Geneva Auto Show: 2013 Porsche Boxster GENEVA - The uninterrupted slant-back look has been a signature feature of Porsche sports cars since the company's first models appeared shortly after World War II. A new styling trend was duly noted by Porsche purists last fall, when the latest generation of the 911 was introduced wearing a subtle dual character line across the car's rear haunches. On the 2013 Boxster, officially unveiled here, the tail is an unmistakable design element. At last, it seems, Porsche has found a proper nose-to-tail balance in Boxster styling, something that may have been lost between the handsome concept first shown in the early "90s and the initial production versions. By Porsche's internal nomenclature, the 2013 Boxster and Boxster S models shown here are type 981s. The first-generation Boxster, introduced in 1996, was the 986; the second-generation version of 2005 was the 987. The regressive numbering tactic - the new 911, which followed the 997, is called the 991 - has left some Porsche-philes slightly baffled. None of this necessarily shakes the impression that the 981 bears a resemblance in photos to the last-generation Toyota MR2. In person, however, comparisons to downmarket facsimiles melt from memory. This car, especially in profile, with its pronounced side vents, sooner resembles Porsche's vaunted $450,000 Carrera GT. For roughly 1/10th of that sum, the new Boxster looks like a relative bargain. The base Boxster's suggested retail price is $50,450, but the Boxster S would cost at least an extra $11,000. Those numbers, of course, can be padded by thousands, with the vast array of options Porsche is expected to offer when the cars come to the United States in June. The primary reason for the Boxster S's rather notable premium lies in its engine compartment, where the car gets the direct-injection 3.4-liter H-6 shared with far pricier base 911 models. This engine, detuned for Boxster duty, will produce 315 horsepower, an increase of five horsepower over the outgoing S, which will help propel the car to 60 miles an hour in a manufacturer-asserted 4.7 seconds with the PDK transmission. The base model more than makes do with a 2.7-liter H-6 that produces 265 horsepower, an improvement of 10 over its predecessor. With the PDK gearbox, Porsche still expects a 5.6-second zero-to-60 time to be reasonable. The new model is slightly larger, but also lighter, than the outgoing model. Although fuel economy may not be a make-or-break consideration for most Porsche customers, the Boxster nevertheless offers a welcome 15 percent improvement in fuel economy, the brand said.