Dear 001,
Having seen the new Boxster in the flesh at Zuffenhausen a few days ago, the obvious question to ask was "Where is the 300-plus bhp boxster"? The overtly serious German technician I was talking to didn't say a lot initially, then pointed out that "Vee are having zee problems vis the gasoline injecting" (bad German internet accent).
Apparently (so I was told) Porsche has not completely sorted out the gasoline injection on the forthcoming 4.0-litre flat six as yet (for the 2007 997 update), which they expect will endow that unit with some 400-bhp and lower emissions. Until then, the Germans will be holding back the Boxster. The only offering in the serious performance stakes of the baby porker will be a stripped out Renn Sport (RS) 3.2 Coupe, akin to the GT2, sometime in late 2005. A bright point on the Boxster horizon however, I saw a multi-folding carbon-fibre roof on a mule, but my German colleague would not speculate on the development of a hard-top Boxster.
Back to the original point - fear not, for the glorious 325-bhp 3.6-litre engine (as in the current 997, but with gasoline injection) is already being tested in some Boxster chassis at Nuremberg and they are lapping the track very quickly, indeed, similar performance to the current 997 coupe as you might expect.
Joe Boxster