- Porsche has revealed a special 718 that helps it create its promotional images.
- The Boxster S was turned into a camera car by the brand’s apprentices in 2017.
- It has been used regularly since but has only now stepped in front of the lens.
When you think of a Porsche 718 Boxster S, you imagine mid-engine handling kicks, steely steering precision and a boxer howl enveloping the open cabin. What probably doesn’t even cross your mind is a rolling “camera studio” complete with power inverters, harness mounts, and camera rigs.
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Yet that’s exactly what nine apprentices at Porsche’s Leipzig facility turned a 718 into because some of those first qualities make it perfect for the job.
More: Why It Takes Five People To Operate LA’s Famous Porsche Camera Car
Back in 2017, the junior technicians set out to build the perfect camera car capable of keeping up with then-current Porsches on the Leipzig test track. The company already had an older Boxster-based rig, but it was struggling to keep pace with Porsche’s newer metal, so a modern 350 hp (355 PS) Boxster S donor car was drafted in.
How Do You Turn a Sports Car Into a Studio?
The transformation was all about versatility. The soft top was removed and replaced with a tall roll bar that doubles as a mounting point, and the body finished in matte black to reduce reflections during filming.
Steel tube mounts were added on the front, sides and rear so camera rigs, hands-on shooters or special arms could be positioned wherever needed.
Inside, they added a few features alien to your average Porsche Boxster buyer. Both the front and rear luggage compartments were padded and fitted with harnesses so photographers could stand or sit safely even while moving at speed.
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A standing platform was installed between the seats and there’s wiring for laptop-camera connection and an onboard inverter to power filming gear.
From Workshop to Workhorse
This wasn’t just a one-off showpiece. Porsche used the car extensively at its Experience Center in Leipzig and on external shoots, including a hill-climb event in Italy. It quietly got the job done, chasing down other Porsches but has until now remained behind the scenes, always the star-maker and never the star.
But now the Boxster S, and the ingenuity and hard work of the apprentices that created it, gets some deserved time in the spotlight.
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Behind the Lens
Though I’d never come across this particular car before, having being involved in hundreds of magazine and video shoots over the years I’m more than familiar with the idea. Some of the best action shots come from getting right up behind a car, sometimes when it’s sliding through a corner at 80 mph (130 km/h).
Even though you can fix a camera to the front of another vehicle, you’ve got a much better chance of getting the shot if you cram a photographer into the frunk of a rear- or mid-engined car. But don’t forget to tie the lid so it won’t flip backwards onto the windshield…
Here’s ridiculously talented photographer @richardpardon wedged into the nose of a 911 Turbo S on Road & Track’s Performance Car of the Year event way back in 2016 ready to chase me and a drifting Audi R8 V10 down. No helmet, no harness – and no fear.
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