Porsche Boxster Concept
This car was first shown to the public in 1993 at the Detroit Auto Show. It created a huge stir at its debut, after all, it's not often Porsche puts out a concept car. Rumour has it Porsche was not sure about making the Boxster, but the overhwelming public reaction prompted them to do so.
This car is the successor to the 968 and the 928. Porsche still has the 911 as its main model, but they know not to put all their eggs in one basket. For that reason they always have a model along the 911 in the Porsche line-up. In most cases, as with the 914, 924, 944 and 968, those models are more affordable alternatives to the top model 911. The Boxster naturally followed in those footsteps, but this time, instead of following the previous formula for front engined, 4-cylinder economy model, they went with a car similar to the 911. Mid engined and with the same flat 6 engine as the 911. The rest, as they say, is history, for the Boxster has proven to be a huge hit.
Porsche was undecided about their engine choice at the time they finished the car, thus at the auto show the Boxster was a 'push model'. That is, they had push the car around, since it had no power of its own. Eventually they installed an engine into the concept car so that it could be a more viable representation of their future plans. Also, it's hard to get test drives with no engine isn't it?
This time period was very shaky for Porsche, with its future literally edging on bankrupcy. They didn't know it then, but the part-sharing strategy of the Boxster and 996, and the huge success that their budget model would have assured the company's prosperity well into the next millenium.