2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder First Drive

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder Picture

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

At a glance, the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder is simply a special model that sheds 176 pounds of non-essentials in the name of purist performance. Nothing new in this plan, since Porsche has been building lightweight models for decades. It's an easy recipe — cut weight and sell the car at a premium to Porschephiles who can't resist the idea that less is really more.

Among the non-essentials stripped from this Boxster are the air-conditioning and radio — items which, let's face it, most owners will option back into the car. Check the boxes for these bits and the overall weight saving for the Spyder is diminished to about 134 pounds. Optioned accordingly, we're talking about a roadster that still weighs 2,852 pounds — a weight reduction that's useful, but one worth celebrating? We weren't so sure. Then we drove it.

And everything changed.

This 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder is at once sharp and supple, responsive yet calm, smooth yet immensely powerful. It is, most certainly, a product of much, much more than simple weight reduction. And it's worthy of more than just a glance.

Hammer It
Our research (all this being in the cause of science, of course) began on Carmel Valley Road, one of the most demanding driving roads in the country and our favorite destination when we travel to Monterey, California. County Road G16, as it's known to locals, provides a host of chassis-torturing features: high-speed off-camber corners, cattle guards, frost heaves, patched sections, falling rocks and the occasional wet spot.

Porsche, however, was utterly unfazed by the challenge G16 represents. So we did what we had to do and caned the Spyder through the worst G16 has to offer. And yet we found little to criticize, whether chassis stiffness, damping control or ride quality. Sure, this Boxster roadster isn't as composed as a closed car, but we rarely found the bumpstops and were continually impressed with the Spyder's ability to put power down confidently and remain superbly composed.

And driving to this car's limits means going very, very quickly. There's a comfortable rhythm to be found at 9/10ths that leaves ample room for the unknown, yet yields a speed unmatched by any roadster we've ever driven.

Digging Deeper
After pulverizing Carmel Valley Road, we sat down with Maurice van de Weerd, the Boxster's senior chassis engineer, to talk shop about this most special Porsche.

Compared to a conventional Boxster, the biggest change to the Spyder's suspension is a 0.8-inch reduction in ride height. In combination with the deletion of the regular Boxster's electrically operated convertible top, the overall result is a 1-inch reduction in the Boxster's already low center of gravity. At the same time, the lower ride height requires the spring rates to be increased by 10 percent up front and 30 percent in the rear to keep the car from bottoming. The real secret, according to van de Weerd, is almost neurotic attention to the polyurethane "spring aid," a bump rubber that's used to fine-tune the overall spring rate in the last 2 inches of suspension travel.