I have never been a fan of Porsche’s Boxster range but from the looks of the new one set to debut next month at the Los Angeles Auto Show that might be about to change. Just look at it, they have somehow managed to keep the boring old Porsche look and yet the subtle changes really do get the job done.

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

Looks aside the Porsche engineers have also been crawling around beneath the Boxster’s skin, and the results are startling. The Spyder will be the lightest Porsche available with a featherweight 1275kg’s, and that has been combined with the obligatory power boost. The weight saving has been achieved in no small part to ditching of the complex automatic roof mechanism. Instead there is a simple manually operated canvas.

Further slimming has been achieved by really pedantic methods, there’s no stereo or air-con as standard, the bucket seats are lightweight, the door skins are aluminium and the interior door panels have been nicked from the 911 GT3 RS because of their lightweight properties.

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

The aforementioned power boost of the mid-engined Spyder emanates from a 3.4-litre six-cylinder engine with Direct Fuel Injection, which pumps out 235kW/320hp, a meaty 10hp more than the Boxster S. If you do the maths, which I didn’t, that is apparently a power-to-weight ration superior to the Cayman S or even the 911 Carrera.

This being a Porsche they would never make a car lighter and more powerful without making sure the road dynamics stay top notch, that is reserved for the Americans and the like (that’s not a criticism). There is an all-new sports suspensions which lowers the Boxster Spyder 20 mm, allowing for a lower center of gravity, and a standard limited slip differential which combines with exclusive wheels.

The Spyder's double-bubble rear canopy is reminiscent of the Carrera GT

So how does it all come together for the important stuff then? Well the Spyder will be doing 100km/h from 0 in 4.8 seconds, and with the roof down you’ll be able to blast all the way to 267km/h which should just be enough to mess up your hair. I’m not sure the canvas roof will stay on at those speeds anyway.

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