Boxster · Type 986

986.1

The car that saved Porsche. Plastic rear window, 2.5 then 2.7 litres, and the purest version of the shape.

Years: 1997–2002
Trims: 3
Power: 201–250 hp
Known issues: 9
Lightest: 2,778 lb
Quickest 0–60: 5.7 s

Overview

The 986.1 is the original — the car that stabilised a company a single bad year from being bought. It launched with 2.5 litres and a five-speed, grew to 2.7 in 2000, and gained the 3.2 L S with a six-speed gearbox and bigger brakes the same year.

It is also the cheapest way into a mid-engine Porsche, and the one where condition matters more than specification. The rear window is plastic and yellows, the interior plastics are of their time, and thirty years of blocked drains have drowned more of these than any mechanical failure has.

The earliest cars use the more robust dual-row intermediate shaft bearing, which is a genuine point in favour of a 1997 to 1999 car over a later one — the opposite of how most generations work.

The range

3 Sorted by output

Trim	Years	Engine	Power	Torque	0–60	Weight	Drive
Boxster Roadster	1997–1999	2.5 L	201	181	6.5	2,778	RWD
Boxster Roadster	2000–2002	2.7 L	217	192	6.4	2,811	RWD
Boxster S Roadster	2000–2002	3.2 L	250	225	5.7	2,911	RWD

Power in hp, torque in lb-ft, 0–60 in seconds, weight in pounds. Hover a badge for what it means.

Year by year

1997
US launch of the Boxster with a 2.5 L flat-six and a 5-speed. The car that stabilised the company.
1998
Carried over. Early cars use the more robust dual-row intermediate shaft bearing.
1999
Final year of the 2.5. The 996 arrives sharing this car’s front end and engine architecture.
2000
Base grows to 2.7 L and 217 hp. Boxster S added with a 3.2, a 6-speed gearbox and bigger brakes.
2001
Carried over.
2002
Final year of the plastic rear window and the original interior.

Known issues

IMS bearing failure Critical

All 986. The bearing design changed through the run, which determines whether a retrofit is even possible.
Blocked drains and water ingress Critical

All 986, and the single most under-appreciated killer of cheap ones.
Cylinder bore scoring Critical

M96 engines, more commonly reported on the 3.2 S than the smaller base engines.
Convertible top transmission and cable failure Major

All 986.
Plastic rear window clouding and cracking Minor

1997–2002 cars. The 2003 facelift fitted heated glass.
Air–oil separator failure Major

All 986.
Coolant expansion tank cracking Major

All 986.
Ignition switch failure Minor

All 986, subject of a service campaign.
Radiator debris and corrosion Minor

All 986.