2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder is one hell of an arachnid

[MUSIC] The Boxster's always been my favorite Porsche. Sure, it's not the most powerful, but that mid-engine makes for excellent handling and hearing that flat six wail with the top down has no comparison. [SOUND] I'm here in Hawaii with the most powerful Boxer ever built. The 2016 Boxer Spider. It's got a 3.8 liter 6 cylinder on the hood or rather between the trunk. And lucky me, I get to drive it. The front of the Spider is lifted directly off the Cayman GT4 giving us larger air intakes with the middle one engineered not only for cooling but also for reducing lift in the front. The rear is also swiped from the GT4, and together they make the Spyders less than half an inch longer and lower than the next-in-line Boxster GTS. Perhaps the most distinctive element to the look of the Spyder are the two streamliners extending from the roll bars to the back deck lid. The sports car look is finished off with the rear spoiler that integrates directly with the tail light. Sit inside the cabin and you might find a few things missing, namely air conditioning and a radio. Yep, those have been axed to help shave 66 pounds off the Spyder when compared with the Boxster GTS. Now Porsche will add them back in for free, but you'll always have to contend with the fabric door pulls. [BLANK_AUDIO] Now this 3.8 liter flat 6 cylinder engine is knocking out 375 horsepower and 309 pound feet of torque. Woo hoo! And all that power's going to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. That's right. No automatic available in this guy. And what I really like about this transmission is you've got these four great, great short throws. Listen to that! It's so good, it's so good. Now you could kind of call this a little bit of a FrankenPorsche, or maybe and Porschenstein. In that I've got a Cayman GT4 front and rear end, I've got the steering wheel from the 98 Team. I've got a steering rack from the 911 turbo and I've got brakes and the engine from the 911S so it's really a good amalgamation of all the best Porsches out there, put right into one. So a few years ago, Porsche nixed their excellent hydraulic steering set up for an electric one and Purists around the world just crying tears into their beer steins, no! But honestly, if you didn't know, you wouldn't know. There is so much feedback that comes in through the steering column right into my hands. I know exactly what wheel is going over what part of the paint. And that to me is just the essence of Essence of a sports car. You feel like you're very connected to the car, and that you're very connected to the road. You're as one, and it's wonderful. My God, I love this car. I just love there's so much of a visceral feeling that you get in this car. And yes, it only has 375 horsepower. Yes, there are more powerful cars out there. But A sports car is all about how you feel. It's all about the emotion that's behind it. And they're really is nothing like a Porsche to bring out that excitement and that, just happiness and joy of being alive and being on this wonderful planet in this wonderful car. Now in terms of handling, I've got a mechanical differential lock on the back, so that real helps power me out of these turns. And I do have Porsche's vectoring system. Now that is a break-based vectoring system, so it's gonna apply just a tiny bit of break to my inside wheel as I'm going around turns And it's gonna help mitigate wheel spin and get you through these turns even faster. [NOISE] [LAUGH] It feels so good. [NOISE] Now when I put it into sports Sport plus. It will rev match for me but honestly, that's part of the fun of driving a sports car right? And the pedals are set up really nicely that I can very easily heel toe, even with my smaller lady sized feet. [BLANK_AUDIO] Porsche claims that this car can go to its top speed of 180 miles per hour and go through the car wash with a top up. Although Probably not at the same time. Now unfortunately I am on public roads so I can't get all the way up to 180 miles an hour, but you know what? I'm gonna try. But is the Spider worth the $7500 over the GTS? Well, I mean, at first glance I would say yes, right? I mean simple math tells me that I get More powers of horses for less money with this guy. But this car is only 0.4 seconds faster to 60, and that's like the amount of time that it took for me to say the last three words that came out of my mouth. And, I only lose 6 mph on the top end. I mean, sure, that's a lot if you're racing. But if you're racing, it's a lot. We're not racing, not yet. [NOISE] So essentially I'm paying more money for less weight but my net gains just don't seem to be enough. I wish this car went just a little bit further, had just a little bit more power, maybe it was just a little bit more raw and visceral. Not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying they could have gone further. Still if you want the street cred of driving a car that has no air conditioning and no radio, go for it. And honestly people who are looking at this car probably aren't gonna quiver over $7,500 anyway. Thanks so much for watching. Hey if you can find me and Road Show on all those social medias, so look us up. [SOUND] [MUSIC]