1996 Porsche Boxster 2.5 986

Porsche was in an even greater degree of trouble than BMW by the early Nineties. As well as suffering the same set of economic woes, it had no volume-built products in its range to bail it out. Its only profitable car, the 944, was rendered prohibitively expensive by its Euro I-compliant transformation into the 968, and in the midst of recession the 911 had acquired a yuppie image problem. Suddenly, you were more likely to find one in a satirical newspaper cartoon than starring in a Hollywood blockbuster.

A plan had been brewing for a four-cylinder baby 911, the 984 Junior, since 1984 but the 1987 crash had killed it off. The concept resurfaced as the mid-engined Boxster at the 1993 Detroit Motor Show, but in order to productionise it Porsche had to go cap-in-hand to Toyota to learn the ways of lean mass-production. It couldn’t be totally bespoke – from the A-pillars forward it’s pure 996, as is its M96 flat-six in a smaller-displacement setup – but these economies got it to market. In my opinion the 986 Boxster is better-looking than its more 911 stablemate. There’s something more lithe and balanced about its Coke-bottle, 550 Spyder-referencing lines compared to the heavy-bottomed Carrera. Given that both cars’ design cues began on Grant Larson’s Boxster concept, it could be argued that it’s the 996 design which is the true compromise, not the Boxster.

The concept-car adventurism extends into the cockpit, with its floating boomerang-shaped instrument shroud and ellipsoid air vents. Allied to the extensive use of contrasting leather, it looks and feels far more bespoke than the likes of the parts-bin BMW.

Unfortunately, as with all early Boxsters, this one – the first in the UK and the star of CAR’s original road test – has an awkward driving position compromised by a steering wheel that’s too big and doesn’t adjust enough. It was something Porsche addressed fairly quickly in production, but not before the infamously long-legged Jeremy Clarkson had complained in his Top Gear Magazine review that he couldn’t put his foot fully down on the accelerator, and during a thrash across the North York Moors found himself outdragged by a Vauxhall Corsa.

I’ve got the same problem, although I can forgive the Boxster as it somehow conspires to make it feel more exotic and old-fashioned than it actually is. So does the clonky, long-throw gear lever. These are the same kind of physical cues you encounter in a Dino 246GTS. It sounds and feels very undramatic at low speeds, as though it’s deliberately town-friendly. However, push it beyond 3000rpm and the flat-six gives off a steely howl as the nacelled bonnet lunges for the horizon with Seventies-supercar urge. This feels like a lot more car than the £5000 or even less that it’d typically cost you.

It’s definitely not a 911, although in the corners that’s no bad thing. There’s a wonderful feeling of mid-bend neutrality and balance, no sense that you have to rein in its bulk or think about all the weight in the tail. Instead, the car seems to pivot around the base of your spine, just like the 914 did before it. This layout could cope with so much more power, and it’s interesting that although the Boxster was always intended as the sub-911, Porsche has gone on to do just that. As later 911s became more complicated, the Boxster and its Cayman coupé cousin have become Porsche’s purest drivers cars.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons why these early Boxsters are so cheap is down to the market’s fear of intermediate shaft bearing failure on the M96 engine reducing it to scrap value. In truth, it affects fewer than five percent of M96s, although for your own peace of mind a specialist like RPM Technik can upgrade the bearing for around £700. It’s a lot of money if you’ve just shelled out £3850 for an example like the 1998 2.5 we found in Nottinghamshire, but it’s worth it. It’s also worth pointing out that although this bearing failure has seemingly happened at random, it appears to be worse on little-used cars where owners have skimped on oil changes.

With this in mind, service history is vital when it comes to buying a Boxster, especially given that Porsche build quality means the bodywork rarely rusts so it scrubs up well. If you’re on a budget, go for a high-miler rather than something with patchy paperwork – £4000 would get you 100k-plus-milers we found in Birmingham and Kent. For the very best you need to spend £6k-£10k, but it may pay off – the days of the £2.5k banger-Boxster seem to be over.

‘The Boxster is definitely not a 911, although in the corners that’s no bad thing’

This very early spec interior does have its limitations Front and rear storage is one of the Boxster’s great practical strengths. From all angles the 986 is a bold and effective piece of design.

Owning a Porsche Boxster 2.5

‘We go back a long way, this car and I,’ says cardiac surgeon and official Formula One Doctor Christopher Efthymiou. ‘I was a lucky 19-year-old with a VW-Porsche 914 1.8 back in January 1997, when Hilton Holloway and John Simister of CAR magazine called me up and asked whether I wanted to take part in a twin test, comparing the last time Porsche built a small, mid-engined roadster with this new Boxster. We took them to Hemel Hempstead in the snow, and I got to drive the Boxster – the first in the UK. ‘Incredibly, in 2017 I found that very car for sale. It’s worth £12k now, a lot for an old Boxster, but given its history, tempered by the high mileage – the result of a lot of road-testers and Porsche UK using it extensively before selling it on the open market – it’s good value for a piece of history. That use did take its toll, so this year I renewed the suspension. I did the work myself – at a specialist it would’ve cost £400 per corner plus £800 labour. The engine’s never missed a beat.’

1996 Porsche Boxster 2.5 986

• Engine 2480cc horizontally-opposed six-cylinder, dohc per bank, Bosch Motronic DME fuel injection
• Max Power 204bhp @ 6000rpm
• Max Torque 180lb ft @ 4500rpm
• Transmission Five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
• Steering Power-assisted rack and pinion
• Suspension
• Front and rear: independent, MacPherson struts, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar
• Brakes Servo-assisted discs front and rear
• Weight 1250kg
• Performance 0-60mph: 6.6sec
• Top speed: 149mph
• Fuel consumption 29mpg
• Cost new £33,950
• Classic Cars Price Guide £3600-£6500