Porsche Boxster GTS 2018 UK review

Despite a significant drop in ride height there's no sign of brittleness. On the PASM the GTS rides with an outstanding economy of body movement and ultra-crisp wheel articulation. It is beautifully balanced, it is keen in its response to the throttle pedal either dipping or rising, and it is endlessly tolerant of mistakes in a way you simply wouldn’t credit of a mid-mounted sports car. 

Even on these wheels, it is far from being uncomfortably stiff, and traction is absolute until those times when you seek to break it. Porsche has also left its electro-mechanical steering unchanged for this application, which is a good thing because this setup is delightful not only in its accuracy but in the way it furtively encourages you to make very deliberate inputs.     

Another benefit the GTS package brings as standard is torque vectoring, which brakes an inside wheel to help pivot the car on the way into corner. In conjunction with the differential, it helps transform more tortuous routes into something of an exhibition in dexterity and sheer ground-covering proficiency, and is well worth the increased wear to the rear discs.  

Courtesy of an audibly more voluminous intake and some fettling to the single variable-geometry turbocharger, power for the 2.5-litre flat-four has risen to 361bhp with torque rated at 317lb ft. That’s 15bhp and 7lb ft on the Boxster S – not a lot, admittedly – and 26bhp and 37lb ft on the sweet, naturally aspirated Boxster GTS of the previous generation.

But here’s the thing: that torque figure arrives from only 1900rpm and yet peak power requires you to scale 6500rpm. It means that while this engine remains more aurally akin to Brian Blessed than Bryn Terfel (particularly so with the sports exhaust system, with its central black tips) its power delivery is deliciously flexible and the cranksahft spins buoyantly, too.

The torque is especially useful because it ameliorates the Boxster’s overly tall gearing, though there is noticeable lag below around 4000rpm. All in, the car is damnably quick but just slow enough to let you feel as though you’re really working it reasonably hard on the road – a fine trick to pull off, and rewarding with it.