Few automotive brands command the same level of loyalty and passionate enthusiasm as Porsche. But the Porsche community has also established itself into two distinct sub-groups: those who love everything that comes out of Stuttgart and those who maintain a strict vision of Porsche purity that is almost entirely limited to the air-cooled 911. Porsche purists tend to hate anything new that their beloved company produces, from the four-cylinder 912 back in the '60s to the 928 in the '70s and more recently, the Boxster, Cayenne, Panamera, and Macan. Now, as Porsche unveils a limited-edition 25th-anniversary model called the Boxster 25 Years, the time couldn't be better to revisit exactly why Porsche fans still hate the Boxster all these years later.
Proof Of Concept
The Boxster first debuted as a radical mid-engined concept way back at the 1993 Detroit Motor Show. By 1996, the production car, known by the internal code 986, launched—and the controversies began piling up almost immediately. Without a doubt, the single biggest problem that Porsche fans would hate about the Boxster was its water-cooled engine, which along with its 996-gen 911 sibling, would represent a major departure from the air-cooled flat-sixes that traditionally powered the 911 through the 993 generation.
Unique Styling—Shared With The 911
The 996-gen 911 and the 986 Boxster shared more than their water-cooled engines, however—which led early water-cooled 911 buyers to criticize Porsche for allowing their cars to so closely resemble the "down-market" Boxster, which continued Stuttgart's commitment to producing an affordable sports car for the masses a la the 912, 914, and 924 before it. The 986 and 996 shared body panels and, critically, headlights sourced from the GT1 Le Mans racer for the first few years of production, before Porsche decided to introduce the "fried-egg" headlights for the 996's "996.2" facelift redesign.
And Then The Bomb Drops
As bad as water-cooling and styling might have seemed at first, the Boxster then received its death knell when the infamous IMS bearing problems surfaced and became wildly notorious throughout the course of the early-2000s. (Early Boxsters also suffered from porous engine blocks, on top of the IMS bearing flaw.) Porsche solved IMS issues by about 2009, however, so why do fans still look down on the Boxster to this day?
Well, part of the blame can be laid at the feet of Porsche's decision to consistently provide the Boxster with an engine that was underpowered compared to the 911—which actually makes all the hatred entirely ironic, since the Boxster's mid-engined layout (just like its hardtop Cayman sibling) would actually make it a much more effective sports car than the 911 if both models could be had with equal powertrains.
Now, the Boxster 25 Years will hit the market for a limited run of 1,250 units and equipped with the same naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six that powers the 718 Boxster GTS 4.0. Finished in GT Silver Metallic as standard over a Bordeaux leather interior reminiscent of the original's Boxster Red treatment, this could be a Boxster that will rival a 911 in price and performance—which means 911 fans will invariably hate it all the more.
Sources: newsroom.porsche.com and motorbiscuit.com.