Porsche's Boxster Spyder packs 911 punch
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Porsche's Boxster Spyder packs 911 punch

By DanGoAuto - 18 May 2015

PARTS-sharing across multiple brands and marques is just part of the modern motor-manufacturing way.

Jump behind the wheel of Ferrari’s magnificent FF and you will find the very same touchscreen as fitted to a Jeep Cherokee nestled in its opulent leather dashboard.

Pilot a silky Tesla Model S and you’ll open and close its electric windows with the same switchgear found in a Mercedes, while passengers in Volkswagen’s Phaeton are riding around on the same platform as a Bentley Continental GT.

It seems everyone is at it, but if you simply must borrow bits then make sure you pinch them from the poshest parts bin, and that is exactly what Porsche has done with its latest and greatest evolution of the Boxster.

The new Porsche Boxster range flagship resurrects the iconic Spyder badge.

Fans of the smallest Porsche can get into an entry level version for a snip over $100,000, before on road costs, while customers looking for a little more punch can opt for the S and GTS variants which gain a larger 3.4-litre version of its flat-six engine for between $130,000 and $145,000.

But what if that still isn’t enough performance potential? For the ultimate in Boxster knockout punch Porsche has wandered over to the 911 warehouse and come back with a 3.8-litre six-cylinder donating a very grown-up 276kW to the baby sportscar.

The baby of the Porsche sportscar range gets grownup 911 performance when fitted with a Spyder badge.

With its boosted naturally aspirated power, the new $169,000 Boxster Spyder beats the smaller engined GTS by 44kW and with the lightest construction of any variant, Porsche says it will get to 100km/h from standstill in 4.5 seconds — 0.2 seconds quicker.

Part of the weight-saving exercise involved binning the air-conditioning and sound system, but the German car-maker is not saying how much mass has been dropped. It will put the gear back for no extra cost if you simply can't do without your favourite tunes.

Who needs air-conditioning when you have mother nature to cool you? The Boxster Spyder’s styling is sub-zero too.

The stripping of equipment is a nod to the Porsche Spyder models of yesteryear, which also sacrificed comfort for added performance and a dusting of added style.

Porsche’s Spyder lineage started with 1955’s 550 Spyder – the car that American movie star James Dean cemented in history by crashing and killing himself on a Californian country road in the same year the car was launched.

The 718 Spyder followed in 1957, adding a single streaming hump behind the driver’s head for racy appearance. More recently, the Spyder moniker has been applied to the Nurburgring-busting 918 hybrid.

Porsche's 718 Spyder race-car followed the 550 Spyder road car in 1957 and had a more accentuated streamlining bulge behind the driver's head.

Like the Spyders of old, the 2015 Boxster version is available only as a manual with no PDK dual-clutch option on offer. The Spyder is a pure driver’s Porsche.

The unmistakable hump is back too, although this time it is behind both of the two seats and houses the convertible roof mechanism. As another weight saving effort, the folding top is only half automatic with the final closing action requiring occupant participation.

A quintessentially Porsche ducktail is another styling addition to set the Spyder apart from its more conventional brethren and adds stabilising aft downforce at speed, while the front and rear bumpers get the same treatment as the tastiest Porsche Cayman.

Like the Boxster Spyder, The coupe equivalent Cayman GT4 also gets a 911 3.8-litre as standard, albeit with an extra 7kW.

The Spyder’s handling and road-holding has also been sharpened with a 20mm suspension drop and heavier more communicative steering and a smaller 360mm-wheel, while another trip to the 911 shop has beefed up the brakes.

With its boosted power the latest Boxster will bump gloves with Jaguar’s $175,470 F-Type S convertible which also has rear drive and six cylinders although it pumps out 280kW thanks to a supercharged 3.0-litre.

The Porsche Boxster Spyder got its top off for the first time at the New York International Auto Show this year, wooing onlookers with bulges in all the right places.

Find a road long enough and the Spyder will crack 290km/h and when driven less wastefully, will return fuel economy of 9.9 litres per 100km.

Tempted? The most potent Boxster goes into the ring on Australian turf in the third quarter of this year, but will the combination of typical Porsche quality, topless fun and 911 poke steer you away from the competition?

Daniel Gardner GoAuto.com.au

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