Test Drive: 2015 Porsche Boxster GTS

It was going to be cold week, and I made the off-hand comment to the Porsche fleet manager, “Probably not the best time to be picking up a Boxster GTS.”

I didn’t really mean it.

Any week is good in a Boxster. Especially this 2015 GTS version that for $83,900 bestows more than its $11,700 premium over the “regular” Boxster S in optional goodies. Stuff you’ll probably want anyway, like adaptive suspension (PASM), Sport Chrono Package, Sport Seats Plus, bi-xenon peepers, 20-inch wheels, Sport Exhaust system and an Alcantara-trimmed SportDesign steering wheel. Then there are the things you can’t spec in the S model – the GTS’s unique front and rear fascias, smoked out headlights, red tachometer, a 10 mm lower ride height and the all-important 15 horse bump to 330 hp along with a torque increase from 266 lb-ft to 273 lb-ft.

It’s been said a million times, and I’ll say it again – the mid-engine Boxster is poetry on the road.In Porsche’s world, the Boxster GTS could be considered a value proposition. Although with a few options this one kissed 100 grand. Porsche world, indeed.

Being long past Halloween, the silver GTS’s sexy 20-inch Carrera alloys were AWOL, replaced with 18-inchers shod in winter wear. So the Porker’s street cred was down a few notches.

Easily made up for, however, with a simple press of the Sport Exhaust button that unleashes the most evil set of lungs ever bestowed upon a Boxster. I applaud the engineers their efforts. You will be seeking tunnels and underpasses.

Not to mention onramps and winding rural roads. It’s been said a million times, and I’ll say it again – the mid-engine Boxster is poetry on the road.

Problem is, every time I drive Porsche’s little roadster I suffer from a pathetic delusion that Porsche actually made this car just for me. It fits perfectly. It delivers a driving experience that, were I to imagine what the perfect sports car could give, this is it. It engages, it handles, it is fast, its outer limits are easily exploitable and it doesn’t beat you up in the process.

So I’m off for another dose of affirmation.

The ambient temperature is hovering around the zero mark, but no worries – the $1,030 Convenience Package bestows dual-zone climate control and heated seats. I know what you’re thinking. I have to pay extra for this stuff in an $84,000 car? Porsche world, remember.

2015 Porsche Boxster GTS, dashboard, shifter. Click image to enlarge

The top is down, the heater’s blowing hot air, the bum warmer is on sear and I’m sporting a furry hat with goofy ear flaps.

Refreshingly, this GTS is equipped with the default six-speed manual transmission. As spectacular as the optional seven-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission is, Porsche’s stir-your-own box gives an intimate connection to the car that puts you right at the pointy end of the driving experience. The short-throw shifter slots home with delightful mechanical precision and its weighting is perfectly judged with that of the firmish clutch and steering. If you’re into heel-and-toe rev matching the pedals are ideally placed. When in Sport or Sport Plus mode the throttle sensitivity is bloody perfect. Just tickle the gas pedal and the revs blip like they’re reading your mind.

And such is the joy of this naturally aspirated 330 hp, 3.4L flat-six with instant throttle response and a power curve that is Actually-A-Curve. We’re so used to driving turbocharged cars with kidney-punch torque right off idle, the fact that this Boxster requires some real revolutions per minute to reach the sweetness of its power band is a revelation. You’ve got to work it a bit to find the speed, and therein lies the reward. From 3,500 rpm to the 7,800 rpm redline, the six-pot crescendos like Van Halen’s Eruption.

Out here on a sinuous country road it all comes together. The GTS flows like an extension of your being – it seems to rotate right about where your butt meets the wonderfully proportioned seat. There’s been some whining about Porsche’s new electric steering. Oh sure, it might not be quite as talkative as the old hydraulic rack, but it’s still awfully good and Porsche is getting better at this all the time. If you’re going to bitch about the steering, then you deserve to be miserable.

Another reason for loving the GTS – it’s not too fast. I’m by no means suggesting the car is slow, but unlike a 911 Turbo S with its insanely addictive thrust that has one involuntarily hurtling towards impoundment at every turn, the GTS can find its groove at much saner velocities. The GTS’s pace is an integral part of this supremely balanced package.

2015 Porsche Boxster GTS, headrest detail, gauges, passenger view. Click image to enlarge

As such, I’m not driving like a maniac out here on these winter tires. But am I having any less fun? Don’t think so.

I come across a group of Triumph TR6s out for a run – with their roofs up. Wimps.

With auto manufacturers under increasing pressure to meet ever more stringent fuel economy and emission targets, I fear for the pure elemental driving experience that this GTS delivers – if you dare call a $98,435 sports car elemental. I guess I’m referring to the glorious naturally aspirated engine and six-speed manual transmission, both of which seem to be on the endangered list if you peer too far into the future.

We’re told the next generation Porsche 911 and Boxster/Cayman duo will be fitted smaller displacement turbocharged engines. The vast majority of Porsche’s sports cars are now sold with the PDK twin-clutch automatic transmission.

I tighten my earflaps, dip the clutch and run through the gears one more time. Carpe diem… carpe diem.

2015 Porsche Boxster GTS. Click image to enlarge

Pricing: 2015 Porsche Boxster GTS
Base price: $83,900
Optional equipment: Rhodium Silver Metallic $820; GTS Communication Package $4,200; Park Assist (front/rear) with reverse camera $1,730; Convenience package $1,030; Infotainment Package with Bose upgrade $4,560; wheels painted in platinum $1,010
A/C tax: $100
Destination charge: $1,085
Price as tested: $98,435

Competitors
Audi TTRS
BMW Z4
Jaguar F-Type
Mercedes-Benz SLK