Porsche Boxster Spyder
The roadster the purists kept asking for.
DFI 3.4, A/C deleted, top raised by hand.
9 reviewers · 9 videos
Reviewers strongly agree on its performance and handling, but split on value.
across 9 reviewers
"i think they're actually undervalued right now"
Zygrene · ▶ 13:31"Is it worth four grand more than the Boxster S? No."
Fifth Gear · ▶ 9:59Performance
4.5/59 of 9 reviewersstrong consensus“The 3.4 l Flat 6 now has 320 horsepower 10 more than the standard boxers and because it's lighter not to 60 is done in just 5 Seconds”
positive · Top Gear · ▶ 3:23“it has 320 horsepower... it handles it perfectly”
positive · Zygrene · ▶ 12:56“It's 3.4 L in capacity. It's DFI direct fuel injection... 320 horsepower at 7,200 RPM.”
positive · 9WERKS TV · ▶ 5:00Handling
5.0/59 of 9 reviewersstrong consensus“hydraulic steering... way better than any electric rack... super playful”
positive · Zygrene · ▶ 12:20“this brings the road back right into your senses”
positive · EverydayDriver · ▶ 4:56“the spider is the best handling production Porsche we've ever driven”
positive · MotorWeek · ▶ 3:57Fun to drive
5.0/59 of 9 reviewersstrong consensus“this is a really happy car it's full of vibrant energy and enthusiasm”
positive · Top Gear · ▶ 7:12“he drives a boxer spider way more because it's way more you can rev it out way easier”
positive · Zygrene · ▶ 14:17“this car is brilliant”
positive · EverydayDriver · ▶ 5:40Daily drivability
2.0/59 of 9 reviewersstrong consensus“What is uncomfortable though is the wind noise created by the roof. anything over 60 miles an hour and it sounds as though you have left a rear window open.”
critical · Fifth Gear · ▶ 3:55“what if you're driving along with the roof down and suddenly it starts to rain... it was a nightmare”
critical · Top Gear · ▶ 5:49“Is it a car to drive around in all year? No, to be honest, because again reference the roof is the big player... you need a garage uh to stick this car when you're not driving it.”
critical · 9WERKS TV · ▶ 12:05Value
3.5/59 of 9 reviewerssplit“Is it worth four grand more than the Boxster S? No.”
critical · Fifth Gear · ▶ 9:59“i think they're actually undervalued right now”
positive · Zygrene · ▶ 13:31“This car costs £46,000 that's £5,000 more than the standard car and you get Less in return”
critical · Top Gear · ▶ 2:52Mechanically, the first Boxster Spyder ran the 987.2's MA1.20 3.4-litre DFI flat-six, lifted 10 hp over the Boxster S of the day and — because this is a direct-injection MA1 motor — free of the intermediate-shaft worry that haunts earlier M96/M97 Boxsters. The point was mass, not power. Porsche stripped it to the lightest car it sold: aluminium doors, lightweight buckets, A/C and radio deleted as standard, and the now-signature manual two-piece top — a tent-like shade you raise by hand rather than a powered roof. In the lineage, the 987 is the purist's prototype: 20mm-lower sport suspension, the humped twin-fairing deck every later Spyder would inherit, and a kerb weight that undercut the S by well over 150 lb. PDK was offered, but the manual is the one owners chase. It reads today as the moment Porsche decided the Boxster could be a deliberate lightweight rather than the entry car — the idea the 981 and 982 Spyders would later take to the GT-engine extreme.
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
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Signature manual two-piece fabric top — raised by hand, not powered. A/C and radio deleted as standard for weight (re-addable as no-cost options). A DFI MA1 engine, so the intermediate-shaft (IMS) bearing concern of earlier M96/M97 Boxsters does not apply.