2015 Porsche Boxster GTS: King Of The Topless Porsches

Thank you, Porsche.  Thank you for taking the floaties off of the Boxster's sublime platform and giving it a push towards the deep end of the sports car swimming pool.  After years of hamstringing the Boxster in the power department so as to prevent the company's 911 Carrera Cabriolet halo car from being upstaged by its affordable sibling, the 2015 Porsche Boxster GTS represents the first real step in acknowledging that there's room in the showroom for both a lusty roadster and a mature grand tourer.  Gifted with a more robust engine and almost full run of the Boxster's options sheet, the GTS model presents that rare instance of a car's top trim level also delivering the best value for the money.

What's A GTS?

By now almost every sports car fan is familiar with the Porsche Boxster, which debuted at the end of the 1990s to capture entry-level buyers looking for something smaller and less expensive than a 911 Carrera.  What some enthusiasts aren't aware of, however, is that the Boxster's mid-engine design has long trumped the 911's rear-slung lump in the driving dynamics department by way of its almost perfect balance, a characteristic that is especially addictive when the car is driven on a race track.

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2015 marks the first year that the Porsche Boxster has enjoyed a GTS trim level, which was formerly restricted to the Cayenne, the Carrera, and the Panamera.  Think of it as the Boxster S with several bonuses: an uproarious sport exhaust system, a lower ride height as well as PASM adaptive suspension, and the Sport Chrono package.  The Boxster GTS doesn't just deliver mechanical upgrades, either.  Inside the car's two-seat cockpit Porsche has installed Alcantara on the doors and headliner, and you also get carbon fibre accents throughout the cabin.  A sufficiently aggressive body kit highlights the convertible's attitude to passers-by, and the vehicle gains HID headlights and LED tail lights.

Bang For The Buck

If one were to add all of that gear to the Boxster S in the form of options and packages it wouldn’t be long before the window sticker's total surpassed the Boxster GTS' $83,900 MSRP, which makes the seemingly-expensive version of the roadster a bit of a bargain for anyone seeking a full load.  But wait - there's more.  The GTS also massages the Boxster S' 3.4-litre six-cylinder engine to produce an extra 15 ponies and 7 lb-ft of torque, bringing total figures to 330 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of twist.  You can't get that level of output any other way from a factory Boxster, regardless of whether you order the car with its traditional six-speed manual or the available six-speed dual-clutch automated PDK manual transmission.

Bottled Lightning

There's really only one 'correct' manner in which to drive the Boxster GTS, and that's with Porsche's Active Suspension Management set to Sport Plus, the sport exhaust system wide open, and the power top safely stowed behind the front seats.  With your foot to the floor, preferably in a tunnel, you are instantly enveloped in the GTS' aural cocoon of awesomeness, a sensation that is only reinforced upon lifting off the gas in order to enjoy the raw fuel detonating through the car's twin pipes in a crackle worthy of a summer thunderstorm.

15 extra horsepower might not seem like much, but when combined with the Porsche Boxster GTS' many other performance-enhancing attributes this model's dynamic dominance over the rest of the Boxster lineup is impossible to deny.  In the manual-equipped Boxster I drove the Sport Plus setting activated automatic throttle blipping on downshifts, allowing me to feel and project an illusory aura of smoothness as I coasted down to every stop light.  Is it possible to burn through an entire tank of fuel in a single evening with the Boxster GTS?  Yes, especially if, like me, you become completely addicted to the snarling wail of the flat-six engine sitting behind you.

The 2015 Porsche Boxster GTS is more than just sturm und drang, of course.  As I mentioned earlier, the car's mid-engine placement encourages more pivots than powerslides, which is ideal for anyone who understands that the quickest way through any corner is cutting the apex, not a smoky tire display.  Despite the presence of electric power steering, the roadster is eloquently communicative with the pavement below, making it easy to precisely thread the line through a sequence of corners with far less effort than one would expend in numerous similarly-priced sports cars.

The Perfect Topless Porsche

For anyone who has ever worried that the Boxster could never reach the levels of refinement or luxury espoused by the 911 Carrera Cabriolet, I assure you that the GTS is calling your name.  A sports car, but comfortable enough for daily driving, the Boxster GTS out-handles its bigger brother, makes a glorious noise in the process, and looks every bit as menacing as its six-cylinder snarl would seem to indicate.  I don't think Porsche has built a better way to have fun in the sun - or under the stars - than this compelling roadster.