Goodwin with a lustrous head of hair not a grey strand to be seen. It’s October 1996 and the front cover of the issue of Autocar magazine published on the 30th of that month shows our young man at the wheel of a yellow Porsche Boxster. It’s an overhead panning shot most likely taken by a photographer squatting above us on an earth bank. Next to the Boxsteris a blue Mercedes-Benz SLK being driven by Autocar’s European editor Peter Robinson. I’d moved from Car magazine to Autocar around a month earlier and one of the reasons for the up sticks to the world’s oldest car magazine was the chance to work with my hero Robinson.
Both of the cars are left-hand drive and although after 29 years my memory is not up to remembering exact logistics, it’s likely that Peter had driven one of the cars over from Stuttgart. Both had already been driven on their international launches, but this was the firstopportunity to drive them on domestic roads. Impressions? It was pretty clear that both of these cars, which retailed at around £30,000 when they hit UK showrooms, were going to be very significant. Them SLK230’s engine was a rather lacklustre and mildly agricultural supercharged four-cylinder, inferior in most respects to the Boxster’s smooth and characterful 2.5-litre flat six.
Pundits at the time were frustrated that such a brilliant chassis (the Porsche’s) was challenged only by 201bhp. Though, as excited by large amounts of horsepower as the next enthusiast, I’ve found through experience that the lighter, better balanced and dynamically competent a sports car is, the more I enjoy it with modest horsepower. That applies to the Lotus Elise S1 and Ariel Atom both of which I loved most in their base 118bhp form. Ditto the Caterham Seven, which never becomes significantly more fun as you add horsepower.
We were rained upon on that day in 1996, which isn’t surprising for South Wales in the Autumn. It’s doing the same today, but we’re in the New Forest rather than the Brecon Beacons. My hair is completely grey but at least there’s still a decent amount of it. It’s a day of mixed emotions because the Shark Blue car that we’re driving is the last piston-engined Boxster that will ever join the Porsche GB press fleet (or so we thought). As you no doubt know production of the Boxster (and Cayman) has stopped, and it is not possible to order one. This car was registered on its 75 ‘plate literally hours before I picked it up from Reading having been run in on trade plates. Back in 1996 neither I, or the power-hungry critics, would ever have imagined that one day there would be a Boxster powered by a 4.0-litre flat-six that produced 400hp. We’d also have been rather surprised to hear that with options this GTS 4.0 costs £91,176. Talking of options, this car has a six-speed manual gearbox. Our tastes change as we get older and although once I would have been firmly in the three-pedal side of the class, I’d be happy with a GTS with a PDK ‘box.
It’s an emotional day not just because I am saying goodbye to a great sports car, but because there are so many personal memories connected with Porsche’s brilliant mid-engined sports car. In 2000 Porsche gave a nod to those who wanted more power by replacing the 2.5-litre M96 engine with a 2.7-litre version that produced 217bhp or 220PS. Better still there was a new model called the Boxster S which used a 3.2-litre version of the 911 996’s 3.4 litre engine, making 247bhp. My argument for the less-is-more approach, was beginning to wobble.
It’s not just the cars you remember with nostalgia, but the people. More so the people. I can’t remember where in the UK in 2000 Porsche launched the Boxsters 2.7 and S but I remember the journalist Roger Bell being there. I’d worked with Bell at Car magazine from the late 1980s and in my opinion, he was the best road tester of all time, both in his assessment of a car’s dynamics and his ability to transfer his thoughts from his brain to paper. He was also, a superb driver, having been a class winner in the 1972 British Saloon Car Championship and later teammates with overall winners Bernard Unett and Andy Rouse.
I learned an enormous amount from Roger, both about writing and driving. He died in 2022 and just writing these words brings back some wonderful memories. A very modest man, he nevertheless knew that he was enormously respected by my generation of motoring journalists. A 911 owner himself, he loved the Boxster, especially the new S. Many of you will no doubt remember Roger from his days at Motor magazine.
Fancy a more light-hearted Boxster memory? In 2016 I was commissioned to write a story, for Christophorus I think, on driving the then new Boxster Spyder to Le Mans. My memory of the details of the trip is a bit sketchy as was overwritten by a memorable event en route to La Sarthe. The photographer had come from Germany and asked me to meet him at Le Mans at 5.00. The AM one. It was just before the 24hr race, so all the fixture and fittings were in place around the circuit, but he wanted to start shooting before the traffic became too heavy. Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment the day before which meant that I had to travel overnight. No problem as I like driving at night, not least because the roads in France, or autoroute in this case, are virtually empty.
A hundred or so kilometres out from Le Mans I decided to wind the Porsche up to a speed that would get me there in time to have a swift nap in the passenger seat. Having the double whammy of being male and a car journalist, I hadn’t read the Spyder’s owner’s manual or seen the warning sticker on the sun visor that read ‘Do not drive at over 125mph with the soft top in place’ or words to that effect. Unusually for me I was listening to music on an iPod via earphones. Suddenly, while cruising well north of the recommended maximum speed for the roof (it was a bit chilly to have removed it) there was an almighty bang and suddenly it got very cold. Behind me, spread across the autoroute, were pieces of shattered carbon fibre and bits of torn fabric. I gathered up as many parts of the now scrap roof, bundled them into the boot and carried on.
Miraculously, it didn’t rain for the next couple of days and only started to shower when I was on the M4 a junction away, returning the car to Porsche GB. A few weeks later a colleague completely wrote off another Boxster Spyder at a test track so my conscience was slightly eased by the knowledge that this car could donate its intact roof to ‘my’ Spyder. There’s a Boxster Spyder fan in our village who’s had both generations of the car. I love the minimalism of this car and its demonstration of Porsche’s mastery of weight saving. As a previous owner of a Series One Lotus Elise, the fiddly roof would be no bar to ownership.
There are a handful of cars that I’ve driven over the last 35 years that, although they impressed me enormously and I’d raved about them in print and in the pub, on returning to them years later I have been reminded just how brilliant they really are. The aforementioned Lotus is one of them, so too the Lancia Delta Integrale (especially in Evo spec), Subaru Impreza Turbo (RB5 special edition, please) and Porsche 968 Club Sport. The Boxster is another. Each time I’ve driven one over the decades that it’s been in production, I’ve had that same sensation of ‘Bloody hell, I’d forgotten how special it is’. And it doesn’t really make a difference which version I’m driving. That said, the last time I had this experience was when I had a Boxster 25th anniversary edition for a week. This to me is peak Boxster. The same wonderful powertrain as the GTS but with fabulous styling and paint job, plus a gorgeous interior. Only 1,250 units were made for the world so if you’ve got one and its low mileage and in great condition, I’d say that you have a very solid investment.
Another lesson that I’ve learned over the years is that cars generally improve generation by generation. Certainly, this is so if the machine’s manufacturer has not veered away from the original concept that made the car so good in the first instance. This was brought home to me a few years ago when Mazda brought all four generations of MX-5 to Goodwood for journalists to drive back-to- back. A huge fan of the original 1989 model (I persuaded my daughter to buy one so that I could have a go in it occasionally) I went to Goodwood expecting to like that series one (or MX-5 NA to be correct) more than its offspring. What happened was that I enjoyed each one more than its predecessor. I feel exactly the same about the Boxster. Any model from any of the four generations is a joy to drive but, just as with the little Mazda, the basic philosophy of light weight, great balance and simplicity has never changed; the cars just become better made and include a few useful gadgets such as smart phone syncing.
One Boxster that I came to with some trepidation was the first of the four-cylinder turbo 718s. A recent experience had primed me to not prejudge this car. A friend had restored a 912, which I earned a drive in by helping him put the engine in. Previously I had considered a 912 to be a 911 with all the rust issues but minus the horsepower and engine note. Big mistake: I loved the 912’s lightness and balance and within miles had got the whole point of the car.
I first drove the 718 on favourite roads in Hampshire and pretty soon the absence of the two cylinders was forgotten as it became obvious that this was the best-balanced Boxster that I’d ever driven. Not a cloud in the sky, dry roads, roof down. A perfect day’s driving. One Boxster experience sadly lacking is racing one. Or even driving a race-prepared one. When I was at Car magazine, we bought a standard 2.5-litre 944 and with the help of the much-missed Steve Kevlin, who many of you will have known, prepared it for racing in the club’s Pirelli championship. Several colleagues shared the car with one winning a round at Donington. My best effort was at Castle Combe, the 944 so well balanced that only lack of talent and experience placed me third when it should have been a win against rival 911s. I suspect that the Boxster is similarly balanced and forgiving in novice hands.
A couple of months ago we were on holiday in Sardinia. For transport we had rented a Fiat Panda, a nice simple car and far superior in many areas to the better loved 500. Its hybrid engine was a bit short of go and the six-speed manual gearbox never had the correct ratio for the situation. On these roads, almost empty of traffic with breathtaking scenery and smooth surface, I got to thinking what car would be the best to fully make use of this motoring paradise. A Caterham or Lotus Emira perhaps? Or even a classic. Driving the Boxster GTS in the New Forest belatedly answered the question for me. Absolutely perfect for the job. A quick tap on the calculator reveals a power to weight ratio for the GTS of 285bhp per tonne. Very close to the 300bhp per tonne figure that I reckon is just about right for the modern world. And more than adequate for tackling the steep climbs of Sardinia’s mountainous regions.
I’m chuffed to be able to say that I drove one of the first Boxsters in the country and one of the last, but my bragging rights could be trumped by other journalists because the part missing is attendance at the 1993 Detroit motor show, where Porsche first displayed the concept car that became the Boxster. As always with concept cars, there were details on the car that for reasons of cost or engineering practicality (the two are usually linked) didn’t make it onto the production car. To my eyes there was nothing wrong visually with the original first generation 986 Boxster, even though it wasn’t quite as sexy as that Detroit show car. For me the car got better looking with each generational change and today looks absolutely brilliant, especially from the rear. The detailing is sharper and I’m a sucker for the Porsche lettering on the tail.
You have to use a cable if you want to mirror your smart phone with the 718 GTS. This seems very old school when even the cheapest city car has wireless tethering. But with this rather antiquated tech also comes a refreshingly analogue dashboard, with proper round gauges with needles, a modest digital screen and proper tactile buttons, stalks and switches for all functions. And better still, not once did the car bong or bing a warning at me, or try to take over the steering. All of the safety and functions that you’d want but none of the big brother or nannying.
We’re not exactly sure when Porsche will replace this car with an electric substitute, but it is coming. As a lover of the internal combustion engine how does that make me feel? Well, for one thing, when Porsche makes a car, it does the job properly. I have never liked SUVs but acknowledged that when it was launched the Cayenne showed how a 4x4 could be a high-performance car. Neither was I fan of the Panamera, but there is no doubt it is a fine piece of engineering. The Boxster will be a good platform for an all-electric powertrain. The weight distribution should be ideal and should give the car excellent dynamics.
The Boxster played a big part in saving Porsche when it was in dire trouble. Equally it brought a new generation of enthusiasts to Porsche, many of whom were young but could afford this reasonably priced sports car, who would then move to the 911. It’s a shame the piston-powered Boxster didn’t reach its 30th birthday but it will go down as one of the great Porsches of all time.
This feature was written by Colin Goodwin and first appeared in the October 2025 issue of our monthly Club magazine, Porsche Post. Join today to receive your copy, as well as enjoying a host of exclusive member benefits and savings.