Skip advert
Advertisement

Porsche Boxster (2012-2016) review - all the sportscar you might ever need - Design

The ultimate open top sports car?

Design

The lighter, lower, faster, more efficient 981 generation Boxster doesn’t just look a whole lot better than the older Boxster, its body is 40 per cent more torsionally rigid, the front track is 40mm wider, the rear 18mm wider and the wheelbase is 60mm longer. Yet it weighs 25kg or 35kg (depending whether you pick the manual or PDK options) less than the previous car.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Best looking of all, the GTS has 20-inch wheels and smoked ‘Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus’ bi-xenon headlights, which adjust the range of their beams according to the traffic ahead.

The car’s nose is 30mm longer thanks to a modified spoiler lip, and the air inlets are larger. Mechanically, there’s PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management), plus Sport Chrono, which allows you to tune the damping and throttle response at the touch of a button. Also standard are ‘Sports Seats Plus’ and a sports exhaust. Option these parts on a Boxster S and you’d raise the price to GTS levels.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

VW Golf GTI Edition 50 v Toyota GR Yaris Aero v Honda Civic Type R: hot hatch stars go head-to-head
Golf GTI v GR Yaris Aero v Civic Type R
Group tests

VW Golf GTI Edition 50 v Toyota GR Yaris Aero v Honda Civic Type R: hot hatch stars go head-to-head

Volkswagen and Toyota have just released the best versions yet of the GR Yaris and Mk8 Golf GTI. Does either have what it takes to overcome the brilli…
2 Aug 2026
I put budget tyres to the test in the wet, and the results were terrifying
Cheap tyres
Opinion

I put budget tyres to the test in the wet, and the results were terrifying

Skimping on tyres may save you a few pounds, but at what cost, ponders Barker
30 Jul 2026
A week in a Porsche 911 GT3: why the world’s best sports car isn’t quite perfect
Porsche 911 GT3 Touring
Long term tests

A week in a Porsche 911 GT3: why the world’s best sports car isn’t quite perfect

A week in the Porsche 911 GT3 reveals why even the world’s best sports car can’t get it all right
3 Aug 2026