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Porsche Boxster

The mid-engined roadster and its Cayman coupé sibling, which are the same car mechanically — so knowledge crosses the two names directly. Early cars share their flat-six architecture with the 996-generation 911, including its intermediate-shaft history.

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Porsche Boxster
Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0 (external)

Generations

  • 986 1996–2004

    The first water-cooled mid-engined car, and where the intermediate shaft bearing and bore scoring stories both begin.

    Body styles
    Roadster
    Platform
    Porsche 986
    Engines
    • 2.5 flat-six — M96 · petrol · 245 Nm (181 lb-ft)
    • 2.7 flat-six — M96 · petrol · 260 Nm (192 lb-ft)
    • 3.2 flat-six — petrol · 305–310 Nm (225–229 lb-ft) · M96, Boxster S
    Transmissions
    5-speed manual · 6-speed manual · 5-speed Tiptronic automatic · 5-speed automatic
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive
  • 987 2004–2012

    Shares its flat-six architecture with the 997; the Cayman coupé is the same car.

    Body styles
    Roadster · Coupé
    Platform
    Porsche 987
    Engines
    • 2.7 flat-six — petrol · 270–273 Nm (199–201 lb-ft)
    • 2.9 flat-six — petrol · 155–195 kW (208–261 hp) · 290 Nm (214 lb-ft)
    • 3.2 flat-six — petrol · 320 Nm (236 lb-ft)
    • 3.4 flat-six — petrol · 228–243 kW (306–326 hp) · S and Cayman R
    Transmissions
    5-speed manual · 6-speed manual · Tiptronic automatic · 7-speed PDK · 5-speed automatic
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive
  • 981 2012–2016

    Electromechanical steering arrives, which changes what a steering fault means.

    Body styles
    Roadster · Coupé
    Platform
    Porsche 981
    Engines
    • 2.7 flat-six — petrol · 155–202 kW (208–271 hp)
    • 3.4 flat-six — petrol · 232–243 kW (311–326 hp) · 360–370 Nm (266–273 lb-ft) · S and GTS
    • 3.8 flat-six — petrol · Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder
    Transmissions
    6-speed manual · 7-speed PDK
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive
  • 718 2016–present

    Turbocharged flat-four at the volume end, with a six above it late in the run.

    Body styles
    Roadster · Coupé
    Platform
    Porsche 982
    Engines
    • 2.0 turbo flat-four — petrol · 220 kW (295 hp) · 380 Nm (280 lb-ft)
    • 2.5 turbo flat-four — petrol · 420 Nm (310 lb-ft) · S and GTS
    • 4.0 flat-six — petrol · 294–309 kW (394–414 hp) · GTS 4.0, GT4 and Spyder
    Transmissions
    6-speed G82.00 manual · 7-speed PDK dual-clutch auto
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive

Information, not instruction

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Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.

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