Since when does a Boxter “retail” for $ 64,000?

Porsche long ago became a Jokester

Horrible, horrible, most horrible….

The TTS engine is epic.

Sounds like a 21st century 914 to me…

Inlinexster
-It couldn’t be called Boxster as it stands for Boxer engine layout and Roadster.

Porsche is gonna have to cave on the 914 due to the economy. Interestingly though, they don’t seem to understand that its a great idea. They are probably afraid the TTS powered Bluesport/914 platform will kick the crap out of the boxter.

Rafa LL, Porsche doesn’t care, and nobody else really will either. Their SUV is named after a vegetable.

I think it’s a history disrespect, but then again, in this time of crisis only money and chicks call the shots.

Ferrari is developing hybrids, Porsche is making a new 914, times are changing , they adapt. as long as the cars will be good and people buy them i see no problem.

Rafa LL wrote:
…………” in this time of crisis only money and chicks call the shots.”

In good times and in bad, my friend.

I called a shot once…

….and look where we are now!! – back in your cave beatusmongous! –

Drew Johnson, FYI there was never a Porsche 914. It was marketing gimmick in US and Canada and nowhere else.. The rest of the world knew it as VW (I don’t remember for sure, it was 30 years ago, but I think it Karmann Ghia Mk2)

On again-off again. Just make up your mind.

LMAO! Humor that I can appreciate, AutoCritical.

Actually Borat, it was a collaboration between the two marques just like the Cayenne is with the Touareg. The Volkswagen version was a flat-4 engine and the Porsche version (also sold in Europe) used a flat-6. When it came to the U.S. market they simply piled both engine options into Porsche’s house rather than having to market two cars to Americans who probably wouldnt “get” it.

And actually, the flat-4 cars were badged as “volkswagen-porsches” when they were sold in Europe as well.

Porsche whoring themselves out in the name of sales- blasphemy I say!

Whoring thenselves out? Porsche has always dipped into the VW parts bin. Look at that Porsche 912E, it was nothing more than a 911 with a beetle engine.

I like the idea of a entry level Porsche. I’m afraid it can’t be done though. Porsche will struggle to keep costs down, but only end up skimping a “Porsche” on what it deserves. There is a reason Porsches are so expensive…they are made with the best. I don’t know if Porsche should start going below the Boxster. Especially with VW parts. Don’t get me wrong, the TTS engine is a beautiful engine. However, it is way underpowered in the TTS. They think it is going to be enough in a Porsche? I’m interested to see where this goes.

No, the reason a Porsche is so expensive is so they can keep their inflated nazi profit margins.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/01/22/report-porsche-profits-28000-per-car/
Also, please explain to me how the TTS is underpowered?? The TT platform is identical to the GTI platform, and the GTI is powered quite nicely with its “regular” 2.0T. This is a 265hp version of a lightweight turbocharged 4 cylinder in what is essentially a GTI with AWD. This is what the GTI-R is going to be in a nutshell, and you may think it is underpowered but that engine has plenty to give, and gobs of torque. If you still aren’t satisfied, get a TTRS.

The TTS engine is actually better than a V6. So maybe Porsche’s move can be excused. Yea those looking for more should settle for a TTRS.

“but the German automaker is reportedly considering a move down-scale to combat slumping sales and growing debt”
What? Slumping sales? Grownig dept?

Lest we forget the Porsche 924, yet another VW-Audi mashup? It used an Audi motor and sourced several Audi transmissions over its lifespan. It was even made at the old Audi/NSU plant in Neckarslum by VW employees.

A4, I hope you realize the irony in citing Porsche…Nazi profit margins, as Auto Union was a long-time nazi propaganda tool. However, I agree that the 20T is an epic engine.

Porsche really should not be in the position to have to do anything different. Porsche made a Billion $ in profit last year when most of the worlds automakers were swimming in red ink. If they hadn’t completely overextended themselves trying to buy VW they would be fine.

I just worry that they are going to skimp on the one thing that is making money at Porsche. Building uncompromized performance vehicles. I don’t mind the use of a 4 cyl turbo, because it is a great engine. But, it they start trying to trim from the development budget, Porsche is screwed.

A4, I don’t know what Europe you are talking about: I saw identical cars to a Porsche 914 in Europe labeled VW. Where you alive in 70’s?

@ whitelite5460 , power isn’t everything , look at the Porsche 550 Spyder. So what if Porsche uses an Audi engine , Lotus is using Toyota engines and no one complains.

@ Borat , there were 2 different 914 models , VW-Porsche 4 cylinder and Porsche 6 cylinder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_914

A4-are we perhaps a little biased towards Audi? Bottom line is Porsche will save a lot of money by using Audi’s engine. While a great engine, it is still not the calibur of the Porsche Boxer engine that has been incredibly successful for over 10 years and revered as one of the best inline 6 engines available period. I do admit, the Audi 4 cylinder engine is great for a 4 banger, but leave it in a VW and Audi…it is certainly not a high performance engine that can compete at a higher level. In fact, this is why a A4, A5, A6, A8 do not get the highest marks for performance in any of their respective classes. Audi is know for building an exccellent sporty luxury cars, but not performance machines like Porsche or even porfmance luxury like BMW. 3 series, 5 series 6 series and 7 series all far surpass the performance of Audi’s competeting lines. And before you get your panties in a knot, I do give my hats off to Audi interiors and overall smooth rides which are generally not as good in BMW, but again, they are not the performance calibur of Porsche or even BMW.

@ anderson_b76 , but Audi does build high performance cars, they are called Lamborghini.

Scratchy-Go to the Lamborghini factory and see if you can find one audi part. Lamborghini is still operated as a seperate entity and thus does not share parts of development teams. Very different then the relationship between Audi/VW, which VW owns 98% of Audi and in turn, Porsche AG owns them all.

….not to mention also under the umbrella are Bentley and Bugatti.

actually Lambo uses a lot of Audi parts , last year Stefan Winkelmann, announced that future Lambos will be limited to contain only 20% Audi parts. VW parts are used in all the VAG cars , even the mighty Veyron shares some parts with Skoda Fabia.

not to mention Audi’s Le Mans know how is used to develop Lamborghini cars as Lambo doesn’t have an internal racing program , their racing cars are made by Reiter Engineering.

the Gallardo V10 is entirely developed by Audi and built in Hungary in Gyor, then shipped and assembled in Sant’Agata , Italy. the V12 engine is an evolution of the original Italian V12, but the next v12 will be an Audi engine.

Lamborghini’s “independence” is just a marketing trick to keep the Italian image of the cars.

Im not sure about this how could it be $9,000 cheaper. It costs a lot of money to make this engine work, they will have to re-certify it for crash.

scratchy, You nailed it! But they are still much better cars then Lambos were ever on their own. A little less passion a lot better quality.

I have to say this, I’vce owned an Audi A6, BMW 330, Mercedes C350, Porsche Boxster S, and a VW Passat all in the last 12 years. I can honestly say, Audi by far had the worst maintenance record. That car was in the shop for transmission problems for 3 weeks straight at one point, and then the A4 they put me in as a loaner had to be swaped out twice because of issues they had. I will probably never buy another Audi after my experience with their cars. The VW was not that much better, bought new and sold it with 26K miles on it because I was tired of going to the shop all the time. The Porsche Boxster on the other hand had absolutely not one issue after putting 45,000 miles on it. Only changed the oil, clutch and break pads. The Mercedes is pretty solid, 85,000 miles on it now and besides an occational electric issue with the turn signals, the car has been pretty solid. The BMW has had little annoying things go wrong with it all along, however it is an absolutely fun car to drive.

If your argument against a bluesport based Porsche is brand dilution, that’s one thing. However, I don’t see how someone can argue that the 265hp from VW’s 2 liter turbo 4 will not be sporty enough when motivating a car that’s well shy of 3,000lbs.

To be honest though, I don’t think VW/Porsche can engineer an all new mid-engine chassis cheaply enough to turn a profit, while not charging an exhorbitant amount or running the risk of cannibalizing Boxter sales. In my mind, the most likely scenario is the 265hp 2.0T offered in the Boxter as an entry-level engine. A new model would probably necessitate a spec bump for the current Boxter, which would mean one for the Cayman, which would mean one for the 911 too.

****sterS…that theory would do away with the Boxer engine that has made the Boxster what it is today, and for anyone who thinks a Porsche Boxster is not a real Porsche or isn’t an awesome machine, they obviously have never driven one or have no sense of how to drive one. Keep in mind that Porsche has had to tune down the Boxster engine admitingly as to not interfere with the 911 market. The Boxster S engine is one of the best engines of our time. I’ve seen RUF take the engine, bore it out and add twin turbos to it and take the car 0-60 in 3.4.

Bottom line is the Boxster is an absolutely amazing roadster, not high performance supercar, but roadster. It is one of the most manageable and fun cars to drive. A machine that you can actually press the limits of its capabilities of it if you know how to drive; all owed to the Boxer engine. Putting a 4 banger turbo in it defeats the purpose of this car. Can I see Porsche coming out with another entry model for that turbo 4 engine, sure, but I don’t see them doing this for much under $50K. IMO, and I’ve driven all the competing roadsters, not one matches the Boxster for under $60K as far as fun to drive factor. To be able to hit 0-60 in 4.8 and take a high speed turn as good as almost any mass produced car, with a top end North of 170mph, I would easily buy another Boxster S for $55K over any other car as a second car. Keep in mind, engine characteristics of a turbo 4 is a lot different then a boxer engine…there’s a lot more to it then straight 0-60 times. Now would a play be to bring an entry level Porsche with the turbo 4 into the market, do away with the base Boxster engine and Cayman engine be a good strategy….possibly, but unfortunately the Boxster is too mature at this point and a hot seller to mess with it IMO.

@anderson_b76: porsche doesn’t produce an inline-6, however they do produce flat (boxer) – 6-cyl engines.

it’s BMW that is known for their wonderful inline-6 engines, although Mercedes has had some in their past as well (probably in attempts to compete more directly with BMW) .

Volvo, GM, Toyota (Lexus), and Nissan, among others, also produce inline-6 ’s