Infotainment upgrade in my 2010 Porsche Boxster S (987.2)

Pinch myself every time I drive even after 4 years of buying it. And these small upgrades help. I've done a decent number of them in these 4 years of ownership.

BHPian Naman_Ferrari recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Infotainment System Upgrade

I think the main thing that differentiates a modern sportscar from a 14 year old example like mine is the screen. I know there is more technology to modern cars than the screen but this is probably the only one that matters to me in a car like this. The only other tech I would have liked in my car is probably a downshift rev-match system (I don't know how to and am too scared to experiment on my beloved Porsche).

Coming back to the topic, the original Porsche screen was horrible. The graphics were bad, no AUX or Bluetooth and the amplifier was also really dull. I had been waiting for the Porsche Classic System to be introduced for the 987.2 and had mentally decided to get one when it's launched.

This is how the original screen looks like

A couple of months ago, I saw a YouTube video of someone installing a brand new Apple CarPlay system from China on his 981 Cayman for $500. The best part was that it matched the OEM style and colour so did not look aftermarket at all. Very much like the Porsche Classic System I was waiting for but at a quarter of the price.

My search began online. Found many on AliExpress and after reading a lot of pages about this on Rennlist, I decided that it's better I find someone locally to import for me. Found a car audio shop near my house and they were able to source the exact unit I wanted from their vendor in China.

To save on GST and import duties, I got it shipped to Dubai where my friend was supposed to get it for me but the delivery got delayed. Super stressful but eventually I figured out a way to get a colleague to get it to the US where I was going last month for a conference. So the system went from China to Dubai, Dubai to San Francisco and then I brought it back from there to Bangalore. That did not have to be so complicated but it's finally here.

Got it installed a couple of days ago and here is what it looks like 

Notice how it matches the rest of the dashboard perfectly which was the most important thing for me. The unit has the best processor that was available with Octacore and 8 GB of RAM so it's future proof. Has all the bells and whistles of an Android system including the ability to stream videos and movies on YouTube, Netflix etc though I don't think I will ever use this. I just wanted the Apple CarPlay which works perfectly. The screen is nice and crisp and responsive. Installation took 2 hours and I paid around 50k total.

Outside of this, the car runs like a dream. Pinch myself every time I drive even after 4 years of buying it. And these small upgrades help. I've done a decent number of them in these 4 years of ownership.

The only thing I don't do which I want to is drive her more. I'm still conscious every time I take her out, because of which I do it less often. It's a mental commitment to take the Boxster out. With any other car, you can just go and not think about anything. With this, it's always on your mind which is the appeal but not when you just want to go for a movie or a dinner. Maybe that's just me?

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