Porsche Boxster puts the sport back in sports car

San Diego Business Journal, May 9, 2005 by Tom Jensen

The single-most abused and distorted word in the entire automotive lexicon is "sport" and all the various permutations thereof.

Marketing hucksters have twisted the meaning of sport so badly that an entire generation of auto enthusiasts has been subjected to oxymoronic turns of phrase such as "sports sedan" and "sport utility vehicle" and "sport tourer" and even "sport wagon," "sport truck" and the worst of all, "sport activity vehicle."

"Sport" has been so misused that I'd almost forgotten what it really meant. That is, until I sat behind the wheel of a 2005 Porsche Boxster S, perhaps the most authentic sports car left in the world.

The Boxster, while thoroughly modern in its technology, is a clear descendant of the great European sports cars of the 1950s. It is what all sports cars used to be: A two-seat, open-top roadster with a manual transmission that intoxicates its drivers by providing a visceral connection to both the pavement beneath it and the world around it.

It is all the things sports cars used to--and still should--be: small and light outside; fast in a straight line and even better through the turns: snug in the cockpit, but wide open with the top down; a car that serves up a delicious cornucopia of tactile sensations to the driver while at the same time demanding obedience on the road; and about as cool as cool gets.

Created as a stylistic homage to the great Porsche roadsters of the 1950s, like the RS that James Dean drove to his death in 1955, the original Boxster had the right look, but not enough oats to go fast.

Not anymore.

Redesigned for 2005, the Boxster is subtly improved in most every respect, including under the rear bonnet, where the engine resides amidships The base Boxster gets a 2.7-liter, 240-horsepower opposed or flat six-cylinder engine, while the "S" model we tested comes with the same configuration on 3.2 liters of displacement and 40 more ponies.

The result is a lightweight rocket that travels from zero to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and has an exhilarating top end speed of 167 mph.

While the Boxster S is not as fast as, say, the new Chevrolet Corvette, it is immense fun to drive hard. Wind the flat six through the gears and you are greeted with a wonderful, melodious sound.

This isn't a screaming banshee motor like you find in Japanese four-cylinders or even a deep-voiced rumbler like an American V-8, but it has its own unique buzz as it rushes toward redline. It even smells like a race engine at work should.

As good as the motor is, though, the handling is even better. With a short 95-inch wheelbase and a curb weight of just 3,053 pounds, the Boxster S is light, nimble and remarkably buttoned down to the road's surface.

Porsche thoroughly re-engineered the chassis this time around.

The chassis has a wider track and a new rear-axle sub-frame and steering-gear assembly. Virtually all moving parts in the axle assemblies are made from lightweight aluminum. Porsche uses coil-over McPherson strut suspension front and rear, as well as fabulous brakes--four-piston monobloc fixed alloy calipers and ventilated brake discs at each corner. Naturally, ABS is standard, as are 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels Our tester had the optional 19-inch wheels and tires.

Taken as a package, the Boxster S is remarkably fun to drive, especially at high speed. Thanks to the sophisticated Porsche Stability Management system, the Boxster is far less twitchy to drive than Porsches of yesteryear and safer, too, though as Porsche's literature wryly notes. PSM "cannot overcome the laws of physics"--or the ham-fisted among us who violate them.

There are few words to describe how invigorating the Boxster S is to drive hard. though the word that keeps popping into my head is "connected." At speed, it almost feels as if impulses travel directly from your brain to the tires, with nothing in between to water them down. There are faster and quicker cars out there. There are not more enjoyable ones.

The cockpit of the Boxster is more of the retro/ modern mix. It has modern amenities, including air conditioning and a passable stereo system.

Like the sports cars of yesteryear, the fit is tight, and tall people will find ingress and egress unpleasant, especially with the top up.

There's precious little room to store anything, either. The two trunks, 5.3 cubic feet upfront and 4.6 cubic feet in the rear, are maybe roomy enough for his and hers changes of clothes for a getaway weekend. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

The best part of the interior is the three-gauge dashboard, which is dominated by a giant tachometer right smack dab in the middle, where it should be. The ignition key goes into the left side of the dash, just like always in Porsches.

All told, the Boxster S is a magnificent little brute, eager to run fast and hard all day long. Leave it to Porsche to put the "sport" back into "sports car."

Porsche Boxster S

Type: Sports car.

Seating capacity: Two.

Engine: 3.2-liter flat six-cylinder.

Horsepower: 280.

Torque: 237 pound-feet.

Gearbox: Six-speed manual.