Porsche premieres two cars at Geneva Motorshow

One in hot orange, the other in pristine white with a two angry-red stripes running from front to back. Two different cars with very different made for a single purpose — to dominate the corners.

You’ve seen the first, we’ve been talking about it for some time now since news releases trickled on the web, and we also talked about the inner workings of the engine. The Porsche 718 Boxster is now officially released to the world. There are two engine types at launch, a 2.0-litre and a 2.5-litre turbocharged flat-four that punches 300bhp and 350bhp respectively. The 718 Boxster also has its chassis tuned up and the designed reworked. What remains is the compartment lid, windscreen and convertible hood.

The second world premiere from Porsche sliced more of the spotlight pie. The Porsche 911 R is probably one of the worst kept secrets leading to the launch despite the hush in Zuffenhausen and the black cloth that covered the car.

Essentially, it is a 911 GT3 that’s been lightened — 50kg lighter than the 911 GT3 RS! — and powered by a 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The flat-six delivers 500bhp at 8500rpm and 460Nm at 6250rpm, and the car goes to 100kph from standstill in just 3.8 seconds; top speed is a lofty 323kph.

The clincher? Porsche is only going to make 991 units of the 911 R, making it a very limited edition sports car. The rush for one is on.
CHRIS NG