Porsche 718 Boxster And Cayman Receive Touring Treatment
In Porsche’s dictionary, the suffix T has traditionally stood for Touring. We call it, Touring Treatment! The German sportscar maker has unveiled Touring versions of its baby products – the 718 siblings. Dubbed simply as the 718 Boxster T and the 718 Cayman T, they have been created to deliver, as per Porsche, maximum driving pleasure. What that means is compared to the standard versions of the two-seaters, the T versions will probably put a wider smile across a keen driver’s face.
Powering the duo is the same 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that does duty in the standard iterations of the 718 siblings. The power-plant puts out the same oomph as well – 300PS/380Nm. Similarities continue with the transmission options as well, with Porsche offering the 718 T with a 6-speed manual or an optional 7-speed PDK automatic. The setup is enough for the sportscars to hit 100kmph from nought in 5.1 seconds (4.9 seconds with PDK and 4.7 seconds with Sport Plus) and sail all the way up to 275kmph.
Don’t get disheartened! Porsche has its own ways of doing things. The 718 T comes equipped, as standard, with 20-inch alloy wheels finished in glossy titanium grey, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) sports chassis with body lowered by 20mm and the Sport Chrono Package, which offers multiple drive modes – Normal, Sport and Sport Plus. All that, as per Porsche, is enough to deliver a more engaging driving experience.
To ensure that no-one confuses the 718 T with their standard iterations, Porsche has added some design flair inside and out. For the latter, Porsche has added a black, chrome-plated twin-pipe exhaust, bigger wheels (as mentioned above), special colour options – Lava Orange and Miami Blue, and “718 Boxster T” or “718 Cayman T” badging on the sides and at the rear.
The cabin has been appointed with black door pulls, sports seats with electric two-way adjustment, black Sport-Tex centre sections and the “718” logo embroidered on the headrests. Other additions include a 360mm GT sports steering wheels with Mode switch, “Boxster T” or “Cayman T” logos within the instrument dials and on the door sills, and glossy black finish on the instrument panel and the centre console.
All in all, you can relate to the 718 T versions as cosmetically and technically enhanced derivatives of Porsche’s entry-level offering. Or, the lesser powerful iterations of the 718 S. Pricing has not been unveiled yet but expect it to fall somewhere between the standard and the S variants of the 718 family. Will it come to India? Not likely.