Mid-engine. Water-cooled. The car that saved the company.
The crisis that produced it
Porsche AG was in serious financial trouble in the early 1990s. The 928 was selling poorly. The 944 had ended production in 1991 with the 968 as a low-volume successor. The 911 was the only model carrying meaningful volume, and the air-cooled 964 was facing reliability complaints. Annual production had dropped from over 50,000 vehicles in the late 1980s to under 20,000 by 1992.
The company brought in Wendelin Wiedeking as CEO in 1993. Wiedeking restructured the entire manufacturing operation, applying Toyota-style production methods to a German sports-car factory. He also commissioned a completely new product strategy. Porsche needed a higher-volume model below the 911 price point.
The answer was the Boxster.
The platform sharing
The Boxster shared its underlying platform with the new 996 generation 911 that was being developed in parallel. Many components were common between the two cars. The front bodywork, the headlights, the dashboard, the door panels, the electrical architecture, the cooling system, and the rear suspension layout were largely shared.
The engine was the same family as the 996. Both used a new water-cooled flat-six designed by Porsche engineering, called the M96. The Boxster had a 2.5 liter version producing 201 horsepower. The 996 had a 3.4 liter version producing 296 horsepower. Both engines were derivatives of the same architecture.
The platform sharing made both cars cheaper to manufacture than either would have been alone. The Boxster could be sold at a price point well below the 911 while remaining profitable. The 996 could be sold at a competitive 911 price while delivering the volume Porsche needed to recover financially.
The car
The Boxster was launched in 1996 as a 1997 model. The car was a two-seat mid-engine roadster with a power-folding soft top. Performance was strong for the price point. 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. Top speed approximately 240 km/h. The chassis dynamics were widely praised as more balanced than the contemporary 911. The mid-engine layout gave the Boxster more neutral handling than the rear-engine 911 could produce.
The launch was a sales success. Porsche sold 18,000 Boxsters in the first model year (1997), then 23,000 in 1998, climbing toward 30,000 annually by the early 2000s. Combined with the 996 sales, total Porsche production roughly doubled within five years. The financial crisis was resolved.
The variants
- Boxster (986) 1996-2004
- The first-generation Boxster. 2.5 liter initially, then 2.7 liter from 1999, then 2.7 and 3.2 (Boxster S from 1999) thereafter.
- Boxster (987) 2004-2012
- The second-generation. Revised body, larger engines (2.7 base, 3.2 then 3.4 Boxster S). The 987 finally got the engineering refinement the 986 had missed in its rush to market.
- Boxster Spyder (987) 2010-2011
- A lightweight, manual-only, focused variant of the 987 Boxster S. 320 hp, manual transmission only, distinctive dual-hump rear deck. The Spyder began the modern collectible-Boxster era.
- Boxster (981) 2012-2016
- The third-generation. New platform, naturally-aspirated 2.7 and 3.4 engines. Widely considered the high point of the naturally-aspirated Boxster line.
- Boxster (982 / 718 Boxster) 2016-present
- The fourth-generation. Renamed 718 Boxster as a callback to the historic 718 racing car. Originally launched with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, controversially. The Boxster T, Boxster S, GTS, and current Boxster Spyder offer the six-cylinder option through the GTS 4.0 model.
The reliability issue
The M96 engine used in the 986 and 987 Boxsters has well-documented reliability problems. The intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing was prone to failure, particularly in early production cars. A failed IMS bearing typically destroys the engine.
The problem affects roughly 1 to 8 percent of 986 and 987 chassis depending on year and specific engine version. The lower bound is more accurate for cars with documented service history. The upper bound includes cars with poor maintenance.
The fix involves replacing the IMS bearing with an upgraded unit. The work is done preventatively during clutch service on cars known to be at risk. A car that has had the IMS bearing replaced has a documented service record showing the replacement. Most clean Boxsters now have IMS preventive maintenance done.
Why the values are recovering
Boxsters were heavily devalued through the 2000s. The IMS issue, the perception that the car was a "junior 911," and the early-2000s economic environment combined to push values down. A clean 986 Boxster bottomed out around $5,000 in the early 2010s.
Values began climbing in the late 2010s. The 987 Boxster Spyder (2010-2011) is now valued at $60,000-plus for clean examples. The 981 Boxster GTS (2014-2016) is at $55,000-plus. The 718 Spyder and GT4 are well into six figures for clean examples.
The 986 cars have followed the same pattern at lower absolute values. A documented-history 986 Boxster S with IMS replacement now brings $20,000-plus, up from $5,000 a decade ago.
Why the Boxster matters
The Boxster is the financial reason that Porsche AG still exists. Without the volume the Boxster added to the production figures, the company would not have survived the 1990s. The 911, the 928, and the 968 would not have been enough.
The Boxster is also the foundation of the modern mid-engine lineup. The Cayman, the GT4 RS, and the 718 Spyder all trace directly to the 986 platform. The mid-engine sports cars are now half of Porsche's road-car portfolio.
For air-cooled enthusiasts, the Boxster matters specifically because it allowed the 911 to evolve at its own pace. Without the Boxster carrying volume, the 911 would have been pushed downmarket to chase that segment. The Boxster freed the 911 to stay at the top of the range and to develop into the modern flagship it is today.