Porsche Boxster Spyder

Pure, light, and fast, made up the DNA code for the original Porsche 550 when it was first revealed to the public at the 1953 Paris Motor Show.

The 550 as it was initially known before the Spyder nameplate was added, was built with a single purpose in mind, to win races, and win it did, plenty of them too.

This super light Porsche, that’s 550 kilograms with 110 bhp, quickly earned the tag ‘giant killer’ after they repeatedly crushed more powerful opposition in the world’s most brutal endurance races, including a famous victory at the 1956 Targa Florio over the V12 Ferrari’s and the powerful Mercedes-Benz 300 SL’s.

Porsche will unveil the new Boxster Spyder at the upcoming Los Angeles Motor Show, which CarAdvice hopes to cover.

Sticking to tradition as much as is possible in this age of over safe, over lush, and overweight cars, the Boxster Spyder will tip the scales at just 1,275 kilograms. That’s lighter than many of today’s GT4 class racers, and positions the mid-engine roadster as the lightest car in the Porsche line-up.

With a design bias towards open air motoring, the Spyder looks more like the Carrera GT Supercar than its Boxster siblings.

In fact, with a combination of lightweight seats, door pulls, soft top, and extra low windows, the Spyder weighs a full 80 kilograms less than the Boxster S, and develops slightly more power from the same 3.4-litre flat- six boxer engine with Direct Fuel Injection.

Performance is impressive, with the Spyder accelerating from 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds (with launch control) and toping out at a rapid 276km/h on the Autobahn – with the roof removed.

Gearshifts are via the Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) twin-clutch transmission which also assists the Spyder in achieving an outstanding fuel consumption (9.3L/100kms).

Introduction of the new Porsche Boxster Spyder to showrooms will commence worldwide in February 2010.