Porsche has a long history of manufacturing some amazing engines, from the ludicrous flat twelve in the 917, to more traditional V-6 and V-8s, and more recently the turbocharged flat four. But most Porsche fanatics agree that what makes a Porsche truly special is a high revving, naturally aspirated flat six engine, also known as a boxer engine, and is where Porsche derived the name for its smallest car, the Boxster.
The Porsche Boxster has grown to be one of the most popular convertible sports cars on the market. Much of this popularity is due to the cars smaller stature over the 911, and the use of Porsches famous flat six engine being mounted in the middle of the car. Unfortunately, with the ever-increasing emissions restrictions, manufacturers have begun to favor smaller displacement engines with turbochargers to deliver the same performance with lower emissions. Unfortunately, with the 718 generation, the Boxster has been met with the same fate, having its naturally aspirated flat six replaced by a turbocharged flat four alternative.
One Last Hurrah
Porsche has teased that the 2019 718 Boxster Spyder, and 718 Cayman GT4 will be the only 718 models to feature a flat six. As with previous generations of Boxster Spyder, the 718 will have its own unique suspension, bodywork and engine when compared to other models in the 718 lineup. All of this will push the Spyder to the top of the Boxster price list. With Porsche fans fearing the death of the flat six in the Boxster and Cayman lineup, and the collectability of the 918 Cayman GT4, and the limited production run of 718 Spyder, these cars are certain to be picked up quickly and become instant classics.
Technical Details
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Powertrain
What powertrain Porsche will use is still up for debate, but the 718 Boxster spy shots and testing Porsche has been running, the test cars exhaust note almost guarantees a flat six will feature, but which exact flat six is still unknown. The previous generation GT4 was gifted with the 3.8L flat six from the 911 Carrera, and fans will hope that this engine will make a reappearance in the 718, but a variant of the current 911 Carreras 3.0L turbocharged flat six, which will more than likely be mounted to an option of a manual gearbox, with the option of a PDK automatic gearbox.
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Platform
What we can confirm is that the Spyder will use the 718 chassis, but feature specific suspension and a reworked rear body to accommodate the classic Spyder retractable roof. From the spy shots we can already see the Spyder will have a solid engine bay cover and reworked rear diffuser, hopefully to accommodate the larger engine.
Release Dates
It does not appear that Porsche is developing any other 718 Boxster models, which positions the Spyder to be the next released model in the range, so a safe guess is Porsche will begin to take orders towards the end of 2018, with the first cars being delivered in the first quarter of 2019.
With the current top of the range Boxster, the 718 GTS, having an asking price of around $82,000 (accurate at time of publishing), we can expect the Spyder to come in at the high $90,000s, potentially even breaking the $100,000 mark, and is guaranteed to demand a higher asking price when they hit the used market, as collectors scramble to add the Spyder to their collection.