Boxster Spyder Unveil

Only Porsche could come up with a special convertible edition of a car that is only available as a convertible (Why the fixed-roof Cayman is a different car than the Boxster is a subject for another rant.  I’ll spare you).  That said, when Barrier, the local Porsche dealer, extended me an invitation to their unveiling of the latest offering from the German automaker, I jumped at the opportunity.

The Boxster Spyder is a beautiful car.  It takes the already stunning Boxster and adds a more pronounced rear spoiler and rear body work reminiscent of the Carrera GT.  Performance-wise, it adds 10 horsepower and removes 176 pounds.  But the biggest difference between this car and your run of the mill Boxster is the roof.  The convertible top on a traditional Boxster is mechanically controlled.  The Spyder is 100% manual.  Removing this machinery accounted for the majority of the weight loss.  The dealers claimed that two people could remove the top in 2 minutes and one person could complete the task in about 5.  Now, if it takes me about 30 minutes to get to work, I can’t see spending an additional 10 playing with the roof.  I think this gets to the real intention of this car.  It was most likely developed for someone who could afford to have a toy car for sunny days only.  I’d imagine they’d probably never bother putting the top on, instead opting to just leave it roofless in a garage.  So perhaps this car isn’t for me.

While at the dealership, I had a chance to see some of the more exotic Porsche vehicles.  They also had a 911 GT3 RS.  The GT3 is a version of 911 optimized for use on the track.  The GT3 RS is a version of the GT3 further optimized for use on the track.  Again, only Porsche could come up with a special track edition of a track edition of a sports car.

As a special treat, Barrier also had a 1987 Porsche 959 on display.  This car has some history to it.  It was Porsche’s supercar of the eighties; I guess a forerunner to the Carrera GT.  And, of course, this is the car that Bill Gates attempted to import but failed to acquire for 13 years as it did not met US regulations.  As rare of a car as it is, it was priced at $710k.  Can you afford 10% down?  If so, you’ve got a tough decision to make:  get the 959 and start financing or buy the Boxster Spyder outright.

Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/MrSharps/20100515BoxsterSpyderUnveiling