e-Brake News: Model Guide: 1997-2004 Porsche Boxster — an affordable flat-six powered roadster

Published: Tue, 09/26/17

eBrake News
September 26, 2017
PCA—The Porsche Boxster was presented to the automotive industry in 1993 as a prototype at the Detroit Auto Show. The Boxster, whose name combined “boxer” for its horizontally opposed boxer engine and “roadster,” quickly gained popularity as magazine articles spread the word of an entry-level, two-seater, mid-engined Porsche.
 
 
PCA—Yesterday Porsche announced the ultimate version of its long-roof Panamera, the 680-horsepower Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo, which presumably completes the model’s lineup (barring special editions) for the foreseeable future.
PCA—A little before reaching the crest of the hill, I applied the brakes, glad to enlist gravity to help slow my 1997 Porsche Boxster before negotiating the blind, 90° Turn 6 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. After the turn, I got a glance of what looked like a dark red Porsche 911 occupying most of my rear-view mirror. It was a beautiful early model that I had seen in the paddock but not on the track.
 
 
Photos by William "Rusty" Russ
Photo Imaging by Rusty—Last weekend, from Sept 20-23, Treffen Asheville took place, where members drove their Porsches, explored the area, and dined at the best restaurants. We'll have an article ready for next week, but until then, here are some stats and pictures from the event.

Number of registrants: 455 (237 primary registrants)
Number of Porsches: 230
Number of regions represented: 68
Total registrants from Appalachian Region: 31

 
PCA—A popular PCA member benefit is The Mart, the club’s classifieds section online and in each issue of Porsche Panorama. Mart Fresh is a bi-weekly column in which PCA media staff pick what they think are the "freshest" Porsches currently available, and then attempt to explain their reasoning. Up this week are a 2004 911 GT3, 1998 Boxster, and 2013 Panamera GTS.
 
PCA—Drivers endured muggy temperatures and several rain showers while competing over the weekend in the Big Easy for the 2017 PCA Mardi Gras Cup at NOLA Motorsports Park, hosted by Mardi Gras and Whiskey Bay Regions.
 
PCA—Seventeen PCA Club Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East series competitors took the green flag for Sprint 1 Saturday morning at NOLA Motorsports Park during the 2017 PCA Mardi Gras Cup, hosted by the Mardi Gras and Whiskey Bay PCA Regions.
 
Images courtesy Porsche and Mercedes-Benz
Road & Track—Ask anybody who really knows horses: If you want to ride a thoroughbred, be prepared for anything. The best of them are hot, with vicious tempers. The worst will draw blood—like the notorious “Beau Monde,” who, according to one witness, “killed a horse on a flight, bit someone’s thumb off, broke a hot-walker’s arm in three places... and bit me in the chest so hard that I could feel the blood running down my shirt.”
 
 
The Smoking Tire via YouTube—This Porsche 964 Carrera 4 is the long-term project and track car of Matt's old friend Larry Kosilla, founder of AMMO Auto Care. What began as a semi-practical weekend toy has been pulled apart and put back together again several times over, with a punched-out 3.8L air-cooled flat six making 300 HP at all four wheels, a beefed up gearbox, fine-tuned suspension, and even a surgical removal of the sunroof. This is a serious build, not for the faint of heart.
 
Car and Driver—The Porsche Cayenne Turbo, introduced in 2003, was the vector for a contagion that has since spread to the farthest reaches of the automotive universe. The 1992 GMC Typhoon may have been the first diagnosed case of this high-performance SUV virus, but now even Ferrari is running a fever. Symptoms can include weight gain, swelling of underhood forces, elevated profit margins, and thinning of a brand’s heritage. While the 2017 Cayenne is still frothing mad in Turbo S form, the Porsche’s overhaul for 2019 with Stuttgart’s latest infection means this could be our last checkup with the current model.
 
Motor Trend—On this episode of Head 2 Head, hosts Jonny Lieberman and Randy Pobst compare the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet and 2017 Audi R8 V10 Spyder to find out which one is the better convertible sports car.
 
Jalopnik—The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small overlap crash test is no joke. Vehicles that pass often include provisions specifically for the test, and those provisions add weight. How much? Well, according to Porsche’s SUV Body in White Team Leader Rudiger Jahn, 110 pounds in the case of the new Cayenne.
 
Petrolicious—The 911 T was the most stripped-down model in the range, and arguably the most pleasurable experience because of it. No excessive luxuries or functionality to take away from a pure driving experience.
 
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Lockton Affinity Motorsports—There are many modifications PCA members can make to boost the speed of their cars. Modifying cars, the right way is important. Read the tips below to increase your vehicle’s speed safely:

Tires: Quality tires provide better grip—giving your car added grip under braking, acceleration, and in turns and corners

Suspension: Factory suspension components are a compromise between handling and ride quality. Modifications to your car's suspension can enhance the mechanical grip of your car. Upgrades can lead to increased cornering speeds and faster speeds in straightaways. Larger sway bars and higher spring rates add roll resistance to help the car remain more "flat", and upgraded shocks/dampers can improve cornering grip as well.

Brakes: How do brakes increase the speed of a car? It’s simple. With better brakes, you can brake later and more efficiently.

Learn: As delivered, Porsche automobiles are capable of performing beyond most owners’ abilities. The number one way to improve the performance of your vehicle is to improve the "nut behind the wheel". Invest in yourself by attending HPDEs and other educational performance driving events to improve your skills. Unlike investing in a set of tires or brakes, it's a "performance upgrade" that will never wear out.

Remember when adding power upgrades to your vehicle, it is critical to ensure your braking system sufficient for the added power.

For more tips on car upgrades and HPDE insurance, visit LocktonMotorsports.com.
 
MultiBriefs—During any vehicle's production run, there are always a few significant examples produced. Some of these would include cars with special options or with the most options. With Porsches, performance-related examples often get the "significant nod" here. The rare colors are also neat and stand out among the group in later years.
 
Motor1—Has the mighty Porsche 911 Turbo S finally met its match in the form of the "entry level" McLaren 540C? Both offer bonafide supercar performance way above their pay grade, so the question is not only which is best, but which represents the best value?
 
Motorweek via YouTube—Ed.: Watch this vintage Motorweek road test of a 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera. The road testers loved it!
 
Car and Driver—As guaranteed as death and taxes is that every iteration of today’s Porsche 911 is ridiculously quick, has gobs of grip, and stops like someone dropped a concrete wall in its path. The slowest model we’ve tested, the 370-hp Carrera with the manual transmission, smoked to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds flat. That’s the base 911. The rest of the “entry-level” Carreras—those lacking GTS, Turbo, or GT3 badges—fall between that time and the automatic-transmission Carrera S’s 3.1-second rip. Each is capable of at least 1.00 g of lateral grip and a stop from 70 mph in fewer than 150 feet.
 
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Road & Track—Japanese TV show Best Motoring typically features track battles composed of all sorts of different sports cars. This is not one of those track battles. Here, the guys at Best Motoring put a first-gen Porsche Cayenne Turbo up against a Honda CR-V, a Lexus RX Hybrid (in JDM Toyota guise), a Mazda CX-7, and a Mitsubishi Pajero. No, really.
 
Black Flag via Jalopnik—In addition to its impressive performance, the new Porsche Cayenne will also be a technological powerhouse upon hitting the market next year. The Porsche Connect Plus system will even let subscribers control their smart home functions from behind the wheel of the SUV.
 
Photo by Jayson Fong
Petrolicious—Located in Essex, England, Hedingham Castle is an intimidating Norman fortress set against a picturesque estate backdrop. Twice in its history it has been laid under siege, and both times good fortunes lay with the besiegers. Earlier this month, the castle was once again surrounded, but rather than warring forces this time it was a collection of Porsches that’d come from across the country to gather on these grounds for a meeting of enthusiasts celebrating the birthday of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.
 
Car and Driver—Hard up for details on Porsche’s new Surface Coated Brakes, or PSCB for short? We visited with the company’s braking and chassis engineers in Germany for more information, and we can say this much: They’re more than just a new way for Porsche to empty your pockets of a few thousand bucks.
 
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Jalopnik—Porsche, an automaker whose head of GT cars once said that Nürburgring lap times aren’t a priority, is apparently out to punch the Nürburgring lap time sheet in the face. The new 2018 GT2 RS was just spotted at the ‘Ring making a sub-seven minute run of the Nordschleife course where the battle over lap records goes down.
 
Autoblog—Perhaps as much as sports cars, Porsche also stands for design. Formerly known as Porsche Design Studio and now trading under the name Studio F.A. Porsche, the company's industrial design and product design arm pens everything from watches to external hard drives, from eyewear to cutlery — and cars aren't the only mode of transport with a Porsche stamp on them.
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The Drive—We were at Laguna Seca this weekend for the penultimate round of the IMSA sports car season, and while there we overheard someone say "Next year Porsche will really have to put up or shut up. These mid-engine cars can't win anything."
 
PCA—Want to get published in PCA.org and e-Brake News and be part of the new, volunteer-fueled PCA Media Gruppe? Send us your original PCA or Porsche-related content and we'll consider it for publication. Contact Editor Damon Lowney at [email protected] with submissions and story ideas, and he will help with writing and editing as needed. 
 
Porsche of the Week
Photo by William Russ. Florida Crown Region. “Here is my 1970 911S, a Concours d' Elegance class-winning Porsche, restored by Brumos Porsche over three years.”
 
Got a stunning shot you want to share? Submit your pictures to [email protected]. Be sure to include your contact information, your region name, and a few sentences about your picture.
 
 
e-Brake News 

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