Porsche has unveiled its most powerful Boxster Spyder at the New York Auto Show. The Spyder, unlike the Boxster GTS, gets a 911-sourced 3.8-litre flat-six engine generating 370bhp and 42.72kgm of torque.
Porsche claims that the Boxster Spyder weighs a 100kg less than the GTS, allowing it to achieve a 0-100kph sprint time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 290kph. In comparison, the GTS does the 0-100kph sprint in 5.0 seconds and has a top speed of 281kph.
The new Spyder also gets a host of mechanical upgrades. The car gets updated brakes from the 911 Carrera, a sports suspension and sits 20mm lower than other Boxster versions. However, to lose the extra weight, the standard car gives features such as sat nav and air-con a miss. However, these options can be added at no extra cost.
When it comes to styling, the Boxster Spyder’s most notable feature is its new roof. As with the previous-generation Spyder, the lightweight fabric roof is opened and closed manually, although it is released electrically (as is the rear deck), to make the process more user-friendly.
The car also gets classic styling cues like the streamlined bulges on the rear lid that extend from the seat headrests — a feature seen on the 1960s Porsche 718 Spyder. The front and rear end design has been borrowed from the Cayman GT4.
On the inside, the car gets new lightweight seats along with a new steering wheel that the company claims has been designed to drive the Boxster Spyder “precisely and with great agility”.
The new Boxster Spyder will go on sale internationally in July and will be slot in above its GTS sibling in the Boxster line-up.