Porsche Debuts The Boxster RS60 Spyder

Porsche Debuts The Boxster RS60 Spyder

Porsche is presenting the new Boxster RS 60 Spyder in Germany. From April 4, the most recent model in the successful Boxster series will be celebrating its first home appearance at the 18th Auto Mobil International (AMI) in Leipzig. The city is home to Porsche’s second production location, complementing the main factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. At the motor show there are other highlights to be appreciated, too: the innovative power train of the future Cayenne, with its Full Parallel Hybrid drive giving particularly low fuel consumption, and the Porsche RS Spyder racing car.

 

With eight overall wins in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in 2007, the RS Spyder has proved itself as the racing car with the most international overall victories to have been designed and built in Germany. Moreover, in its triumphal progress through the USA, the RS Spyder was using the especially environmentally friendly E10-fuel which contains ten percent bioethanol by volume.

By contrast, the newest version of the mid-engine two-seater Porsche Boxster is reminiscent of the great racing triumphs of the 1960s. The RS 60 Spyder is a vivid reminder of the Porsche racing era of the ’sixties in color, shape, fittings and philosophy. The Boxster, which enjoys the full power of 303 PS (223 kW), thanks to its sporting exhaust system, holds the promise of correspondingly sporty driving dynamics combined with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) as standard equipment, and 19-inch wheels. The modern Roadster in ’sixties style comes luxuriously equipped, and – in commemoration of the year 1960 when its ‘role model’ and predecessor, the Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder, first made its appearance – production is limited to a series of 1,960 vehicles.

Porsche will be giving a privileged insight into its development activities with the Cayenne Hybrid, whose innovative drive train can be seen in Leipzig at the AMI. The emphatically sporting all-terrain vehicle will be available within the present decade as a “Full Parallel Hybrid”. This particularly efficient Hybrid system has an electric motor placed between the internal combustion engine and the transmission. The Hybrid drive offers not only maximized fuel economy, but also the additional possibility of driving in a completely emission-free, electrically-powered mode.

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t_bonet_bone - 3/13/2008 9:38:57 AM
+3 Boost
Who would have thought that Porsche would "allow" tweaking of the shared 987 engine so that the Boxster would be more powerful (223 vs. 220 kW) than the Cayman S (The regular Boxster S has 200 kW). Talk about value! I don't think there is a single example of a cabrio being cheaper than the hardtop version anywhere.


t_bonet_bone - 3/13/2008 9:40:12 AM
+3 Boost
Sorry, I meant 220 kW on the Boxster S...it is the same engine as the Cayman S, 295 hp.


DROOPYSAKKDROOPYSAKK - 3/13/2008 9:44:04 AM
+2 Boost
i have a soft spot in my heart for this car.
i like it.


TalliTalli - 3/13/2008 10:08:36 AM
+2 Boost
anyone knows when the panamera is coming out?


mini22mini22 - 3/13/2008 11:36:50 AM
+2 Boost
It looks nice but a bit of a rip off in the power department.I'm sure this car is going to sell for 70 grand.You could take a regular Boxster S,add a nice Milteck exhaust for a couple of grand and get similar power figures.The Panamera will show at next years Geneva show and go on sell soon after that.


answeranswer - 3/13/2008 1:05:04 PM
+2 Boost
Cool, but I wish they would have put the gold/copper color exhaust and accents on it like the original Boxster concept had.


jpighettijpighetti - 3/14/2008 9:43:57 AM
+1 Boost
I just tore one of these up the highway right after a regular Bosxter S. The power difference is noticeable, but only after driving the cars back to back. The color combination is absolutley gorgeous. These are great photos but they don't do it justice.


jpighettijpighetti - 3/14/2008 11:03:56 AM
+1 Boost
Overwhelming ignorance from someone with clearly no experience. The Bosxter/ Boxster S is the benchmark in the premium roadster class. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. It's won more awards than any other car in it's class. Ugly is an opinion and you're entitled to that, but it's not an underperformer, it's not overpriced (even though it's more expensive than a lot of it's competition), and it's a higher quality vehicle than any Nissan. How do you figure this car will result in price gouging by nissan dealers? They are similar in price, but cater to differnt buyers. You comment makes no sense.


jpighettijpighetti - 3/14/2008 5:03:01 PM
+1 Boost
Of course the F430 is not a competitive vehicle. Premium roadsters are the Z4, SLK, TT, etc. The 350Z, S2000, and corvette may compete on a performance level, but lack the prestige, luxury, refinement and service the premiums offer. It's amazing that so many people on here think that the only reason someone buys a sports car is becasue it "goes fast" or, maybe more accurately, goes faster than every other car. The reality is that most buyers look at numerous factors, and everyone settles to some degree because there is no such thing a perfect car for anyone. True, the GT-R is a great car, but there are plenty of people who won't consider it because it's still a Nissan. The badge has nothing to do with it. Everyone is comparing that car to the 911 Turbo. The reality is that if you built a GT-R with the same material quiality as a Porsche, the car would be $100K+. Same thing with the Vette; the performance is there, but it's a cheap car wrapped around a very competent driveline.

The only people who call the boxster a poor mans Porsche are people who know nothing about the car. It's a better sports car than any of it's competition (except now maybe the GT-r) so what does that mean? If you can't spend $85K or more for a 911, you shouldn't own a sports car? Nobody should buy a Z4 or SLK? Those aren't as good as the Z8 or an SL. Are they "poor man's sports cars as well? Buying a Boxster would be like buying a 318 if the 318 was the best sedan in it's class, which it certainly isn't (wasn't).

Nurburgring times

S2000 - 8.39 - 5.3kg per hp
Boxster S (987) - 8.23 - 5.1 kg per hp

not enought difference in power alone to support the time difference, so handling and braking has to be a factor.

Even the 986 Boxster S beat the S2000, so i don't know that "When S2000 first came out, no Porsche at the time could touch it in handling".

It takes about a minute in a new Porsche to see the interior quality vs a nissan. Compare a 90K Porsche with a 90K Nissan and the point is even more obvious.

But hey, to each their own.

Either way, the Boxster isn't responsible for dealers gouging on the GT-r.







artomeartome - 3/15/2008 9:02:21 PM
+1 Boost
Pardon me but I thought this car was long overdue for a redesign, the Boxster I mean. Oh, I forgot, Porsche doesn't redesign anything! I used to like the Boxster, till I found out Porsche created the model just to save their bottomline, they needed a volume seller and boxster was the answer. It's a good car, but base models have never appealed to me. The Nissan GT-R, impressive! We can only expect great things from Porsche now that they are on notice.


USCCaymanUSCCayman - 3/21/2008 10:51:35 AM
+1 Boost
The Ausi R8 was supposed to put Porsche on notice, and nothing came of it. You hear nothing about it now. Now we hear about the great Nissan GT-R, much of that based on the "amazing" Nurburgring lap times set by that car. According to this month's Redline Magazine (a tuner mag), Nissan resorted to some "tricks", such as cut slicks and a non-production exhaust system to set those times. In Japan, the car may be limited to 112 mph on public roads. I will wait until the car gets over here and has some comparison tests done by Road&Track, etc., before I'm willing to say Porsche or anyone else, for that matter is put on notice.


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