Porsche Boxster and Cayman E-Book

Johnny Tipler

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Porsche Boxster and Cayman follows the design and development of this mid-engined sports car and coupe family, from their origins in the company's concerted racing activities in the 1950s and 1960s, to the drawing board, launch and systematic evolution through successive model ranges from 1996 to 2016. There are detailed profiles and evaluation of all Boxster and Cayman derivatives, including 986, 987, 981 and 718. Specifications of the various models are given including entry-level, S, GTS and GT-4. The special Limited Editions, such as the 550 Spyder 40th Anniversary models are also included. The book covers some of the author's international driving experiences at the wheel of Boxster and Cayman including the Bilster Berg race circuit and Tour Auto. There is also an intriguing interview with successful racer Rebecca Jackson, who describes the techniques of Boxster racing and demonstrates the versatility of this best-handling of all Porsche sports cars and an iInterview with Porsche design chief Harm Lagaaij. The book will be of great interest to all motoring enthusiasts and historians and is illustrated with 400 colour photographs, many specially commissioned.

Leseprobe

PORSCHE

BOXSTER AND CAYMAN

THE COMPLETE STORY

Johnny Tipler

Photos by Antony Fraser

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2016 by The Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2016

© Johnny Tipler 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 212 0

Photograph credits

Unless otherwise credited, photographs are by the author, Antony Fraser and from the Porsche Photo Archive.

Title page: painting by Laurence B. Henry of Special Edition Boxster S, a 500-off limited-edition car finished in GT3 RS orange, available only in North America.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

CHAPTER 1ANTECEDENTS

CHAPTER 2FUTURE-RETRO: INSPIRATION AND REALITY

CHAPTER 3LAUNCH AND EVOLUTION OF THE TYPE 986 BOXSTER

CHAPTER 4THE 987 BOXSTER: FUNKY FACELIFT

CHAPTER 5LIMITED EDITIONS

CHAPTER 6THE TYPE 981 BOXSTER

CHAPTER 7THE PORSCHE CAYMAN, TYPES 987 AND 981

CHAPTER 8DRIVING THE BOXSTER AND CAYMAN

CHAPTER 9COMPETITION AND MODIFICATION

CHAPTER 10BOXSTER GTS AND CAYMAN GTS, CAYMAN GT4 AND BOXSTER SPYDER

CHAPTER 11POSTSCRIPT

Index

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

When composing a book, over time a raft of people cross my path, and I am grateful for everyone who has contributed to, inspired and assisted with this tome. In particular I want to thank Antony Fraser for generously providing a cross-section of his Boxster and Cayman archive; he will not admit it, but his images are the making of the book. Jens Torner at the Porsche photo library was unstinting in providing material, much of which hasn’t been aired before – I always endeavour to use original material – and photographers Peter Robain and Michael Bailie also made a significant contribution. The title page artwork was painted specially for the book by French artist Laurence B. Henry (laurencehenry.hautefort.com) and the tailpiece by Caroline Llong (e-motion-art.fr).

The second chapter is based on an exclusive interview with Harm Lagaaij, who headed Porsche design at its inception, and the racing chapter is enhanced by an interview with racer Rebecca Jackson. My editors were Claire Hogan, who laboured diligently over my prose in Montreal, Canada, and daughter Zoë Tipler who topped and tailed the text in New York.

At the Porsche GB press office, Nick Perry and Rob Puncheon kindly lent several Boxsters and Caymans for the driving experience, some driven on assignments for 911 & Porsche World magazine. Paul Stephens supplied Mrs Tipler’s 550 Anniversary S and contributed to numerous magazine photoshoots. Alois Ruf made our trips to Bavaria a pleasure with his Boxster derivatives on the Swabian blacktop. Thanks too for observations and encouragement from Mrs T – aka Laura Drysdale – Alfie, Jules and Keri Tipler, my right-hand-person Emma Stuart and, in no particular order, a swathe of aficionados, specialists, colleagues, collectors and dealers with whom I spoke or drove. They include Johan Dirickx, Mike Van Dingenen, John Hawkins, Jack Gish, Russ Rosenthal, Amy Shore, Bert Vanderbruggen, Adrian Crawford, Richard Williams, Gerald Stubbs, Marie-Nöelle Turti, Chris Horton, Fran Newman, Steve Bennett, Theodora Lecrinier, Brett Fraser, Bill Hemmer, Becky Turner, Darren and Laila France, Jürgen Barth, Chris Jones at Brittany Ferries, Frances Amissah at Stena Line, Natalie Hall at P&O Ferries, Mike Wilds, Mark Sumpter, Simon Jackson, Ian Heward at Porscheshop, Fraser Stevenson, Joe Jones, Helen Goff, Richard Pomeroy, Angelica Grey, Martin Pearse, Teresa Cherfas, Walter Röhrl, Andrea Kerr, Kobus Cantraine, Niels Timmerman, Jude Haig, Lee Sibley, Tim Havermans, Mark Mullen, Kenny Schachter, Caroline Parker, Nick Bailey, Els van der Meer, Sarah Bennett-Baggs, Géraldine Marx, Vee Vee, José McGill, Sonja Verducci, and Charley Ramm. Thanks to all, and apologies to anyone I’ve missed out.

The author drives a 981 Boxster S at Bilster Berg circuit, northern Germany.ANTONY FRASER

____________________________

INTRODUCTION

Take it to the bridge: Boxster boot and badge with Menai Bridge and Snowdonia backdrop.ANTONY FRASER

CHANGING THE GUARD: THE BOXSTER

As well as the Boxster and 996/997, Harm Lagaaij also designed the Carrera GT.HARM LAGAAIJ

Inspired by curvaceous Porsche sports racing cars of the mid-1950s – principally the 550 Spyder, 718 RSK and RS61 – the Boxster was designed by American Grant Larson, under the direction of Netherlands-born Harm Lagaaij. The Boxster name was derived from ‘boxer’, referring to its horizontally opposed flat-six ‘boxer’ engine, and ‘roadster’, implying a two-seater sports car with demountable roof. The aim was to attract a younger customer base, as well as to steer the company in a completely new direction, with design and construction linked to the incoming 996 (911) model. It featured the same headlights and front lid, as well as similar water-cooled six-cylinder engines, mounted amidships in the case of the Boxster. The chassis tub and panelling were made of galvanized steel enhanced by a sophisticated paint process and incorporating state-of-the-art crash protection. With its automatic, electrically operated soft top and high-backed seats with built-in rollover protection, the Boxster also provided reasonable luggage space up front and behind the engine.

Without the benefit of hindsight, in the early 1990s it would have been difficult to imagine where a mid-engined, water-cooled roadster might have taken a manufacturer so dependent upon a rear-engined, air-cooled coupé. How did they get to launch the car in the first place? Back in the early 1990s, Porsche needed to come up with something pretty inventive to dig itself out of the financial quagmire in which it was floundering. For years the company had muddled along happily enough, turning a decent profit by building some of the world’s most desirable and iconic sports and racing cars. However, by 1992, it was in trouble. The rear-engined and still resolutely air-cooled 911 had in twenty-seven years established itself as a quirky but somehow breathtakingly competent sports car. It had survived a well-intentioned but misguided plan in the early 1980s to ditch it in favour of the V8-engined 928. It had even survived, its reputation more or less intact, being adopted as the yuppies’ weapon of choice during the latter part of that ‘loads-a-money’ decade.

The 718 RS 60 was a supreme hillclimb car, with Heini Walter winning the European Championship in 1960 and 1961.

Silver dream machines: Tipler’s 986 Boxster 550 Spyder 50th Anniversary and 996 C2 in north Norfolk.JOHNNY TIPLER

Despite all this, the positives in the credit column were far outweighed by some depressing statistics on the debit side. Like the fact that the newly launched 968, great car though it may have been, was a reworked 924, itself a VW design dating from the early 1970s. Like the fact that the 928 – another mid-1970s creation – was only marginally less long in the tooth. And like the fact that, even though the 964-model 911 Carrera of the time was selling reasonably well, it cost a fortune to build. Porsche’s solution was bold and far-reaching: get rid of the old guard and bring in some young blood in the form of an energetic new CEO, 39-year-old Dr Wendelin Wiedeking. Wiedeking’s own plan was no less dramatic: phase out the cars that no one wanted to buy because they were too old-fashioned, and replace them with ones they would – even if they did not realize it at the time – and enlist the help of the Japanese, masters of production engineering and just-in-time logistics, to slash assembly costs.

1961 718 RS K flat-eight on display at Rennsport Reunion 2015, Laguna Seca, with Porsche 910, 917, 908 and 935 beyond. A heck of a heritage from which to draw your inspiration when designing a car!JOSH SADLER

The changes could not happen overnight; even in the most profitable car companies, such developments take years rather than weeks or months. But by the end of 1993 the 964-model Carrera would evolve into the 993, one of the most charismatic and effective (and above all necessary) end-of-life facelifts the motor industry has ever witnessed. By 1995, both the 968 and the 928 would be history and there would eventually be a whole range of exciting new models to replace them: a 911 for the twenty-first century – still rear-engined, but, crucially and controversially, watercooled; a sports utility vehicle, or SUV; and, in 2009, a fourdoor sports saloon. But first, no less crucially, there would be the Boxster, which, in order to save cash, would share body and mechanical components with the forthcoming new 911.

Porsche 718 RS K heads a knot of 1950s sports-racers, including Lola, Lotus Eleven, Ferrari Testa Rossa and RS 60, through the Goodwood Chicane during the Revival.JOHNNY TIPLER

Porsche’s chief test driver and former World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl canes the flat-8 718 RS K through the streets of Grobming during a demo at the 2012 Ennstal Classic Rally. The 718’s rear-threequarter aspect was inspirational three decades later in the styling of the Boxster series.JOHNNY TIPLER

A 2002 Boxster 986 amongst the Pfalz vineyards, western Germany.

The idea of a mid-priced sports car was not merely a shot in the dark for Porsche. There were plenty of precedents in the company’s history to suggest such a car was a sound business prospect. Production records showed that there was always a place for a second model family alongside the ubiquitous 911. The first production examples of the Type 986 (Porsche’s internal project number for the car) hit the streets in Germany in late 1996, and by spring 1997 it was available in the UK.

Ten years later, the Boxster was still selling as strongly as ever. Upgrades for 2000 and 2003, and major revisions (and new type numbers 987 and 981) for 2005 and 2012, kept the appeal sharp, while doing nothing to spoil a proven formula. Today, the Boxster is as instantly recognizable a part of the Porsche line-up as its elder brother.

The Boxster has always shared a number of components with, first, the 996-model 911 Carrera and, more recently, the 997. Indeed, it is said that parts ‘commonality’ between the 986 and the 996 ran as high as 36 per cent. Naturally, this made (and still makes) the Boxster cheaper to build, enabling Porsche to offer it as an ‘entry-level’ model. Gradually, though, the two ranges have assumed their own identities, and it is no longer quite so easy to mistake a 911 Carrera Cabriolet for the less expensive roadster.

The major differences between the Boxster and the 911 lie in their layout aft of the windscreen. The former, with its engine mounted longitudinally in the middle of the car, ahead of the transmission, is an open-topped two-seater (although an excellent removable hard top has been available right from the start). The latter, with power unit and gearbox reversed in the chassis, has two occasional rear seats and, although Targa and full Cabriolet versions are available, was designed primarily as a fixed-head coupé. This inevitably prompted a heated debate about potential differences in build quality and residual values, but in the longer term such concerns have proved to be groundless, and no one within the industry today seems concerned about a given car’s origin. In fact, the vast majority of 987 models were built in Finland, with only a small number at Zuffenhausen. The easy way to spot an Uusikaupunki-built car is by the letter ‘IT’ for the eleventh character in the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, rather than an ‘S’ for Stuttgart.

The Boxster in maturity: a 981 in its element on twisty Anglesey roads, driven by Steve Bernett.ANTONY FRASER

Agent orange: Boxster 981 S beside mews garages.JOHNNY TIPLER

No less a subject for debate has been the Boxster’s folding roof. No one has ever seriously questioned its ingenuity or efficiency – it can be opened or closed in around twelve seconds, and, in 987 models, with the car travelling at up to 30mph – but it took five years, until the September 2002 launch of the 2003-model cars, before the original plastic rear window – which was prone to creasing and splitting – was replaced by a proper glass pane. Then there’s the thorny subject of performance – or, in some cases, its alleged absence. Even with 204bhp the 2.5-litre cars could both feel a little lacklustre and sometimes sound more Zanussi than Zuffenhausen, especially with the Tiptronic ‘S’ automatic transmission. Things did improve with first the 2.7- and then the 3.2-litre ‘S’ model – still, a driver does not have to feel cheated if his or her budget will not stretch beyond a 2.5 or an early 2.7.

What a difference a decade makes. In the spring of 1996, Porsche was marketing essentially just one car – the 993- model 911 Carrera. It could be had with two- or four-wheel drive, with manual or Tiptronic automatic transmission, with a coupé, a glass-roofed Targa or a fully convertible body, and with either a normally aspirated or twin-turbocharged engine – but that was it. No Cayenne. No 996. No Carrera GT. Not even the 968 or the long-running 928, both of which had finally ceased production during 1995. And there was no Boxster, although everyone knew by that stage that it was coming. Car manufacturers are understandably coy – if not obsessively secretive – about the precise appearance and specification of forthcoming models, but one this important was bound to be the subject of intense speculation in the motoring and even general-interest press. With the production Boxster’s public launch planned for the prestigious Paris Motor Show in early October, Porsche would certainly not have wanted it any other way. As it turned out, those in the know had a fairly accurate idea of what the Boxster would look like and, unusually, what it would be called. As early as January 1993, Porsche had displayed at the Detroit Motor Show a ‘design study’ for a diminutive, mid-engined, two-seat roadster. While some of the more exuberant styling features were bound to have been little more than experiments – or perhaps quite deliberate false trails – the production version remained surprisingly close to that original concept. The only real difference between them turned out to be in terms of overall length.

Overhead view: 1959 Type 718 RS K Spyder at the Porsche Werk 1 factory building, Zuffenhausen.

Yellow peril: 2014 981 Boxster S at Bilster Berg circuit, north Germany.ANTONY FRASER

What no one could possibly have known then, of course, was how remarkably successful the Boxster would turn out to be. Nobody could have predicted with any accuracy what it would become: not only one of the major factors in Porsche’s dramatic and complete economic recovery from the financial gloom of the early 1990s, but also a car that has come to define an entire generation. It is a car by which an increasing number of wannabe competitors are now inevitably judged. Few of them, with the possible exception of the Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster, have come even close. Porsche itself tentatively suggested that it might sell 12,000 Boxsters during the first year; in fact, nearly 16,000 had left the Zuffenhausen production line by the end of July 1997. Indeed, such was the demand for the car that in the autumn of 1997 the company signed an agreement with Valmet Automotive for assembly in Finland. During 2004 Valmet, like Zuffenhausen, smoothly switched from 986 production to 987s, and since then has put together getting on for 20,000 of the latter alone.

Sales rose strongly year-on-year thereafter and, although by 2003 demand for a product that was by then nearly seven years old was beginning to flatten out – possibly not helped by the events of 11 September 2001, economic recession in the USA, and the war in Iraq – the original 986-model Boxster continued to do well. It was not considered necessary to replace it until the end of 2004 and even that model – code-numbered 987 – really represented little more than a major facelift. In the first ten years of production, almost 200,000 Boxsters of both model types were built, with a further 20,000-plus being produced in the model year ending in July 2006. Adding to this the production of roughly 160,000 996-model 911 Carreras (with which the Boxster has always shared many of its structural, mechanical and interior components) gives a picture of how complete the turnaround in the company’s fortunes had been, engineered by CEO Dr Wendelin Wiedeking.

NEW MODELS: THE CAYMAN

A 2011 Cayman R posed outside Zuffenhausen’s Porsche Museum.

Not content with a two-car range, Porsche followed up a number of new models: the Cayenne, the Panamera, the Macan, and of course the Cayman. Launched in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Show for the 2006 model year, the Cayman coupé has its origins in the second- and thirdgeneration Boxster roadster. The name is derived from the eponymous reptile, and Porsche was protective enough of its brand to sue the American footwear maker Crocs, which had assigned the name to one of its styles. In common with the Boxster, most Caymans were assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive at Uusikaupunki and the rest were assembled in Zuffenhausen. The contract with Valmet Automotive ended in 2012 and Cayman production was due to be outsourced to Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. However, as Volkswagen assumed control of Porsche AG, production of Caymans and Boxsters after 2012 was transferred to the former Karmann plant in Osnabrück, north Germany.

High plains drifter: the 981 Cayman S.

A facelifted version of the Porsche Cayman was introduced on 21 February 2009. The standard Cayman engine’s displacement was increased from 2.7 litres to 2.9 litres, producing a 20bhp increase to 265bhp, while the Cayman S gained direct injection and a 25bhp lift to 320bhp. The new engines no longer had the intermediate shaft, the sealed bearing of which was a weak link in pre-2009 engines due to inadequate lubrication. Both Cayman versions maintained a 10bhp power advantage over their Boxster sibling, although in the Porsche model hierarchy the Cayman still lagged some way behind the 997. The Tiptronic ‘S’ automatic gearbox was replaced by the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission for the new model. The PDK outperformed the manual transmission version with a 0–60mph time of 5.1 seconds versus 5.2 seconds for the manual. The PDK with the sport button option lowered the 0–60mph time even further, to 4.9 seconds. A limited-slip differential was now a factory option. Both the Boxster and the Cayman each had their own specific front bumper panel, with, for example, differently designed front indicators: while both used LEDs, the Cayman’s were arranged like the speckled face of a dice, while the Boxster featured a horizontal row of four LEDs.

Pass of the Cattle: 981 Cayman GTS on the way to Applecross, Wester Ross.ANTONY FRASER

The Cayman R made its world debut at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show on 17 November 2010 and became available in 2011. It was based on a 2009 Cayman S and featured the Porsche OEM aero kit, first introduced in 2007 as a factory option, 19-inch lightweight wheels inherited from the Boxster Spyder, lighter aluminium doors from the 997 GT3, lighter fibreglass bucket seats with carbon-fibre backing from the 997 GT2, plus radio, storage compartments, air-conditioning and door handles deleted, and weighed in at 54.8kg less than a Cayman S. The Cayman R also received similar cosmetic changes to the earlier Cayman S Sport, such as decals on the doors, no instrument cover, glossblack mirrors, black model designation emblem on the lid, and black painted wheels. Endowed with the new passive sports suspension, the Cayman R was 10mm lower than a Cayman S equipped with Porsche Active Suspension Management System (PASM), or 20mm lower than one equipped with standard passive suspension. It was powered by a 3.4- litre flat-six Direct Fuel Injection boxer engine producing 330bhp. The standard Cayman R could do 0–60mph in 4.7 seconds, and with the optional seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission and the Sport Chrono package, it was capable of 0–60mph in 4.4 seconds. The Cayman R with manual transmission topped out at 175mph and 174mph with PDK.

Swabian swoop: Johnny Tipler drives Ruf 3800 S in Bavaria.ANTONY FRASER

The second-generation Cayman was unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and the production 981 was released as a 2014 model in the spring of 2013. The new car was available as a standard Cayman, with a 2.7-litre engine, or as a Cayman S, with a 3.4-litre engine. Both versions were available with either a six-speed manual or a dual-clutch seven-speed PDK transmission. The 981 Cayman featured a number of upgrades, including a new body, a longer wheelbase, a wider front track, and a redesigned interior that matched the firm’s contemporary 911 models. The new model soon gained acclaim in the motoring press as one of the best-handling sports cars at any price, due to its mid-engine layout and driving dynamics. The Cayman S benefited from the same engine and running gear as Porsche’s latest 3.4-litre version of the 911.

As good as it gets: a 2015 Cayman GTS in Wester Ross, Scotland, on some of the world’s best driving roads.ANTONY FRASER

The Cayman GTS, based on the current Cayman, was introduced in 2014. It featured a marginally more powerful engine, a new body kit, new 20-inch Carrera S alloys, new Bi-Xenon headlights and new sports exhaust system. The Cayman GTS was longer than the Cayman and the Cayman S by 1.2 inches due to its bumper, and the new passive sport suspension allowed the Cayman GTS to have a 20mm lower ride height in comparison with a car equipped with standard passive suspension, or 10mm lower than one equipped with PASM. The engine produced 340bhp, and could achieve 0 to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds with the manual transmission, 4.7 seconds with PDK and 4.5 seconds with PDK and Sport Plus mode. The latter was activated via the Sports Chrono Package, which became standard. The 1,345kg Cayman GTS with the manual transmission boasted a top speed of 177mph (285km/h) while the 1,375kg Cayman GTS with PDK could reach 175mph (283km/h). The configuration changes made over a standard Cayman S resembled closely what Porsche did to its predecessors through the Cayman S Sport and Cayman R in the 987-generation vehicles.

In 2015, the Cayman GT4 was introduced, based on the Cayman 981C, using a revised and slightly de-tuned version of the 3.8-litre flat-six engine from the 911 (991) Carrera S. Weighing 1,340kg, the GT4 was offered only with a six-speed manual transmission. A vented front bumper improved cooling for the additional radiator, while a lower lip as well as a fixed rear wing provided downforce. Compared to the standard Cayman, it featured a 30mm lower ride height, upgraded brakes from the 991 GT3, a limited-slip differential combined with Porsche Torque Vectoring, and Porsche Active Suspension Management with dampers derived from the 991 GT3. A number of reinforcements were also made throughout the chassis. A Club Sport Package featured a rear half-rollcage, provision for an external ignition cut-off switch, fire extinguisher and six-point racing harness for the driver, compatible with a HANS device. A Sport Chrono Package with unique Track Precision app, specific to the GT4, provided an additional ECU to deliver telemetry data to the driver’s smartphone. Introduced at the March 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the Cayman GT4’s projected lap time around the Nordschleife was 7 minutes 40 seconds – fast by any standards.

CHAPTER ONE

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ANTECEDENTS

No mistaking the family resemblance: the 718 RS 60 and the 987 Boxster Spyder.

Porsche had been building mid-engined road-going sports cars long before the Boxster hit the streets. The 550 Spyder was a racing car, sure, but it was also street-legal. It was descended from the 1953 class-winning Le Mans and Carrera Panamericana 550-001/002 coupés, and consisted of a simple ladder-frame chassis with independent torsion bar suspension all round, clad in an open-top aluminium body, made originally by Weinsberg and then by Wendler at Reutlingen. Power came from the 1498cc Type 547 four-cam flatfour, developing 110bhp at 6,200rpm; the much rarer factory small-bore 1098cc version was good for 72bhp at a screaming 7,000rpm. There is no evidence that any 1098cc four-cam engines ever made their way into private hands, but works cars raced in 1954 at the Mille Miglia, Reims 12-Hours, Eifelrennen and Le Mans in the hands of Hans Herrmann, Johnny Claes and Richard von Frankenburg, among others. Several class wins were scored against formidable opposition from Borgward, E.M.W., OSCA and Maserati. The first cars were delivered to private owners towards the end of 1954, and the design altered subtly when chassis number 0016 emerged later in the year: the upright headlights that characterized the preceding run of cars (excepting the original coupés) had been massaged into a more laid-back position and the curvaceous hindquarters smoothed out. Only 137 examples of the 550 Spyder were built.