Iconic status alone doesn’t pay the bills. Cue a Boxster-led reboot
The most important Porsche of the ’90s arguably wasn’t a 911 at all – it was the original 986-generation Boxster, without which Porsche would’ve struggled to survive. In fact Porsche was already up to its neck by 1989, when sales had dropped from around 40,000 units annually to just 15,000.
The 928 was old and pricey, the 944 was sticking to showroom floors like it was on hot slicks, and before the Boxster arrived in 1996, the air-cooled 993-era 911 was last man standing.
Wind back to 1991 and Porsche thought the 989 might solve the pickle, essentially a four-door 911 that foretold the Panamera. Then R&D boss Horst Marchart joined the board.
‘The 928 was above the 911 in pricing, people weren’t purchasing them, and then the 989 was even above the 928 and 911,’ he explains. ‘We had to find the way to sell at least 30,000 units a year again. My idea was to go back to the roots. We didn’t have the Boxster yet; I just told the board we’re going to take the 911 and come up with anew car, which will have the identical front end, and what we are going to vary is the mid-engined concept.’
The two cars were always intended to share around 50 per cent of parts. But commonality increased as work progressed and Porsche’s financia
