Top Car

January 2016 |TOPCAR.CO.ZA 73

Nextyear’s
Boxsterhas fewer
cylindersbut
morepower
MOVEALONG NOW,nothing tosee here? Whilethe imminent
new Boxster might display the trademark, modestfaceliftedPorsche
tendencies– new bumpers, tweaked frontandrearlamp graphics– this
early 20 16 caris a verybig deal. That’s becauseit’s runninga four-cylinder
engine. It’s not aV4like Porsche’s 919 LeMans-winner’s, although
the base Boxster’s oppositepiston enginedoes share its 2.0-litre
capacity. Theadvanced,direct-injection design getsonly one fixed-
vaneturbo. Theoutgoing Boxster six makes 195kW:expectthe new
flat-fourtobestthat with upto224kW,and monster its 28 0Nm of
torquethankstoitsforcedinduction.
Pricier Boxsterswill alsorun aturbo four, a2.5-litre, with up
to272kWfor the GTS edition.Theoretically, the high-end fouris
brawnyenoughtoreplace all six-cylinder unitsbar the Boxster
Spyder/Cayman GT4’s spiciest3.8-litre.
Therevamped911’s upgraded infotainment systemwill complete
the package.

MID-ENGINED TWINS GO FOUR-POT

PORSCHE BOXSTER/CAYMAN

14

WHAT IS IT?

Not aturbodiesel,

despite silly name.

In fact‘tdf’ stands

for Tour deFrance,

anendurance road

raceFerrariused to

serially win in the’50s

(well, theycouldn’t

call it F1right now,

could they?). They’ve

basically taken the

F12 berlinetta and

turnedit upto11. It’s

roadlegal, but if you

don’t liveatNardo

you’ll struggle to

exploit it.

POWERTRAIN

F12’s naturally

aspirated6.3-litreV12

getspumped from

54 4kWto574, with

70 5Nm oftorquefrom

2500rpm.Theengine’s

been race-fettled using

F1-inspiredvariable-

intake geometry

trumpets(no

less), andthe F1dual-

clutch’boxhas been

wholly remapped,with 6

per centshorter ratios,

30 per centfaster

upshiftsand 40 per cent

faster downshifts.

INTERIOR

Here’s where you

cansee for yourself

how they’ve saved a

massive 110 kgover

the F12. Instrument

podsanddoors

are carbonfibre,

floor matsare

barealuminium and

they’ve even pinched

the glovebox. Few

loved oneswill be

impressedathaving

tohold the tinof

boiledsweets while

you enter the gravel

trapbackwards.

AERODYNAMICS

They’vegoneto town–

doubling the F12’s aero

efficiencybyreshaping

everypanel andthen

punching clever holes

all over the place.

Race-carbrainpower

abounds in thefront

splitter, diveplanes,

floorwings, louvres and

the bonnet’s signature

aerobridge. Therear

spoiler’s gothuger, and

the rear diffuser’s three

‘active flaps’ cannow

eat unsuspecting small

mammals.

PERFORMANCE

It’s asinsanely quick

asyou’d hope, hitting

100kph in 2.9secand

achieving ‘in excess

of 34 0kph’, putting it

in LaFerrariterritory.

More curious is

that the fronttyres

are wider than the

rears, quashing

understeer but

surelymakinglurid

oversteer inevitable?

Enter ‘Virtual

Short Wheelbase’

• Ferrari’s first rear-
  wheel-steersystem.

CAN IBUY ONE?

If you’re quick –

they’re makingjust

799. It’s vulgarto
     talk about price,
     so Ferraridoesn’t.
     Thebiggerquestion
     is why wouldyou?
     With more bulges
     thanLou Ferrigno’s
     trousers it’s the
     surelythe louchest,
     mosttaste-averse
     Ferrariyet.

FERRARI F12 TDF

FERRARI DESIGN

STRAYS INTO MAX

POWER TERRITORY

13