PORSCHE BOXSTER (1996-2004)
There’s no two ways about it, the Boxster was the saviour of the Porsche brand. The Stuttgart outfit had been working on the car since the early 1990s when it realised that its aging 928 and 944 were clearly in need of replacement – the 968 merely a stop-gap. The Boxster was a fresh take on an entry level offering, borrowing as it did design cues from the 356 and 550 Spyder of old. Indeed the 986 generation signalled a new dawn for Porsche in more ways than one; gone were the air-cooled engines of old and in came water-cooling across the board.
Of course, the marque had history with water pumpers thanks to the transaxle cars, the 924, 944, 968, and 928, but for this mid-engined offering and its halo 911 sibling, it was covering new ground with six-cylinder water-cooled motors. What’s more, the 986 shared its front section with the
