For most of us—and, we suspect, many of you—a little piece of us dies every time we hear of a car company planning to christen a model with some meaningless alphanumeric rather than evocative, actual name. (Yeah, we're looking at you, Cadillac.) But in one particular case, this is music to our ears. We're talking about rumors recently reported in Automobile Magazine that Porsche is considering changing the name of its Boxster and Cayman models to 718.
Porschephiles may remember 718 as the moniker of the car that replaced the legendary 550 Spyder, and which had more recently been floated for Porsche's rumored sub-Boxster sports car. Since that program was killed in no uncertain terms, it makes sense for Porsche to use the 718 name for the car that will remain the entry point to the Porsche sports-car family. After all, the Boxster was conceived to be the spiritual successor to the 550.
Such a change could certainly go some way to dignify Porsche's entry-level models—the Boxster in particular—which have long been stigmatized as a "poor man's 911" and somehow less than awesome, despite being completely amazing to drive, winning multiple 10Best awards, and, for that matter, hardly being priced for poor men.
The report further claims that the Boxster/Cayman replacement—whatever it's called—will undergo a "perspective shift," that would see the introduction of Boxsters and Caymans powered by four-cylinder engines, something we reported ourselves earlier this year.
- Porsche Boxster Research: Reviews, Photos, News, Prices, and More
- 2015 Porsche Boxster GTS Driven: A Roadster Supreme
- 2016 Audi TTS Roadster Debuts: Gunning for the Porsche Boxster?
Regardless of what sort of "perspective shift" may be in the cards for Porsche's next-generation entry sports cars, which could appear as soon as 2016, expect them to remain handsome, fast, and relatively pricey. Meanwhile, we'll be on trademark watch for "names" like 718, 718 S, 718 GTS, 718 GT4, and so on.
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