Porsche Boxster Spyder
The roadster the purists kept asking for.
375-hp 3.8, no PDK, 2,486 built.
12 reviewers · 13 videos
Reviewers strongly agree on its performance and handling, but split on daily drivability.
across 12 reviewers
"if you like to use your cars on a frequent basis this is so usable so much fun"
JayEmm on Cars · ▶ 33:15"it's still a bit of a pava compared with the full electric hood of a regular Boxster"
Auto Express · ▶ 3:51Performance
4.5/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“The performance is better because of the engine. The response is more immediate because there's more power and this engine is frankly just more ready to go in a sports car and do stuff and have fun.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 20:25“it's a engine you really want to rev out out and you get really really really well rewarded for revving it like that because the sound had four, and up especially with the sport exhaust that comes standard in this sounds absolutely beautiful”
positive · The Drive · ▶ 4:16“375 hp, 4.5 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, and a top speed of 290 km/h.”
positive · Motorvision Deutschland · ▶ 3:39Handling
5.0/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“The steering is excellent the handling is unbelievably the term I guess is solid like it feels so it gives you so much confidence in the car's abilities.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 19:14“these single tune dampers are just about perfect”
positive · The Drive · ▶ 3:57“It has a direct steering ratio that is approximately 10% more direct than the standard model.”
positive · Motorvision Deutschland · ▶ 5:42Fun to drive
5.0/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“I have to admit it's just yet another just brilliant version of The Box the cman chassis and I actually am beginning to think it is the best yet”
positive · Auto Express · ▶ 5:17“I think this is probably one of the best Porsche driving experiences you can have for the street sub 100k.”
positive · Jubbal & Cars · ▶ 16:33“It is one of the alltime Great driving cars that possibly exists.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 18:28Daily drivability
3.5/512 of 12 reviewerssplit“The Boxster spider did not get that GT3 suspension so it's more comfortable and a little bit more compliant... but the operation of this roof is well rather ridiculous.”
mixed · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 3:12“if you like to use your cars on a frequent basis this is so usable so much fun”
positive · JayEmm on Cars · ▶ 33:15“this is so much more compliant. This really is optimized for the street, for the canyon.”
positive · Jubbal & Cars · ▶ 6:50Value
4.5/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“i believe that the boxster especially the box duress and above which of course this qualifies as are the best value in the porsche lineup”
positive · Motormouth · ▶ 5:04“all this at a price more than €10,000 below that of the cheapest bread-and-butter Elvers.”
positive · Motorvision Deutschland · ▶ 8:34“So, great hold the value, but how are they to drive?”
positive · Zygrene · ▶ 0:23Mechanically, the 981 Spyder is the MA1.24 3.8-litre flat-six — the 991 Carrera S engine, all but identical to the 981 Cayman GT4's unit, here rated at 375 hp. It was offered with a six-speed manual only: no PDK, a deliberate statement that defines the car. The hardware is GT4-grade — mechanical limited-slip with torque vectoring, 20mm-lower suspension, 911 Carrera S brakes, and, uniquely among 981 Boxsters, the quick steering rack from the 911 Turbo. Where it places in the lineage, this is the open GT4: the last naturally-aspirated, manual-only flat-six Boxster before the turbocharged four-cylinder 718s arrived in 2016, which is exactly why values held. Porsche built 2,486. It keeps the hand-raised fabric top of the 987, trading outright civility for the lightest, most analogue configuration in the range. For many it is the high-water mark of the breed — the Spyder formula at its most uncompromised, just before forced induction and the GT-grade 982 cars changed what the badge meant.
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
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Manual-only — no PDK was ever offered, by design. Shares the 981 Cayman GT4's 3.8 (slightly detuned here). Keeps the hand-raised two-piece fabric top.