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2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder First Drive [w/video]

The recipe for the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder cooked up a meal that everyone loved. Yes, even with the three-piece, Erector Set canvas top that took one journalist 30 minutes to lower the first time. Boiled down, the 2011 model was a Boxster S with 10 extra horsepower and 176 fewer pounds, graced with accelerated reflexes. For the second coming of the Boxster Spyder, Porsche fortified the ingredients it used in the first. It starts with the Boxster GTS and adds the 3.8-liter flat-six from the 911 Carrera S, tuned to 375 horsepower and 301 pound-feet of torque. The Spyder subtracts around 72 pounds compared to the Boxster GTS, weighing in at 2,899 pounds. This, then, is both the most powerful and the lightest Boxster you can get. For you fact-checkers out there, the entry-level Boxster is listed at 2,888 pounds on the Porsche USA site, but a spokesman points out that, "the metric for determining weight has changed, which increased the amount of fluids necessary to perform weight testing." In other words, the base Boxster is unchanged, but the real-world curb weight is actually higher. It's ridiculous to quibble over 11 pounds – or whatever the difference is – because the Boxster Spyder has 110 more horsepower and 96 more pound-feet than the base model. With a successful technique already established, we thought the latest Boxster Spyder would even more of a raucous and rowdy good time than its predecessor. But it's not. The standard Boxster Spyder doesn't come with manual A/C or a stereo, but both can be added for no additional cost. The exterior, at least, exhibits the right kind of maturity. Front and rear fascias swiped from the Cayman GT4 add 10 millimeters in length compared to other Boxsters. Those pieces make the car lighter, along with items like the aluminum doors and decklid. The bulges behind the roll hoops, called streamliners, are the can't-miss-it references to Porsche's historic and legendary Spyders. In case admirers still don't get it, Spyder badges sit atop each rear quarter panel. Inside, the leather, body-colored trim, and copious amount of Alcantara is like a track-day package arranged by Prada. The steering wheel is shared with the Cayman GT4. The lightweight sport seats that hug like a carbon fiber cradle in our test car aren't available in our market. Different sport seats are standard in the US, racier buckets are a $4,750 option.

Porsche 911 GT2 test mule caught in the snow

This may look like a weird, cobbled-together Porsche, but insiders tell us we're actually looking at the forthcoming GT2. Maybe even a GT2 RS. Those schooled in the intricacies of Zuffenhausen nomenclature will be suitably excited by now. But for the rest of us, the GT2 (with or without the RS) represents the pinnacle of the most hardcore 911s. It's essentially a 911 Turbo without the all-wheel drive but some other goodies thrown in – or to put it another way, it is to the Turbo what the GT3 is to the 911 Carrera. Porsche first did a 911 GT2 back in 1993 based on the 993-generation model. It then did another based on the 996, and then on the 997. But the last one we saw was the GT2 RS that came out in 2010, packing 612 horsepower channeled exclusively to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The German automaker didn't do a GT2 version of the 991, but now that the entire model line is undergoing a transformation – and an near-complete switch to turbo power – it apparently has another one in store for us. Aside from ditching the Turbo's all-wheel drive, the new GT2 will be lighter and pack more power – as much as 700 hp, from what we hear. As you can see from the spy shots, the test mule spotted romping in the snow is also wearing larger exhaust tips and the signature GT2 RS black hood. Expect the finished product to wear its own shoes and a more extreme aero kit as well. The question on everyone's minds will be whether it will, like the latest GT3 and GT3 RS, be offered only with a dual-clutch transmission, a conventional manual, or the buyer's choice of either. We'll find out sooner or later as the most extreme of Elfens is tipped to surface late next year. Related Video:

Porsche patent sketches show removable headrest wind deflector

While driving around in a convertible might seem glamorous, ask anyone with long hair and they'll likely tell you how it really is: the wind buffets, your hair goes everywhere and it's anything but glamorous. That's why you see so many convertibles driving with their tops up, their windows up or wind deflectors in place. But Porsche is apparently preparing to kick it up to the next level.
These patent drawings have leaked out, demonstrating what appears to be some new kind of wind-deflecting device being developed by Porsche. The mechanism is apparently fitted to the headrest itself and designed to keep the wind buffeting specifically around the head down to a minimum while allowing the car's occupants to enjoy the top-down driving experience.
No word on when it might hit the market, but we won't be surprised to see this kind of device appear on a future version of the Boxster or 911 Cabriolet. But nowhere else: despite the apparent leak, the patent drawings suggest that Porsche will be keeping this technology proprietary. Whether sister brands like Volkswagen, Bentley or Lamborghini will get their hands on it remains to be seen.