That explains why it can seem unfair to drive Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman back to back with 50-some other cars that are led by their horses. The mid-engined Porsche twins are so fundamentally different from the competition that considering them for a 10Best nod feels as if we’ve shattered our price ceiling—most of their architectural analogues cost three and four times as much. Admittedly, the Boxster and Cayman easily blow past $80,000 when moderately optioned, but the inherent goodness of these cars is fully realized even at the Boxster’s $52,395 base price.
The mid-engine advantage is, at its core, a matter of physics. Take something heavy from either end of a car—say, 500 pounds of powertrain—and move it to the middle, and voilà! You’ve just slashed the polar moment of inertia, increasing the car’s willingness to change direction. Think of a figure skater pirouetting with arms outstretched, then increasing the speed of the spin simply by pulling his arms in toward his chest. Centralizing the mass in a car has a similar effect: Its ability to initiate and to halt rotation quickens, its reflexes sharpen.
But mid-engine greatness is more than simple physics. When a company mounts an engine in the middle of a car, it implies that chassis dynamics are paramount. It’s no surprise then that quick corners in the Porsche are led by tight steering, met with deliberate body control, and matched by dogged grip. The steering in the Boxster and Cayman is exceptional, benefiting from the absence of weight on the nose of the car and the electrical assist’s ability to tailor effort to g’s.
Both flat-sixes swell enthrallingly to 7800 free-breathing rpm. With the intake positioned behind the driver’s left ear, there is no better case to be made for doing without turbocharging. You row through six sweet-shifting gates or click off gears with the prescient PDK dual-clutch automatic. One is the purest way to experience sports-car nirvana, the other is both its greatest threat and most worthy successor.
The Boxster and Cayman demonstrate immense mutability. They are daily drivers, luxury coupes, and sports cars. Scouring our notes on the pair, we find complaints only about the cup holders. The third generation of Porsche’s mid-engine platform has also widened the gap between base and S models. If you’re expecting straight-line performance from these corner hunters, the base cars can be uncomfortably slow. The extra power of the S and GTS trims, however, transforms these cars into well-rounded athletes.
Finally, here’s the real-world application of your college physics class: Have $65,000 to spend on something fun? Buy yourself a low polar moment of inertia.