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The 2008 facelift of the Boxster S is powered by a new direct-injection 3.4-liter Boxer engine which develops more power than the earlier variant. The styling got a bit updated with some redesigned headlight casings, taillights, and bumpers, while the interior got new infotainment and more material/color combinations. There's a revised 6-speed manual as well as a new 7-speed PDK gearbox. Performance improves, with power now at 310 hp, rocketing the 987.2 Boxster S from 0 - 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds and to a top speed of 170 mph.
In 2008, the second generation of the Boxster received new technologies and more power. It reached almost the same power as the former Boxster S, from the first generation. The 2.9-liter unit replaced the older 2.7-liter engine and offered 10 hp more than the older engine. It was paired as standard to a 6-speed manual, and a 7-speed PDK (Porsche dual-clutch) automatic was available as an option. The outside gets some welcome design tweaks also, while on the inside we get some updates and more technology options.
For the 2007 model year, the base Boxster received a revised engine featuring VarioCam Plus to provide a 3.7 kW (5.0 hp) power increase (183 kW (245 hp) the same as the Cayman). The Boxster S' engine was upgraded from 3.2-litre to 3.4-litre, resulting in a power increase of 11 kW (15 hp) more (220 kW (295 hp) the same as the Cayman S). These upgrades made the Boxster series and the Cayman series equivalent in terms of power.
The 2007 model year Boxster got a change that most people don't think is significant, but is. Model year 2007 is when the base Cayman joined the 987 lineup. The interior and exterior remained mostly the same, but the Boxster S received the Cayman S 3.4-liter flat six while the 2.7 in both the Boxster and new Cayman received VarioCam Plus, which bumped horsepower up to 245. Think of this model year as Porsche taking the changes to get the base Boxster 2.7 to the same level as the recently introduced base Cayman. 
The second generation of Porsche Boxster came out in 2004 at the Paris Motor Show and shared almost the same design with its predecessor. The Boxster S came with the 3.2-liter flat-six engine mated to a standard 6-speed manual transmission, while a 5-speed Tiptronic S (automatic) with manual override to select gears was on the options list. The Porsche Stability Management was fitted as standard. It got a bump on power over the prior generation Boxster S as well as a newly modernized exterior design. The interior was also upgraded and was much nicer.
The original Porsche Boxster was a huge success and help Porsche grow its customer base, so when the second-generation Boxster (987) came to the US market as a 2005 model it wasn’t a surprise that it followed a similar formula. While the 987 Boxster retained only 20 per cent of the 986’s DNA, it looked similar enough to us that it felt more like a mild refresh than a totally new model update. The engine and transmissions were, for the most part, carry-overs, albeit with the obligatory and customary modest bump in performance and power (now at 240 horsepower).