The 2015 was a bit quiet, in terms of debuts. Most of the things we saw, we’ve seen somewhere else before. However, one world debut did get the attention of everyone in attendance.
The Porsche Boxster Spyder.
This isn’t the first Boxster Spyder, but it is the newest and the best. While the last gen Spyder was very good, this new Boxster’s chassis is far better than the previous generation’s, so the new Spyder should be as well.
What the Spyder basically is, is a Boxster with a tent on the roof. Okay, facetiousness aside, the Boxster Spyder is a hardcore, stripped out Boxster purpose built for pure driving enjoyment.
The tent reference was towards the power convertible top, which has been replaced, on the Spyder, with a manual top which must be disassembled by hand and stowed in the trunk. The reason for the added inconvenience is lightness. Power folding tops, regardless of soft or hardtop, are very heavy. Removing it and making it manually operated saves quite a bit of weight, but more importantly lowers the center of gravity by reducing weight up top.
Porsche’s also stripped out the interior by replacing the leather seats with faux-suade ones, replacing the door pull with cloth straps and even reducing the diameter of the steering wheel. Porsche’s also removed the air conditioning and radio to reduce weight, though both are no-cost optional extras. Extreme stuff.
But if you think Porsche just threw some stuff out and decided to charge you more for it, you’d only be half right. The engineers in Stuttgart have also fitted the 3.8 liter engine from the Carrera S, and it produces a healthy 375 hp. That’s enough grunt to send the Boxster Spyder to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.
Outright speed isn’t the Spyder’s bag, however. The Boxster Spyder is about driving pleasure and it should deliver. With the only transmission option being a 6-Speed manual, that low weight and center of gravity and the glorious flat-six engine, the Boxster Spyder should be absolutely wonderful to drive.
Yes it will cost more than the Boxster S or GTS, and yes $82,100 is a lot for a car with a tent for a roof, but it will be the purest version, the version to get if you value driving above all else.
