsche’s new twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 engine, which was introduced via the 2014 Panamera. Expect the base S variant to make 340 horsepower, while the more powerful and sportier Turbo will get a solid 400. (Based on the big wheels, red brake calipers, and quad exhaust outlets on the test car pictured here, it’s a good bet this is the zestier Turbo model.) Look for all-wheel drive to be standard, as it is in the Cayenne. As for the transmission, a seven-speed dual-clutch unit is most likely.

Competition: Audi Q5, BMW X3/X4, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Mercedes-Benz GLK-class.

Estimated Arrival and Price: The Macan will be introduced this fall at the Los Angeles auto show, and should go on sale shortly thereafter at a starting price of around $45,000. Actual transaction prices, of course, will depend heavily on how deep customers plunge into Porsche’s vast options and personalization catalog. A well-optioned Macan Turbo could pack an eye-wateringly expensive sticker. 

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Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

If you mentioned Porsche to the average Indian, you could forgive them for thinking of the Cayenne. The big SUV is, after all, the best-selling Porsche in the country by a huge margin, and the one you are most likely to see on our roads. But Porsche, at its core, is a sportscar maker, and its illustrious history revolves around one car – the 911. This latest model – codenamed 991 – may be the sixth generation of 911 worldwide, but it’s only the second generation to go on sale here in India. But, as they say, it’s never too late and we now have with us what is arguably the most technically advanced iteration of the 911 and crucially in all-weather, all-wheel-drive form. With proper aftersales backup from Porsche. Let’s see how this legendary sportscar gets along in India.

Design

No less than 90 percent of the new 911’s mechanical ingredients are either all new or significantly improved. It has completely new dimensions, a new electromechanical power steering system and a construction richer in aluminium than ever before. It retains the classic rear-engine layout of every 911 since the original from way back in 1963, albeit with modifications to the engine mounting points, which have been optimised for improved weight distribution. As with the previous 911 (997), the front-end structure, complete with its MacPherson strut suspension, is more or less shared with the smaller Boxster and, at the rear, this 911 gets reworked multi-link suspension.The 911 continues with a predominantly steel structure and a body constructed from a combination of steel, aluminium and plastic composites.
A series of weight-optimisation measures has pared the kerb weight by around 45kg, bringing the new base 911 Carrera down to around 1380kg. This being the all-wheel-drive version, the rear track is wider, and it weighs in at a heavier 1465kg thanks to the extra set of axles. Speaking of which, the 4S is predominantly rear-wheel drive until provoked. Once the system detects the need for more traction, it’ll shuffle power (you can see it working on a display in the instrument cluster) to the front axles until it is satisfied that things are under control.


Interior

The latest 911 adopts Porsche’s new cabin design theme that made its debut in the Panamera. However, given that it’s a sportscar, the 911’s cabin layout is more driver-focussed than the Panamera and the Cayenne, with a narrower centre console and less of a button overload. The ancillary buttons are positioned neatly behind the gearlever rather than to its side, an arrangement allowed by the adoption of an electrically operated parking brake and a novel new location for the cupholders on the passenger side of the dashboard.The fit and finish and perceived quality of materials are hard to fault. The 911’s cabin ambience now passes muster not just among anything else in its class, it can easily rival what you would see in a proper German luxury saloon.

Our test car came with loads of kit, but disappointingly, most of the stuff, like the Sports Chrono pack, powered sports seats, electric steering adjustment, navigation, Bose sound system, Bluetooth, auto dimming and folding mirrors, and the sunroof, are optional extras. The 911’s low roof necessitates some amount of bending on ingress, but once past the wide-opening pillarless doors, what you find is a very cosy cabin. There is decent space for front occupants, and the thin A pillars allow for a fantastic view out the front. The nicely crafted seats are snug and well bolstered, and keep you in place even when you drive hard. While the Carrera 4S can seat four, it is best to use it as two-seater. Accessing the back seat is not the most elegant of procedures, and once you get in, the seat is cramped and the knees-up seating position is not very comfy. The front boot, at 125 litres, is quite generous for a sportscar and there’s an additional 260 litres of storage area behind the rear seats.

Performance

The Carrera 4S is powered by a 3.8-litre, direct-injection six-cylinder motor. Producing 395bhp, this naturally aspirated motor sends its power to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (there is the option of a seven-speed manual too). This potent engine delivers brilliant performance from anywhere in its powerband and the four-wheel-drive system is quick to channel power optimally to the wheels. This motor’s mid-range and top end are nothing short of explosive too. Tap the throttle and the 4S vaults off the blocks; thrust is immediate and very strong, power delivery is linear, and even short bursts of acceleration are addictive. Configure the onboard computer and set the gearbox, dampers and engine to Sport Plus mode, and things get even more insane.
Performance is now in proper supercar territory, and the car changes the way it responds to throttle inputs. The seven-speed, twin-clutch gearbox is lightning quick with its shifts and, as ever, you can use it in manual mode, where the gears shift up only when you pull the right paddle. Flat-out performance is rapid, with 100kph taking 5.09 seconds, 150kph 9.54 seconds and 200kph just 16.86 seconds! In-gear acceleration is very strong too, despite the car having tall gearing. You won’t need a long stretch of road to hit its claimed top speed of 298kph. The only fly in the ointment is the big gap between first and second gears, which you will use frequently if you’re driving up a ghat road. First is too short and second a bit too tall and this can lead to irritating moments while attacking a series of hairpin bends.Drive it a few notches down and the 911 is still impressive. On our ever-crowded streets, it’s quickly apparent that, with the gearbox in D, this car is almost as civilised as most family cars – its direct steering, linear throttle response and smooth shifts making it no harder to drive than a Corolla.


Ride & Handling

The Porsche 911 remains unequivocally one of the most involving cars to drive and, at the limit, can be one of the most demanding as well. It doesn’t flatter the faint-hearted with its rearward weight bias, but once you understand the physics of its rear-biased weight distribution, it can be hugely rewarding. This is a car in which you need to build up speed progressively through corners. It’s best to finish braking before you turn in and then feed in the throttle gently upto the apex before flooring it as you exit. Under hard acceleration, you will feel the front go light before the 911 sits down on its wide haunches. The grip is simply astonishing and this can actually be measured by the ‘G-force’ meter displayed in the instrument cluster. Lifting off or braking mid-corner unsettles the 911, but the all-wheel-drive system and sophisticated stability programme will ensure that you don’t swap ends. The ride is pretty impressive for a sports car and Porsche’s PASM adaptive damping system (standard on the S models) must get credit here.

With four new vertical chassis sensors, the PASM is capable of making the 911 as supple as a family saloon whilst cruising, and instantly stiffening the dampers the moment you barrel into a fast bend. Also remarkable is the suspension’s ability to absorb bumps and maintain composure over broken tarmac. In Sport mode, you can feel jolts more prominently and body movements are sharper but never to the point of being unduly harsh. Even the ground clearance is generous enough to tackle most speedbreakers.


Fuel Efficiency

The 911 has a fuel tank capacity of just 65 litres and, when you consider its low overall 6.3kpl figure, it gives it a range of just 400km. What’s more, when you drive it hard, you shouldn’t expect much more than 4kpl, and that means you have to constantly keep an eye on the fuel needle while travelling long distances.


Verdict

The new 911 is an immense engineering achievement. It's got everything that you would expect of a sportscar; towering performance, engaging handling and a properly comfortable cabin. Even more incredible is this 395bhp monster's usability; it's armed with a comfortable chassis setup and a well-mannered gearbox. There are a few shortfalls, though. Although billed a four-seater, it's only really good for two, most of the features are optional, and though the engine is more efficient than before, it's easy to empty the small fuel tank quickly. And, at Rs 1.46 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Carrera 4S is expensive. But, for this price, there's little else that can match its blend of driver thrills, everyday usability and quality.

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Porsche Cayman S

A Blue-Blooded Valentine

 

Vital Stats

Engine:                                3.4L Flat-6

Power:                                 325 HP / 272 LB-FT

Transmission:                     7-Speed DCT

0-60 Time                           4.7 Seconds (0-62)

 

Top Speed:                          175 MPH

 

Drivetrain:                           Mid-Engine, RWD

 

Curb Weight                        2,910 LBS

 

MSRP:                                $88,220 (as-tested)

I need you to understand what it's like to drive this car. I'm not talking about your ability to comprehend the words on this page or process the figures that surround the 2014 Porsche Cayman S, but rather what it feels like to take control of a car conceived, designed, engineered and manufactured to set your prefrontal cortex alight with all the glee a Zippo typically reserves for pine needles marinated in jet fuel. From the instant you put your tail in the driver's seat, the Cayman sets about impregnating your veins with a full and varied spectrum of ludicrous emotion. It's not like taking the family pickup to market, I can tell you that much.

For 2014, the next-generation Cayman features many of the same styling tweaks first displayed on the coupe's drop-top cousin, the Boxster, though a spate of mechanical changes, more power, less weight and better efficiency join the party to further differentiate this model from its predecessor. And while additions like rev-matched downshifts and electronic power steering help push the Cayman into a new era, one fact remains unchanged: This is one of the best driving cars on the market. Period. Bear with me and I'll try to explain exactly why that is.

Engineers stretched the Cayman wheelbase by nearly 2.4 inches and widened the front track by 1.6 inches, and the result is a car with all four wheels pushed well to each corner. Thanks to shorter overhangs front and rear, total vehicle length has grown by a manageable 1.3 inches from stem to stern. That means it will take a keen eye to spot the machine's swell. Instead, onlookers are likely to first take note of the dramatic upkick from rocker panel to air inlet. Porsche calls the feature a "dynamic recess," and the contrasting black inlets really do shuttle air to the flat six mounted mid-ship.



Up front, the Cayman S splits from its more demure Cayman sibling with larger front air inlets framed by black plastic strakes instead of the standard body color treatment. Base models are left to suffer with a black front splitter while the S trim gets a bit of paint on the lower aero. Around back, the two can be separated via the exhaust outlet, where the Cayman uses one tip and S gets the double barrel treatment. Otherwise, the stern looks awfully familiar. Boxster fans will recognize the integrated lip spoiler stretching from tail lamp to tail lamp across the rear deck. The vehicle's mechanized spoiler, meanwhile, has grown in surface area by 40 percent to increase downforce at higher speeds.

This youngest of the Porsche sisters is still the fairest of them all, 911 included.

Designers did move the windscreen forward by nearly four inches, resulting in a finished product that looks a bit less like someone simply tack welded a roof onto the company's entry convertible. Still, the two cars share more than a few strands of DNA, and despite protests from engineers and designers alike, shoppers will inevitably look at the pair's third generation as two shades of the same hue.

As if that were a slight. This car is drop-dead gorgeous in the flesh. With its lusty flanks and new, optional 20-inch wheels, the Cayman looks more mature than ever. While purists can hem and haw all they like, the truth is the youngest of the Porsche sisters is still the fairest of them all, 911 included.



Meanwhile, the cabin has remained largely untouched for 2014. Drivers will welcome the addition of new sport seats. The thrones manage to thumb that fragile line between support and comfort, serving up fantastic lateral support without cutting off circulation to the body's more sensitive environs over a long haul. If I could afford it, I'd have them for every seat in the house, toilet included. Standard trim serves up a set of manually adjustable buckets with Alcantara inserts, though our tester came rocking power adjustable seats dipped in leather. European buyers, meanwhile, get to option up to a set of carbon fiber, fixed-back race buckets capable of bonding the seat of your jeans to the car's chassis on a molecular level. Unfortunately, the gear doesn't pass crash safety in the US, though we hear Porsche is working on that one. Keep your fingers crossed.

The base Cayman is now twice as rigid as the Boxster and substantially stiffer than even the 911.

Otherwise, the Cayman cabin features redesigned air vents, and the option sheet now comes packed with a 12-speaker Burmester sound system. By some engineering wizardry, the system turns out some 851 watts of power while tipping the scales at a scant 14.3 pounds. Regardless of whether or not you opt for the black-art stereo, odds are you'll appreciate the extra interior room over the second-gen Cayman. For 2014, the model boasts a total of 15 cubic feet of cargo area, up a little over half a cube overall. In addition, the longer wheelbase delivers a bit more leg room as well.

As with most Porsche products, it's what you don't see that separates Cayman generations, starting with the chassis itself. The body shell is now 44-percent aluminum for the first time. The move slashed body-in-white weight by some 103 pounds while increasing torsional rigidity by a baffling 40 percent. What does that mean, exactly? Porsche says the base Cayman is now twice as rigid as the Boxster and substantially stiffer than even the 911, making it one of the most rigid sports car chassis in the world.



Both the 2014 Cayman and Cayman S bring extra muscle to the table. Our S tester came with a 3.4-liter flat-six engine pumping out 325 horsepower at a screaming 7,400 rpm and 272 pound-feet of torque from between 4,500 and 5,800 rpm. More impressively, the six can wrap its tach all the way to 7,800 rpm before hitting the limiter. While a six-speed manual transmission is standard equipment, our machine came equipped with the nutty-good PDK dual-clutch seven-speed transmission. Those who stick with the row-your-own can now look forward to rev-matched downshifts when in Sport mode.

Hit the key and that menacing flat six barks and snarls before settling into a smooth idle.

Engineers also turned a keen eye on helping the Cayman S get down from speed, and as a result, the coupe now features the same front brakes as the mighty 911 itself. With stiffer four-piston calipers, better cooling and larger 13-inch front discs, the clamps had no trouble shouldering two days of hard driving through the twisting hills of southern Portugal, complete with a morning of bashing around the Autodromo Internacional Agarve – a fiendish track used for Moto GP events and Formula One testing. Carbon ceramic brakes are also available, offering up lifetime durability in non-track use as well as a substantial cut in unsprung weight. Porsche says going for the carbon discs can pull as much as 52 pounds from the brake system's total mass.

But again, all that information doesn't so much as utter a syllable about how it feels to pilot this car. Slide into the driver's seat and the 2014 Cayman wastes no time in serving up what might be the perfect driving position. Those excellent buckets situate you high enough to deliver plenty of visibility with all but the tops of both fenders clear from view. Hit the key and that menacing flat six barks and snarls before settling into a smooth idle. If your heart hasn't started beating to match time with the flat six by now, you might want to get the organ checked.



Under civil driving conditions, the PDK gearbox is content to prattle along with nearly imperceptible shifts. Under deceleration, the drivetrain can also kick into a coast mode to save fuel, and an auto start stop system means the driveline keeps from sucking down gas while the car is at a stop. Kick the two-door into Sport mode, stiffen the optional adjustable suspension, crack open the available sports exhaust and the car opens up like the maw of some hyperactive sea beast, whipping from comfortable tourer to mountain crest hellion with a few button presses.

The Cayman S can clip off a 0-60 run in a shave under 4.7 seconds on the way to a terminal velocity of 175 mph.

Those of you who started bellyaching when you first heard the Cayman now comes with electronic power steering can politely shut your faces. The tiller is as precise as you're likely to find on any machine, delivering excellent feedback with plenty of communication. If you don't know what the front wheels are doing in the Cayman S, you can't blame the car.

If you don't know what the front wheels are doing, you can't blame the car.

The PDK really is the only "automatic" transmission I've had my hands on that can accurately anticipate which gear I need to be in for whatever assault on proper driving I'm attempting to execute at that particular moment. The shift logic is something from another future, one where there's a little German gnome clinging to your brain stem and barking commands at the gearbox via HAM radio. Go for the wheel-mounted paddle shifters and the hardware pops off blistering shifts that hit like a telephone book to the lower back. As a die-hard defender of the manual transmission, I can honestly say this tech is driving bliss.

Get the Cayman S out on a track and it's immediately clear what Porsche has cooked up with this car. The platform is incredibly forgiving, turning even butter-fisted yokels like myself into competent lappers. With a little prompting, the Cayman will rotate in a nice, slow, even breakaway before squatting on its haunches and popping out of a corner. Those massive brakes tolerate regular sieges without drama or significant fade, providing a confident pedal with excellent initial bite. That's true even after a handful of hard laps trying to chase down a 911.

If this all sounds like a love note, it should. The 2014 Cayman S isn't just good. It conjures explicative-laced smiles from your lips like a bucket draws water from a well, but that doesn't mean I'm a smitten man. As lustworthy as the Cayman S is, kitting one out to the level of excellence found in our tester will see you spend some serious cash. It doesn't take much strolling to walk right up to the $90,000 barrier on this car. While the base MSRP of $52,600 is more manageable, the Cayman S starts at $63,800, and by the time the dust settled on our tester's price tag, we were looking at $88,220, including a $950 destination fee. Getting frisky with the option sheet puts you in deep waters prowled by the likes of hardware like the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, as well as plenty of sheetmetal decorated with letters like AMG, M and even CTS-V.

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BMW launches new version of sports utility vehicle XI at Rs 27.9 lakh

: German luxury car maker BMW today launched all new version of its entry level sports utility vehicle X1 with price starting at Rs 27.9 lakh (ex showroom Delhi).

The company, which sold a total of 9,375 units in India in 2012, said it is looking to grow its sales amid tough market conditions on the back of new model introductions and new dealerships.
"This year we are looking at a certain growth in India. This will be on the back of new models such as the new X1 and 1 series which will be launched towards the end of the year," BMW Group India President Philipp von Sahr told reporters here.
He said the 1 series would be assembled at the company's Chennai plant and will be the sixth model to be assembled in India.
The new X1 is powered by a 2-litre diesel engine and will be available in three options with the base model priced at Rs 27.9 lakh and the other two priced at Rs 32.5 lakh.
Commenting on the market conditions, von Sahr said the overall economic situation doesn't look promising but the company was looking to sell more cars than last year.
"We will be adding new dealerships and this will give us new market," he said.
BMW has so far sold 5,435 X1s units in India since its launch in January 2007.
The base model of the new X1 would be more expensive than the earlier model by Rs 40,000 and BMW India will no longer offer petrol variant of the X1.

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Porsche Boxster S

Inside Porsche is a conflict that’s tearing it apart. On the one hand there’s the good old rear-engined 911, the sportscar icon; a car designed with enough space to fit a set of golf clubs in; a compromise. On the other are the more purist options, the Boxster and the Cayman; both middle-of-the-road, mid-engined sportscars with their engines in the right place. Logically, it’s the 911 that should be softer and more rounded, and the mid-engined cars that should be harder and faster. But no. Legacy and some mind-bending Porsche engineering have proved that the 911 can cut it with the best, less-than-perfect rear-engined weight distribution be damned. The original Carrera RS, the first 993 Turbo and the recent GT3 RS all have that touch of pure Porsche genius, and the fact that the 911 is simply a great driver’s car is almost impossible to ignore. Question is, how much better could the 911 have been if it had its engine in the right place? Exactly the debate that must be raging inside Porsche, engineers on one side, marketeers and Porsche traditionalists on the other.
Now, understandably, Porsche doesn’t want to upset the apple cart and wants steady sales of the 911 and its 20-odd derivatives. But there’s recently been a new reality emerging. The good people at Porsche are now pretty convinced that a 911 customer is very different from a Boxster buyer, and that, God bless them, is part of the reason the new Boxster has taken giant leaps forward. This, without a shadow of doubt, is by far the best Boxster yet.
Let’s take a quick tour. For a start, there’s almost nothing that’s carried over from the earlier 987. This new Boxster, or 981, is based on the all-new 911, and that means it immediately benefits from having a much stiffer and lighter chassis. There’s masses of aluminium used, the weight of the car has been pared down to a light 1350kg, the wheelbase is much longer, the stance is much wider and the new Boxster shares the Carrera’s much-talked-about electro-mechanical steering and front suspension too. So in essence, this car is three-fourths the brilliant new 911, but with the engine in the right place. Only the rear axle is carried over from the old car, but has been updated. To improve traction, Porsche has tagged Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) onto the rear wheels and the centre of gravity is marginally lower too. So here, straight up, is a huge technical advantage.
The new Boxster also looks more grown up. It no longer possesses the soft, cuddly, puppy dog-like lines of its predecessor. Look closely and you’ll see a hardness and purposefulness not seen on earlier versions. There are hints of the Carrera GT in the design, the vertically stacked elements in the headlights remind you of the legendary
917 and the lines are tighter, crisper and more muscular. This Boxster now gets bespoke doors instead of borrowing the 911’s, the rear spoiler is uniquely integrated with the tail-lights and the car can now be bought with larger 20-inch wheels for additional stability and traction.
A big surprise, as I step into the high-quality leather-lined cabin, is that the Boxster no longer feels like it is a size down on a 911. There’s the normal smattering of high-quality Porsche bits here, the large tachometer at the centre is exactly what you need for spirited driving, and the Carrera GT-style raised central console gives the cabin a cockpit-like feel. This car also has the much nicer paddleshift-equipped steering wheel which is leagues better than the flawed push-button-to-shift system, and essential when you’re driving hard. And while the plastic quality of the buttons on the centre console is strictly average and pulls down the overall ambience somewhat, the smart-looking vents with their slatted extensions look really good.
But the Boxster has always been about how it drives, rather than how it looks and feels, and with 400-odd kilometres of fantastic driving roads ahead of me, I’m keen to get going. Immediately the Boxster puts a Howrah Bridge-wide smile on my face. There’s a delicious rasp to the flat six motor that’s straight off a ’60s Porsche GT racer and you can almost picture the exhaust shooting out of the twin pipes at the back. Pull the flat six to its high 7800rpm redline and the blat from the rear gets even harder-edged. We make our way out of the sleepy town of St Tropez, and with the sun coming up, the Boxster rips past the jetty, sending a gaggle of overweight seagulls scattering. The residents of St Tropez are not impressed.
Our route today takes us through some of the best driving roads in Europe. We are headed up from the south of France in the direction of the fabled Route Napoleon, where you have corner upon corner of fast and wide tarmac. And if that isn’t quite enough, we’re also going to hook past Castellane, a famous special stage of the Monte Carlo rally. Driving nirvana awaits.

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