The YouTube channel Car Evolution has uploaded a rather entertaining video showing Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman models evolving over the course of 24 production years.
Both models are considered the most compact and affordable on the German sports car maker’s lineup. The original Boxster roadster appeared in 1996 as a successor of sorts to the legendary Porsche 356. It had shipped exclusively with a 2.5-liter opposite-six engine at first, but went through a series of modifications later. The Cayman coupe debuted ten years after the Boxster and shared its principal design and tech.
Some brand fans viewed the appearance of these “cheap” Porsches as a harmful blurring of brand identity, but both mid-engine cars exploded in popularity nonetheless. In order to keep them from cannibalizing the 911 sales, Porsche deliberately made the Boxster and the Cayman both much weaker and much cheaper.
Things changed again in 2016, when a new Cayman GT4 emerged inspired by the legendary 911 GT3 racer. This one had serious drivetrain and tech, including even the front suspension designed after that of the GT3.