This is a coffee table made using a Porsche Boxster (986) flat-six engine. It was built earlier this year and features a block and heads from the 986 as well as the intake manifold, and a tempered glass tabletop.
The first generation Porsche Boxster was introduced in 1996 as the production version of the Boxster Concept that had debuted in 1993. The Boxster was the first Porsche designed from the outset as a roadster since the 550 Spyder, and it would become a major sales success for the German automaker.
This is the first generation Porsche Boxster, known in the Porsche community as the 986. It proved to be a major success for the German automaker, helped get their books well into the black. Image courtesy of Porsche AG.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the 986 may very well have saved Porsche from financial ruin. It offered a more affordable model below the 911 that benefitted from a mid-mounted engine, while still offering space for two plus luggage.
The 986 would become the best-selling Porsche from the time of its introduction in 1996 until the release of the Porsche Cayenne in 2003. The modern version of the Boxster (and its closely related sibling the Cayman) still sell in the tens of thousands each year.
At the time of its release, the 986 was powered by a liquid-cooled flat-six internally codenamed the M96. It’s essentially a lower-displacement version of the 3.4 liter flat-six from the 911 (996) that initially produced a little over 200 bhp with a displacement of 2.5 liters.
The mid-engined location and low-center of gravity gave the Boxster predictable, neutral handling that served it well. These early versions of the engine did suffer some reliability issues, namely cylinder liners that slipped or cracked, later versions of this engine would be updated to resolve the issues.
The coffee table you see here is built around a 986 Boxster engine that’s been finished in silver. The internal components have all been removed as they’re no longer needed, and the valve covers and intake manifold have been painted black.
The compact nature of the M96 Porsche engine is well demonstrated here. It was released initially in 2.5 liter form for the Boxster with power output of 201 bhp.
The table has a 1/4″ thick tempered-glass tabletop that measures in at approximately 44″ long by 36″ wide. There is a cutout section in the middle so that the intake manifold can rise above the surface.
It’s sits on six caster wheels that are attached directly to the engine block, these wheels are lockable so the table can be fixed in position. In total the table weighs approximately 150 lbs and it’s being sold with no reserve out of West Sacramento, California on Bring a Trailer – you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
