2008 Porsche Boxster S

Which must have been precisely what the first owner of this funster thought, back in 2008. This Boxster is a late 987.1, built by Porsche’s partner Valmet in its Finnish factory – parallel production of both generations of Boxster were handled by Zuffenhausen and Valmet. It’s powered by the desirable 295bhp, 3.4-litre engine from the Cayman S, which was only added to 987s from 2007 onwards.

Gears are shifted in this Boxster via the Tiptronic transmission, allowing the driver the comfort of a conventional auto or the greater engagement of shifting via steering wheel buttons. The cabin in this Boxster has been trimmed in attractive brown hide, with matching leather to the wheel and a complimentary shade to the carpets and door cards. In-car entertainment and readouts are marshalled via a centre-console mounted screen, with tunes reaching your ears via premium Bose speakers. 

Since it was delivered, this Boxster’s covered just under 120,000kms (74k miles) and recently (2021) found its way from Dubai to Otricoli, Italy; where it currently resides – globe-trotting continues as the car’s been registered in the Czech Republic. This Porsche also benefits from xenon headlights, navigation and parking sensors.

Silver certainly isn’t a rare shade for a 987 but the match and quality of coverage on this one, combined with its brown interior, raises it above the masses. The finish looks good, with excellent and equal panel gaps throughout. Popular opinion on Porsche forums tends to suggest that Finnish Porsches are slightly little superior in fit and finish to their Germany equivalents, though the jury’s out on that decision. It’s certainly true to say that this one still looks every inch the premium machine. 

The front end doesn’t show the usual gravel rash or stone chips and the 19-inch alloy wheels still present very well, with barely a mark worthy of mention. Similarly, the glass looks clear and free of any clouding, especially the headlight lenses. 

That’s not to say this Boxster’s exterior is flawless however, there are a few minor imperfections we need to address. The most obvious is that pretty poor repair to the split seam on the nearside rear of the hood. The soft top does however, look like it fits well and the vendor reports that the sometimes-troublesome Boxster roof mechanism remains in fine working order.

We did spot some paint flaking off the lower intakes in the bumper and a few touched-up blemishes to the offside rear wheel arch and a small scuff on the nearside. Tyres are Continental Sport Contact 6 (front) and Pirelli P zeros (rear) dated to 2018, though the offside rear has a chuck missing from its sidewall and several are showing minor cracking. The vendor suggests a fresh set may be in order.

A common colour might cover its shell, but in the cabin of this Porsche has been treated to a deep chocolate finish. The hide and carpets throughout are coated in this delicious brown that’s the perfect aperitif to make you feel like you belong in this Boxster. There are some nice options too, if those sumptuous seats weren’t enough to lure you in. The tft screen, your gateway to this car’s goodies, boots up and seems to perform as expected, though the screen does show a little discoloration.

There are also some scratches to the centre console cubby/ashtray lid and the glovebox lid but these are far from eyesores. Probably due to its time spent in the UAE, some fine dust seems to have percolated most plastics (most notably under the front bonnet), but will surely be shifted with a good detail session. Porsche mats are present and correct and a “painted surfaces protected with Protech Monte Carlo paint protection” sticker in the driver’s door shut reassures.

We didn’t get a look underneath this Boxster but the vendor doesn’t report anything untoward, in fact, he had this to say: “We’ve not done any mechanical work because it’s in good mechanical condition. The driving experience is good, I’ve driven around 4000km without any type of problem.”

At the time of compiling this listing, we hadn’t yet seen this car’s history, other than the original owner’s book pack. This includes the usual operating instruction manuals for the gadgets, but it was also nice to come across a Porsche Club UAE membership card in the history wallet. 

Boxsters are common, there’s no other way to put it, though pre-facelift examples with this 3.4-litre engine are a lot harder to come by. If you want the aesthetic appeal of the earlier car with the grunt of Cayman S, then this might very well be the Boxster for you. 

The cabin also offers a break from the drab, black-leather norm of these machines. It’s essentially in thoroughly good shape, with those pews offering supportive and supple companionship along your favourite road-trip route. 

Largely good cosmetic condition, some nice options are in this Porsche’s favour. That only leaves some money to be spent on the hood and tyres to make it a true head turner.

Please note, the vendor states that this sale is subject to 21% VAT in case of a sale to a private individual without a VAT number. If, however, the car was purchased at auction from a company with equal European VAT registered in the Vies, the invoice would be in art. 7 without application of VAT in the 0% reverse charge regime

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located in Italy. Viewings are strictly by appointment.  To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’