The Porsche Boxster 25 Years Has Fancy Gold Bits Like The Original Concept

The Porsche Boxster turns 25 years old in 2021, which means it’s special edition time. The Boxster 25, however, visually references something from a few years before the production car’s launch: the 1993 concept.

Just like Porsche’s Detroit Auto Show centrepiece, it’s finished in GT Silver Metallic (or Deep Black/Carrara White if the buyer prefers) with various golden accents. The front grille vanes, side intakes, model badging and 20-inch wheels are all finished in ‘Neodyme’. The rims also have a similar five-spoke design to the ones used on the original.

There are further Boxster concept echoes on the inside, where you’ll find an aluminium trim package and red leather, both covered by a folding red fabric roof. Since the red won’t be to everyone’s tastes, it’s possible to spec both the interior and the roof in black. However optioned, the car will receive Boxster 25-branded sill treadplates, a Boxster 25-embossed roof and an aluminium-look fuel filler cap made prettier with Porsche script.

It’d be a little heinous to honour the flat-six-powered original production Boxster with a flat-four (the concept was an engine-less rolling model), so Porsche has chosen to base the 25 on the current GTS model. That means a mid-mounted 4.0-litre flat-six providing 395bhp for the rear wheels, which is sent via either a six-speed manual with hilariously long gears or a seven-speed PDK automatic with shorter ratios.

The 25 is generously specced, with the Sport Chrono package, Porsche Active Suspension Management and Porsche Torque Vectoring all appearing as standard. It’ll cost a little over £72,760, representing a £6000 premium over the standard GTS 4.0 for an extra £10,000-worth of options, plus the fancy gold bits. Production is capped at 1250 units worldwide.

That’s a drop in the ocean in terms of the whole Boxster story, with 357,000 sold to date. Although the 1993 concept’s retro aesthetic had to be toned down for the 1996 production version, which ended up being longer and taller, this didn’t stop the car being a smashed hit. It saved Porsche from financial ruin, topping the company’s sale charts every year until the Cayenne came along.