Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0

The Porsche badge carries a certain expectation in a 600-car catalogue, yet the Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 does not rely on headline figures alone. Its 395 bhp places it 433rd for power, within the top 72% of the catalogue, while its 4.5 second 0 to 100 km/h time is faster than 210 of the 600 cars. The numbers suggest a different kind of appeal: not a car built around winning the specification race, but one defined by a combination that appears only rarely in this collection.

The detail that separates the 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 is its engine layout. Only 47 cars in the catalogue use a flat-six, and just 36 combine that layout with rear-wheel drive. Narrow the field further to naturally aspirated flat-six cars and the number falls to 28. That makes the 4.0 litre, naturally aspirated flat-six at the centre of this car's identity rather than simply another entry in a performance table. With 420 Nm of torque and rear-wheel drive, it occupies a specific place among the catalogue's 600 choices.

Its performance remains measured against the wider field. A top speed of 293 km/h places it 305th in the catalogue, a figure that reflects a balanced sports car rather than a pursuit of the highest possible numbers. The 2+2 seater convertible body style adds another dimension, pairing the openness of a cabriolet with the practicality expected from a two-plus-two layout.

The used price of £65,000 places it 385th by cost, making it more expensive than 215 cars in the catalogue. At £165 per bhp, the value story is not about chasing the lowest figure, but about paying for a particular configuration. It comes from Germany, a country represented by 197 cars in the catalogue, and sits within a Porsche collection of 65 catalogue entries.

A dream garage is often shaped by the choices that are harder to replace with another specification. The Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 brings a flat-six, rear-wheel drive and naturally aspirated character into one car, a combination shared by only a small part of this catalogue. Parked alongside other selections, it does not need to dominate the numbers. Its appeal is found in how precisely those numbers describe what it is.