The Five Best Porsche Boxster Models of All-Time
The Porsche Boxster is a two-door Roadster that was first released back in 1996. As far as looks go, it looks almost exactly like the modern-day Porsche Cayman, something that will be addressed at the end of this article.
Obviously, the original version of the Boxster didn't have all of the Cayman’s performance capability, especially considering the fact that the first model hit the road more than 20 years ago.
There were also some definite changes in the development of the car along the way, as some major issues had to be addressed. Below are the five best models of the Porsche Boxster of all time, complete with the year model and the reason that it made the top of the list.
1996 Porsche Boxster
As previously mentioned, this was the first year the car was actually produced for the general public. It's notable because it was the first generation of this particular automobile, but what most people don't know is that it had been in development for three full years as a prototype before it was ever mass-produced.
The prototype actually had the air intake on the side, just as the Boxster does, but it was located at the bottom. Once the model became mass-produced to the public, it was located much higher up on the side of the car, completely changing its overall appearance.
1999 Porsche Boxster
Despite all of the effort put into the design of this car, the first three model years were plagued with serious engine failures that rendered the car completely undrivable.
It was the result of poor engine design, effectively making the engine with porous parts that were not strong enough to withstand the stress put on them when the car was at maximum performance.
It wasn't long until the Porsche Boxster developed a reputation for having significant engine failures, making it a car that most people wanted to stay away from.
For the 1999 model year, Porsche redesigned the engine in order to correct the problem. This was enough to do the trick and they ultimately made the decision to purchase a car of their own.
For others, the damage had already been done and the reputation of the Boxster suffered as a result of it. The 1999 model makes the cut for the top five because Porsche not only realized what the problem was, but ultimately did something about it.
2002 Porsche Boxster
You might be surprised, but up until 2002, none of the Porsche Boxsters had a rear window made from glass, nor did they contain a glove compartment. It's important to remember that you're talking about a convertible that also had extremely limited interior space, so Porsche didn't want to waste any more space than necessary.
However, they felt that incorporating these improvements, as well as redesigning the front end of the car, would result in better sales. This marked the first major change to the overall design since the car was developed, earning it a place on the list.
2004 Porsche Boxster 550 S Anniversary Edition
As the name implies, this marks an important milestone for Porsche. Since the car was designed to mark this important hallmark in the automaker's history, they decided to make slightly less than 2,000 of these automobiles.
Today, it's still one of the most highly sought-after high-performance automobiles in history. As far as performance capabilities were concerned, the car remained largely unchanged. However, its appearance was distinctive.
Every one of these cars was painted exactly the same, with a silver exterior and a deep mocha colored interior. Certain parts of the interior were even painted by hand and a high-quality Bose sound system came as standard equipment on the car.
2012 Porsche Boxster/Cayman
This year marked important upgrades to the car, effectively making the Boxster and Cayman virtually the same vehicle. Upgrades were made to the engine that provided additional power for the car and there were also key upgrades made to the handling as well.
Overall, both the interior and exterior of the car were reworked and provided a generous facelift, making the car even sportier and more luxurious than it was before.
In fact, the 2012 model looks like a highly refined version of the original prototype that came along back in 1993, complete with all of the improvements that naturally come with years of operation. 2012 also marks the year that the Boxster and the Cayman came full circle, with one design mirroring the other.
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Written by Garrett Parker
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