Porsche has released the first photos of the long awaited next generation Boxster. Touted as the most comprehensive generational change in the mid-engined roadster’s history, the Type 981 Boxster has a longer wheelbase and a wider track, is lighter, more fuel efficient and has electromechanical steering. Sound like something else you just read about? No surprise, the 981 has

incorporated many of the technical and some of the styling features of the 991, the “new 911.” In addition to a new lightweight body, the Boxster chassis is said to have been completely revamped. There has been a redesign of the top, which now folds into place as its own cover in the fashion of the 911 cabriolet. Inside the more spacious interior there is a continuation of the Carrera GT rising-console theme.

The harder core elements of the Boxster’s evolution include changes in engine displacement for the basic model, which is reduced to 2.7 liters, but with added direct injection and a ten horsepower increase in output at 265 hp. The S, with displacement unchanged at 3.4 liters, gets five more horses for a total of 315. Both deliver their power through either the standard six-speed manual or the seven-speed PDK, the latter producing both the best acceleration and economy by Porsche’s testing. Zero to 60 times of 5.4 and 4.7 are claimed for the Boxster and the S respectively.

Again taking a page from the 991’s engineering sheet, “dynamic transmission mounts”—using technology similar to the magnetic engine mounts in the GT3 and 991—are now part of the optional Sport Chrono package, and torque vectoring with mechanical rear axle differential lock is a Boxster option for the first time.

Expected to be in dealer’s hands early this summer, base prices have increased to $49,500 for the Boxster and $60,900 for the Boxster S.