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Porsche hit on a brilliant idea with the 911 Carrera T: Take the base model of a sports car, then add on just the fancy performance features true drivers crave to create a (comparatively) affordable dream car. In short, it’s the ultimate enthusiast’s 911.
Now, the company has announced they’re using that same great idea all over again with the more affordable 718. Meet the 718 Boxster T roadster and 718 Cayman T coupe — the new affordable aspirational cars of your dreams.
As with the 911 Carrera T, the 718 Boxster/Cayman T models will use the model lineup’s base engine — which, for the 718, is the 300-horsepower 2.0-liter flat-four also making 280 lb-ft of torque. It gets a performance upgrade in the form of the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), along with shorter springs, retuned adaptive dampers and a 0.78-inch lower ride height than the standard Cayman and Boxster models. The Cayman T and Boxster T will also score the Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) system, paired with a mechanical limited-slip differential.
The 718 remains one of the best cars to still offer a manual transmission. The Cayman T and Boxster T will be no different. Buyers can fit their cars with a six-speed stick with a short-throw gear lever; Porsche’s excellent PDK dual-clutch automatic will also be an option. The latter can propel the cars from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds when paired with the Sport Chrono package. Top speed: 170 mph.
The 718 T models will be reasonably priced — at least, by Porsche standards. The Cayman T starts at $66,400 — a little less than $10,000 more than the base model, but still cheaper than the more powerful Cayman S that occupies the next rung up the pricing ladder. The Boxster T is slightly more expensive, beginning at $68,500. The cars should reach American dealers by summer 2020.
