Yahoo Autos 2021 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 Road Test | A potentially perfect Porsche with perplexing gearing
Periodically, Porsche has a phase in which it starts to change its cars. And it never fails to upset the faithful. The most recent uproar came about with the switch to downsized turbocharged engines, especially the new turbo flat-fours introduced for the 718 Boxster and Cayman siblings. Though the cars were just as fast as before, fans and reviewers lamented the slightly soggier response and the uninspiring new noise. Unfavorable comparisons to Subarus were made. Well, in news that will surely placate detractors, Porsche has reintroduced a naturally aspirated six-cylinder to the 718 line, first for the Spyder and GT4 twins and now for the newly reminted GTS 4.0 model. On top of that, it’s only available with a six-speed manual transmission, at least for now. So, does the new 4.0-liter make for the perfect Boxster?
Almost.
The highlight of the 2021 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 is obviously the new engine, and it’s exactly what you want and expect from a Porsche engine. The 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six produces 394 horsepower, which is 29 more than the old GTS turbo flat-four but still 20 hp shy of the mostly identical 4.0-liter in the 718 Spyder. Basically, it’s a detuned version of the Spyder’s 4.0-liter engine, which is itself a larger-displacement, naturally aspirated version of the base 911 3.0-liter engine. Torque is actually the same 309 pound-feet as them both.
Of course, the 4.0-liter's smooth, high-strung delivery is different from the turbo-four that provides more torque and power lower in the rev band. As a tradeoff, it boasts razor-sharp throttle response. It’s eager to rev, and it rewards you with more and more power the longer you stay on the throttle. And most importantly, it sounds like a Porsche, with the classic rumbling howl. Most of the noise actually comes from the throaty intake that you can hear behind your head. The dual-mode sport exhaust is very quiet most of the time, even at low rpm in its louder mode, but finally starts to scream above 3,000 rpm where the power really starts to build
The other peace offering to Porsche purists is the fact that the only transmission available for the GTS 4.0 right now is the six-speed manual. If you want the PDK dual-clutch auto, you’ll need to go with the Boxster S or 718 Spyder. The shifter is sweet, with a light, mechanical-feeling lever. The throws are a touch long, but with how easy it is to grab gears, it’s not an issue. Porsche also includes rev-matching, which is very responsive and makes shifting fast up or down very easy. This transmission would be a brilliant pairing for such an engaging engine if it weren’t for one thing: the gearing. It’s entirely too tall. At the top of second gear, you're already past 80 mph, which is obviously well past the speed limit virtually everywhere in this country. This engine wants to rev, you want to hear and feel it rev, yet to do so, you have to drive speeds that'll send you to jail … or require frequent trips to a race track. It's an imperfect pairing and one forced by the need to use an existing transmission, specifically the one from the 911 GT cars. And it’s a big enough problem that, manual diehard though I am, I would probably recommend getting a GTS with a PDK if and when it becomes available.
