Boxter packs a punch

While many Hongkongers shivered through the Lunar New Year holidays, a few Porsche Boxster owners might have gone for a drive.

Their convertibles are cars for all seasons in Hong Kong; cool in summer, protective in monsoons and one of the warmest places in town in winter.

When you drop the Boxster's hood, the cold air whooshes over the driver's head.

Powerful heaters allow drivers to enjoy Hong Kong's few weeks of winter motoring with a coldish nose but warm hands and feet.

So the new Boxster and Boxster S should be well-received in Hong Kong this spring, especially as local dealer Porsche Centre Hong Kong says the latest model is lighter, more distinctive and fuel-efficient than its predecessors.

The latest models have a new lightweight body, revamped chassis and longer wheelbase.

Their track is wider, their wheels larger and guided by Porsche's latest electro-mechanical power steering.

The models are also faster and 15 per cent more fuel-efficient than their predecessor and the marque says 'they get by' with significantly less than eight litres of petrol per 100 kilometres.

Porsche has given the new cars shorter overhangs, a flatter silhouette and shifted the windscreen forward, under a completely redesigned, fully electric hood, which it says 'now dispenses with a convertible top compartment lid'.

Occupants now also have more space inside.

Both models are powered by flat-six engines with direct petrol injection, 'the efficiency of which is further enhanced by electrical system recuperation, thermal management and start/stop function', Porsche says.

The Boxster's 2.7-litre engine delivers 265hp, 10hp more than its larger-displacement predecessor for sprints to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds, while the new 3.4-litre Boxster S is 0.7 of a second faster, with 315hp, or 5hp more than before.

Both models feature a manual six-speed gearbox as standard, or the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe option, which is popular in Hong Kong for its easy shifts and better fuel consumption, at 7.7 litres per 100km for the Boxster and 8.0 l/100km for the Boxster S.