The second-generation Boxster range comes in a truly dynamic outfit in terms of both looks and technical features. In their design, the upgraded models follow Porsche's usual process of steady and consistent evolution. Without being required or seeing any need to radically change the design and looks of the car, Porsche's designers have further refined the already very well-balanced and harmonious design language of the existing model.

2005 Porsche Boxster (987)

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2005 Porsche Boxster (987)
  • Horsepower: 240@6400
  • Torque: 6000
  • Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

The very face of the car with its new headlight design, the silhouette of the Boxster with its new, even more muscular line contours, the larger wheels, as well as the rear end with its new, even more striking joints and seams all look familiar and well-acquainted, but are nevertheless even clearer, firmer and more functional in style than before. Cooperating closely with Porsche's aerodynamicists, the engineers have also succeeded in reducing the drag coefficient to just 0.29.

More Power

The new power and strength in the design of the Porsche Boxster continues appropriately within the lightweight bodyshell of this outstanding mid-engined roadster: Maximum output of the 2.7-litre Boxster is now 240 bhp. Performance on the road has improved accordingly, the Boxster now requiring a mere 6.2 seconds for the standard sprint from 0 – 60 mph and achieving a top speed of 159 mph.

The optimised five-speed gearshift on the Boxster offers the driver even shorter, crisper and more precise shift travel than before, plus improved synchromesh. The Boxster is also available with Tiptronic S and a new six-speed manual gearbox in conjunction with active suspension.

Wider Track with Active Suspension as an Option

Enhanced to an even higher standard with its wider track, plus larger wheels and new tyres, the suspension allows even higher lateral acceleration with road comfort remaining unchanged. The Boxster now comes as standard on 17-inch wheels and is available as an option ex-works with wheels measuring 18 or even 19 inches in diameter.

Porsche's Active Suspension Management (PASM) available as an option together with the six-speed manual gearbox changes the damper control map at the touch of a button, thus offering the best of two worlds in one system: The perfect combination of a sporting and comfortable suspension, on the one hand, with an extremely dynamic, performance-oriented set-up, on the other, ensuring a supreme standard also on the race track.

Sports Chrono Package for Enhanced Performance

The Porsche Sports Chrono Package is simply ideal for the sports-minded, truly dedicated driver. Offering modified engine control maps and management strategies for driving to the extreme with maximum safety and efficiency, this individual feature activated at the touch of a button comprises an analogue/digital stopwatch on the instrument panel enabling the driver to check the dynamic performance of his car down to the last hundredth of a second.

Variable Rack-and-Pinion Steering for Even Greater Agility

The new rack-and-pinion steering with its variable transmission ratio guarantees outstanding agility on winding roads and, at the same time, excellent driving stability at very high speeds. And now the steering wheel is adjustable not only for reach, but also for height (by 40 millimetres or 1.57"), offering the driver an even more individual seating position.

Porsche Stability Management (PSM) now featured as standard and developed to an even higher level of perfection enhances active safety when applying the brakes, accelerating and in bends to an even higher level of quality. The modified system allows the driver to choose an even more sporting style of motoring with even more sensitive control. The brake system has also been upgraded to match the car's even higher standard of performance, responding even more quickly thanks to the upgraded and even more effective brake servo. Diameter of the brake discs cross-drilled and inner-vented on both models is 299 millimetres or 11.77" at the rear and 298 millimetres or 11.73" at the front.

The World's First Roadster with a Head Airbag

The Porsche Boxster protects both driver and passenger against collisions from the side by means of a head airbag. Combined with a thorax airbag housed on the outer side of the seat backrest, the airbag comes out of the doorsill whenever required and ensures a very high standard of safety around the head area also in an open car.

Frontal airbags for the driver and passenger, plus three-point inertia-reel seat belts with a belt latch tensioner and belt force limiter round off the restraint system featuring all these highlights as standard.

Interior with Unique Seats

The interior is also new in its design, enhanced ergonomically to an even higher standard. New materials with sophisticated surfaces finished in leather and in aluminium look create a very sophisticated, exclusive flair inside the car.

The seats themselves are brand-new, offering the customer a choice of four different variants ranging from the standard seats through the electrically adjustable seats complete with a lumbar support and the leather sports seats all the way to the adaptive sports seats offering individual adjustment of the side supports on the seat bottom and backrest. Indeed, this range of seats is quite unique in the Boxster segment.

Enhanced Range of Standard Equipment

Apart from Porsche Stability Management (PSM), an on-board computer, a CD-radio and air conditioning, the soft roof now featuring a wider range of comfort amenities also comes as standard with fully electrical operation. Within just 12 seconds, the driver can open or close the roof even while driving at a speed of up to 31 mph.

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Boxster - New Generation

The second-generation Porsche Boxster comes with even more self-assertion, more power and more performance. While only carefully re-modelled in its contours, Porsche's mid-engined sports car is significantly wider on the road. Larger wheels and a wider track accen¬tuate the further enhanced design of the body.

At the same time these improvements symbolise the increase in power, the 2.7-litre six-cylinder in the Boxster now developing maximum output of 240 bhp. The Boxster now accelerates to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds and has a top speed of 159 mph, but is more fuel-efficient all the same, averaging 9.6 litres premium plus (29.4 mpg Imp) in the EU combined cycle. And it almost goes with-out saying that the Boxster outperforms the EU 4 and LEV II emission standards.

New Face

The design of the new generation is full of clarity, tension and functionality. Particular high-lights at the front are the new headlights, the front lights now forming separate units, the larger air intake scoops and the new contours of the front lid. With their higher, more striking topline, the front wheel arches stand out more clearly from the bootlid.

The side view is characterised by larger wheels, larger air intakes in front of the rear wheels, and new, protruding door handles. The rear end remains typical of the Boxster in every respect, but now looks even more muscular with the bumper positioned higher up and the dividing seam moving up at an angle. Apart from the model designation at the rear and the newly designed, oval tailpipe, the Boxster is also characterised by its black eloxy-painted brake callipers.

Superior Aerodynamics

The second-generation Boxster is even more superior in terms of aerodynamics, with the drag coefficient down from 0.31 to 0.29. At the same time Porsche's developing engineers have minimised lift forces on the front and rear axle in the interest of superior safety and stability even at very high speeds.

To achieve this goal, the floor layout, the swept nose of the body and the round contours of the front end have all been optimised for superior aerodynamic efficiency and a significantly enhanced flow of cooling air.

Extra Torque

The six-cylinder power unit of the Boxster remains largely unchanged with the exception of one significant modification: The bearing bridge on the crankshaft is now made completely of aluminium reducing engine weight by a significant 5.5 kg. Apart from its increase in maximum output, the 2.7-litre power unit offers more torque at low and medium engine speeds. Among other things, this is attributable to fundamental, ongoing development of the entire air flow system from the air filter to the exhaust tailpipe.

The new, even larger filter, to take just one example, significantly reduces counter-pressure and facilitates the process of drawing in air. Another new feature is the twin-chamber distributor pipe complete with a distributor flap. The optimised air supply provided in this way means a lot more thrust from just 1500 rpm, with maximum torque of  199 lb-ft between 4700 and 6000 rpm.

Power is transmitted on the Boxster by Porsche's revised five-speed manual gearbox. Shift operation is modified to shorten shift travel by approximately 27 per cent. The new six-speed manual gearbox of the Boxster S is available as an optional sports package together with “Porsche Active Suspension Management” (PASM). And five-speed Tiptronic S also comes as an optional extra.

Sporting Suspension – as an Option with Active Control

To enhance the Boxster's dynamic performance to an even higher level, Porsche's engineers have fundamentally upgraded the suspension set-up: Wider track, new and larger wheels combined with 17-inch tyres, weight reduction on the various components as well as enhanced torsional and flexural stiffness give the Boxster even more sporting driving behaviour and larger safety reserves, with driving comfort remaining unchanged.

Apart from the “basic" suspension, the Boxster is available as an option with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), in which case the entire car is lowered by 10 millimetres or almost 0.4". Four dampers electrically adjustable for hardness are consistently tuned to current requirements in an automatic process depending on driving dynamics and road conditions.

The driver himself is able to choose from two suspension programs by pressing a button on the centre console: The Normal mode offers a more comfortable setting automatically becoming more dynamic as the driver chooses a more sporting style of motoring. The Sports mode, on the other hand, activates a harder damper control map for a particularly agile style of motoring.

Superior Brake System

The exemplary brake system of the Porsche Boxster has been modified on two major counts: At the rear brake discs measuring 299 millimetres (11.78") in diameter ensure optimum deceleration, while the brake discs at the front are the same size as before. The wheel bearings feature black eloxy-plated monobloc swing-calliper brakes pressed against the brake linings in each case by four pistons.

To reduce the forces required for operating the brakes and ensure even faster brake response, the second major improvement is an increase in the servo reinforcement effect by 18 per cent. And last but not least, the servo pressure for the brakes now comes from a mechanically driven pump, and no longer from underpressure in the intake system.

The active safety package in the Boxster now comes as standard with upgraded Porsche Stability Management (PSM) comprising the well-known ABS (anti-lock brake system), ASC (anti-slip control), EDC (engine drag control), and ADB (automatic brake differential) functions. Developed to an even higher standard with even more precise control quality and optimised ABS components, these superior systems, in conjunction with the new tyres, make stopping distances even shorter.

The Boxster driver seeking an even higher standard of sporting performance in his roadster will probably go for Porsche's Sports Chrono Package offering an even “steeper" gas pedal control map, a harder speed limiter at maximum revs, and activation of Porsche Stability Management (PSM) at an even higher point. And in conjunction with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) available as an option, the Sports Chrono program makes the dampers even harder and firmer in the Sports mode.

Extra Space in the Redesigned Interior

Although the car is only slightly larger outside, the Boxster offers more space in the completely redesigned interior thanks to the pedals moved further to the front and the lower seating position. The new seats, in turn, also offer more space and better support at the sides.

In all, the Boxster is available with four different types of seats: The standard seats with electrical backrest adjustment, all-electric seats with lumbar support, leather sports seats with enhanced side support, and adaptive sports seats with individually adjustable side cushions on the seat bottom and the backrest.

Use of new materials within the interior including Alcantara, leather and trims finished in aluminium-look, creates a very sophisticated flair. The three circular dials with the rev counter in the middle and black faces are now further apart in the new instrument cluster, ensuring even greater clarity, particularly with white LED illumination at night.

A power-operated soft roof is now obviously featured as standard, opening and closing at speeds of up to 50 km/h. At a speed between 10 and 50 km/h, all the driver has to do is briefly touch the roof button to open or close the roof in just 12 seconds. Other standard features include electric window lifts, a CD-radio, air conditioning with an integrated active carbon filter, an on-board computer and central locking.

As an option the Boxster naturally comes with an aluminium hardtop complete with a heated rear window and a newly designed wind deflector now comprising an even larger plexiglass panel in the middle thanks to the higher rollbar.

A range of new customisation features is also available, including a sports steering wheel and the multifunction steering wheel serving, for example, to operate optionally available “Porsche Communication Management” (PCM) complete with a 5.8-inch colour display, a navigation module, and a separate DVD player.

A Roadster with Head Airbags

The Boxster is the first open car to feature a new head airbag concealed within the side panels on the doors. Together with the thorax airbags in the seat backrest, this ensures a very high standard of safety in collisions from the side. Frontal airbags for the driver and front passenger complete with a belt latch tensioner and a belt force limiter are naturally standard.

The Boxster is also the leader in structural safety, its bodyshell complying with all international standards and requirements in terms of occupant and partner protection and coming with a redesigned rollbar.

The so-called upper load path has been optimised in order to stiffen the passenger cell in a head-on or offset collision: The upper load path feeds forces acting on the body of the car in a collision very effectively from the front end via the doors to the rear. To ensure this effect, the doors are reinforced by an additional steel profile plate at the top and rest against an optimised side panel structure in the event of a collision.

Last but not least, a support tube made of high-strength steel extending from the lower bulkhead crossbar to the A-pillar serves to further strengthen the passenger cell especially in an offset collision.