New 2017 Porsche 718 Boxster And 718 Cayman Launched

Porsche has launched the new 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman at an ex-showroom Delhi price of Rs 85.53 lakh and Rs 81.63 lakh, respectively. When and if the more powerful S variants of the 718 will launch is anybody’s guess. The Cayman wears the sloping roof of a coupe on top while the Boxster can take its soft hat off at the push of a button. 

Instead of chasing horsepower figures, Porsche believes in making cars that put a smile on the driver’s face. The 718s stick to the traditional sportscar definition and goes with the mid-engine rear-wheel drive layout for a balanced weight distribution and maximum happiness.

Traditionally, the hardtop Cayman has been faster at accelerating than the Boxster, but in the latest generation, the two cars are equally quick to touch 100kmph. The previous generation of 718s was powered by a naturally aspirated 6-cylinder 3.5-litre boxer engine. You can think of the boxer as a V6 with the two banks separated by 180 degrees. Going down on the displacement is almost always considered atrocious, and the newer cars pack a much smaller 2.0-litre 4-cylinder boxer. A little help from the turbocharger along with the direct injection trick gives the engine a power figure of 300PS at 6500rpm. The peak torque of 380Nm comes at 1950rpm and enjoys a relaxed stay until the tacho touches the 4500rpm mark. That’s 35PS and 100Nm more than the previous Boxster.

With the 7-speed dual clutch PDK gearbox driving the rear wheels, they both can spring to 100kmph in 4.9 seconds and opting for the Sport Chrono package cuts that time by two-tenths of a second. Their top speeds have been restricted to 275kmph.!

Porsche also claims that the steering is now ‘10 per cent more direct’. Driving the new 718s with surgical precision on open roads, you can expect a mileage of 17.5kmpl. Porsche claims that in the urban jungle, you should get around 11kmpl. Both the numbers are phenomenal for something called a sportscar.

Apart from the passenger seat, most essential features like  2-zone climate control, navigation, a decent sound system, LED headlights, ceramic brakes, GT sports steering wheel, keyless entry, push-button start and the power adjustable seats are all on the list of optional packages.

The Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 is its closest rival, which is priced at Rs 79.2 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The SLC gets a bigger and more powerful 3.0-litre twin turbo V6, which produces 367PS of power and a massive 520Nm of twist. The closely spaced 9-speed gearbox gets it up to 100kmph in 4.7 seconds. In addition, Mercedes-Benz packs in most of the aforementioned features as standard.