This Is It: 2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder

2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder

 The wraps have been taken off of the second-generation Porsche Boxster Spyder.

The formula for this new model hews closely to the original Boxster Spyder, which launched for 2011. That includes a weight reduction (it’s 66 pounds lighter than the GTS), a stripped-out interior, aero-optimizing body add-ons, unique fascias, a retuned suspension, and a simple, fully removable fabric roof. Basically, it’s a Boxster made nearly as hard-core as possible, the fat trimmed and the driving experience fully optimized.

2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder

Porsche says the new Spyder is both the most powerful and the fastest Boxster it has ever created. With 375 horsepower—45 more than the Boxster GTS and 10 fewer than the Cayman GT4—from a naturally aspirated, 3.8-liter flat-six borrowed from the 911 Carrera S and a top speed of 180 mph, the numbers back up the boast. The larger, more-powerful engine also is shared with the GT4, and it trumps the 3.4-liter unit from the S and GTS as the displacement champ in Boxster-dom.

It’s worth noting that the engine represents a bit of a philosophical shift for the Spyder. The last-gen edition trumped the S in power, but it shared that car’s 3.4-liter six-cylinder and the increase in muscle was just 10 horsepower—Porsche clearly isn’t messing around this time. What’s not a shift is how the car’s shifted; it’s still manual-only, with the driver working through a six-speed stick.

2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder

The Spyder’s acceleration will be fierce. Porsche claims a zero-to-60-mph time of 4.3 seconds, but that’s the same time we achieved with the original 320-hp Spyder. Also, the current-gen, 315-hp Boxster S with a manual blatted its way to 60 in 4.4 seconds in our test, and Porsche’s estimates are usually quite conservative. It’s safe to say that we can’t wait to get our gear rigged up to the new Spyder.