JANUARY 20, 2021
Sunday, January 17, 2021 at 10:26AM 
Porsche has found yet another way to extract large sums of ca$h-ola from its faithful: the 2021 Boxster 25 years. Based on the 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 model, it is powered by a 394HP naturally aspirated 4.0-liter six-cylinder boxer engine, and will be limited to 1,250 units worldwide. It incorporates "numerous design features of the original Boxster concept car first shown at the 1993 Detroit Auto Show," according to Porsche PR minions. The production version of the Boxster first launched in Europe in 1996 and in the U.S. in 1997. Today, the mid-engine sports car is in its fourth generation, with more than 357,000 units produced thus far. Hints of the original concept car show up the use of Neodyme, a copper-like color, which provided a unique contrast to the GT Silver Metallic color on the 1993 concept. It appears on the front and side air intakes as well as for the lettering and the specially designed two-tone, five-spoke, 20-inch alloy wheels and in the special “Boxster 25” badge on the rear. Porsche is offering the Boxster 25 years in GT Silver Metallic, although Jet Black Metallic and Carrara White Metallic are also available. The fuel filler cap, which includes Porsche script from the Exclusive Design range, is painted in an aluminum look as are the high-gloss tailpipes of the Sport Exhaust system, while the windshield frame is finished in black. The special model features a Bordeaux Red leather interior with a red roadster top made of fabric. The roadster top bears embossed “Boxster 25” lettering. Both interior and top are also available in Black. An interior package in Brushed Aluminium, 14-way electrically adjustable sport seats, door sill trims with “Boxster 25" lettering and the heated GT multifunction sport leather steering wheel are also included as standard equipment on the special edition model. The high-revving 4.0-liter flat-six engine, which is shared with the 2021 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 model, is available with either a six-speed manual transmission or an optional seven-speed Porsche dual-clutch transmission (PDK). The special-edition model reaches a top track speed of 182 mph with the manual transmission and, in combination with the PDK gearbox and standard Sport Chrono package, sprints from zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. Other standard stuff? Porsche Active Suspension Management suspension (PASM), which lowers the ride height 0.39 inches as compared to a standard 718 Boxster, and Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with mechanical limited-slip differential. The PASM Sport Suspension with a ride height reduction of 0.78 inches compared to a standard 718 Boxster is available as an option. The new Boxster 25 years is available for ordering now and expected to arrive in U.S. showrooms this Spring. Editor-in-Chief's Note: How much to be a Very Special Tool in the Shed? The MSRP of the Boxster 25 years is (gulp) $98,600, excluding $1,350 for delivery, processing and handling, upholding Porsche's permanent standing in the Usurious Auto Pricing Hall of Fame. We requested comment from Porsche marketing's legal protectors - Dewey, Cheatum & Howe - but they were out. -PMD
General Motors illuminated its Renaissance Center global headquarters amber on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, in Detroit, Michigan, as part of the national memorial to honor and remember those who lost their lives to COVID-19.
Editor's Note: Longtime AE reader Mark Weaver passed along this remarkable shot of GM Styling Chief Bill Mitchell casually driving through downtown Birmingham, Michigan, in the '59 Corvette Sting Ray racer. Peter has some additional comments below. -WG
The Way It Was.
This just popped up on Facebook and I had to share it with you in light of Peter’s fantastic stories from his childhood with Bill Mitchell as his neighbor… an amazing candid image of Bill Mitchell in the Sting Ray Concept in Birmingham… photographer unknown.
Mark Weaver
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Editor-in-Chief's Note: This fantastic picture shows Bill Mitchell in the 1959 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray racer heading east on Maple Rd. right through downtown Birmingham. As longtime readers know, Mitchell lived a block away from us in Birmingham, and he would often have three or four of GM Styling's latest concepts delivered to his house every Friday during the summer so he could drive them all weekend. I had the opportunity - and privilege - of riding with him in every GM concept car from the late 50s and early 60s, including the Corvette XP-700; Corvette Mako Shark I and II; Corvair Sebring Spyder; Pontiac XP-400; Corvair Monza SS and GT and, of course, the sensational '59 Corvette Sting Ray racer, which remains my all-time favorite car. Judging by the way Mitchell is dressed, I would bet he's heading to GM Styling in Warren, Michigan, on Monday morning. (He would often drive one of the cars he had delivered to his house on Friday back to work the following Monday morning.) I have often said that it was a different time and a different era, never to be repeated. This snapshot captures that perfectly. -PMD
AE Song of the Week:
I drink tequila straight
Haven't brushed my hair in days
And I'll kiss on the first date if I'm really feelin' it
I don't even own a dress
Bite my nails when I get stressed
Do whatever for attention if I'm needin' it
Controversial, so outspoken
I've been told I'm not ladylike
But I'm a lady, like whoa
I could bring you to your knees and
Get you kicked out the Garden of Eden
Untamable, unframeable, Mona Lisa, oh
Kiss you like a whiskey fire
Turn around, leave your heart in a riot
Lipstick in a cigarette pack on the dash
I'm a lady like that
Sometimes I forget not to talk 'bout politics
When I'm in the middle of me gettin' hit on
Sometimes I'm not polite
Don't bite my tongue, I speak my mind
Let curse words fly when shit goes wrong
Controversial, so outspoken
I've been told I'm not ladylike
But I'm a lady, like whoa
I could bring you to your knees and
Get you kicked out the Garden of Eden
Untamable, unframeable, Mona Lisa, oh
Kiss you like a whiskey fire
Turn around, leave your heart in a riot
Lipstick in a cigarette pack on the dash
I'm a lady like that
I'm a lady like that
Controversial, so outspoken
I've been told I'm not ladylike
But I'm a lady, like whoa
I could bring you to your knees and
Get you kicked out the Garden of Eden
Untamable, unframeable, Mona Lisa, oh
Kiss you like a whiskey fire
Turn around, leave your heart in a riot
Lipstick in a cigarette pack on the dash
I'm a lady like that
Whoa
I could bring you to your knees and (I could bring you to your knees and)
Get you kicked out the Garden of Eden
Untamable, unframeable, Mona Lisa, oh
Kiss you like a whiskey fire
Turn around, leave your heart in a riot
Lipstick in a cigarette pack on the dash
I'm a lady like that
I'm a lady like that
"Lady Like That" by Ingrid Andress from the album "Lady Like" (2020)* Written by Derrick Adam Southerland, Ingrid Andress and Sam Ellis. Published by Universal Music Publishing Group; Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the video here.
*Hailing from rural Colorado, Ingrid Andress grew up in a Western culture where she wore jeans rather than a dress, drank her tequila straight, and let curse words fly. When she arrived in Nashville, Andress was met with disapproval from some of her male peers for the way she carried herself as a woman. Here, she re-appropriates the titular phrase, redefining it on her own terms. Rather than embracing the stereotypes that suppress women, Andress details all the unconventional ways she is like a lady, such as not brushing her hair in days and kissing the guy on the first date if she feels like it. She even warns men she "could bring you to your knees and get you kicked out of the garden of Eden." Andress explained to Wonderland: "I wrote 'Lady Like' to remind myself and others that you don't have to apologize for who you are. I hope we can work together to move past gender stereotypes so people can feel free to be who they are just as they are." Andress recalled to Taste of Country the "constant commentary" she received from her male friends about her unfeminine outfits (she doesn't even own a dress) when she first moved to town in 2014. "A majority of the people in the music industry, at least in the writing world in Nashville, are men," she noted. "I feel like there was a lot of frustration silently circulating between women in this genre." "I feel like the industry, at least in country music, had the certain label as to what a female artist should be," Andress continued. "I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I also knew that I did not want to follow any of those rules." One of the outdated ways of measuring ladylike behavior Andress subverts in this song is bringing up politics in a conversation.
Sometimes I forget not to talk 'bout politics
When I'm in the middle of me gettin' hit on
"I mean, that really happened to me... I thought I was being super-impressive to this guy I was trying to flirt with, and I was just like, 'I'm so educated and informed. How attractive am I?'" Andress remembered to The Boot. "But this guy was just like, 'Yeah, I don't really like talking about that stuff.' I'm like, 'Oh, okay, well, I'm leaving.'" Andress wrote the song with two male buddies: her "More Hearts Than Mine" collaborators Derrick Southerland and Sam Ellis. (Knowledge courtesy of songfacts.com)
