A New Turbo Four Ushers in a Change of Season for the Mid-engined Porsche.
A SINGLE MOMENT. A FLEETING flash when road, driver, and car come together. The instant you recognize the moment is happening, it is gone. You can turn around and run that corner again, but the effect will never be quite the same. You can’t hear your favorite song for the first time twice. Yet the experience is forever grooved into your memory.
Few cars have been so purposefully designed to produce such moments as the Porsche Boxster. A mid-engine convertible barely sized for two, built for pleasure and escape. Forget the specifications, which have improved only modestly over the past two decades: The results always delivered. Internet killjoys love to pit the Boxster against the 911, but devotees know better. The roadster’s greatness lives in the memories of its drivers.
It is a car that changed my own perceptions. I attended a Skip Barber driving course at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park almost 20 years ago. The instructor commanded me to hold my speed steady as we hurtled toward a sharp right-hander. In my naïveté, I was sure we were going to drive off the end of the track. But on his cue, I stomped on the brakes. The Boxster easily shed its speed and slip streamed up the turn. Just one moment, but I was smitten. The car would perform miracles if you were willing to learn its mysteries, master its charms.
Fast forward to the brand-new 2017 Porsche 718 Boxster. I’ve got days to kill and a plan to put a thousand miles on the odometer. There seems an infinite number of potential moments ahead of me, especially as today’s forecast is 78 degrees and I’ll use the car as its creators intended, with the fabric roof tucked away and a breeze licking the interior. What better possibility to forge a new and beautiful memory?
Denne historien er fra February 2017-utgaven av Road & Track.
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Denne historien er fra February 2017-utgaven av Road & Track.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TURD ON THE RUN
IN THE LATE SIXTIES, THE ROLLING STONES BUILT A MOBILE RECORDING STUDIO ON THE BACK OF A FARM TRUCK AND CHANGED MUSIC FOREVER.
I Got a Guy..
There exist people with very particular sets of skills. Skills acquired over long careers. Skills that make them a godsend for people like us. They are the specialists.
LONG TAILS
THE BEAUTIFUL AND BIZARRE RACE CARS DESIGNED TO CONQUER A SINGLE STRIP OF PAVEMENT.
EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING
Winner, Over $100,000: Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
THE GREAT PRETENDER
Winner, Under $100,000: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
BREAKS, NOT BENDS
SINGER'S DIVETRACK TELLS A VERY NICHE KIND OF TIME.
RADIAL FLYER
A MEYERS MANX WITH AN AIRPLANE ENGINE IS A WEIRD FIX FOR SPEED ADDICTION.
THE BALLAD OF CRAZY ROCKETMAN
WHAT A BUILDER OF PULSE-JET-ENGINE VEHICLES CAN TELL US ABOUT MOTORING PASSION.
SOCIETÀ UTOPICA
THE PAGANI UTOPIA IS MORE THAN JUST A CAR. IT'S A HANDCRAFTED INVITATION TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST EXCLUSIVE MOTORING CLUBS.
ST.ELMO'S FIRE
AN INDIANAPOLIS RESTAURANT WITH FACEMELTING SHRIMP HAS BEEN A DE FACTO RACING CLUBHOUSE FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY.