2008 Porsche Boxster

2008 Porsche Boxster RS 60 Spyder – Click above for high-res image gallery On paper, the Boxster RS 60 Spyder might seem nothing more than a limited-edition Boxster with some interior upgrades, a slight horsepower bump over the S model and a name picked from the company's rich racing history. Let's first take a look at the car's historic name. In 1960, Porsche's mid-engined 718 RS 60 won both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Targa Florio. Historic pictures show it as a silver car with a red leather interior, much like the 2008 Boxster RS 60 Spyder I took around Barber Motorsports this week. Continue reading after the jump and visit our high-res gallery. %Gallery-25065% Photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Tutor / Weblogs, Inc. On the street it won't be easy to distinguish one of the 1,960 RS 60s from its more common Boxster S siblings. RS 60s wear revised front spoilers, 19" SportDesign wheels with 5 mm spacers and all-red taillights. The really observant might notice the Boxster S script on the rear deck is chromed instead of matte silver and so are the roll hoop covers. The car's standard sport exhaust is also noticeable because of its two round tips instead of oval outlets. Inside, the stainless steel door sill plates are emblazoned with the RS 60 Spyder logo, and there's an authenticating plaque below the passenger airbag. The interior gets Porsche's "full leather" package, which includes Carrera Red leather on the door panels, dash, center console and sport steering wheel. The Boxter S gauges are topped with a crescent hood while the RS 60 loses the cover, and, in my opinion, gains a nice retro touch. Gauge faces also get the car's GT Silver Metallic paint to coordinate with silver seatbelts and seat backs. On a track, though, you're more likely to hear that sport exhaust before you see it. On the car's first lap around Barber, everyone's attention was focused on seeing what car was lapping. At speed, the Porsche's pipes open up and the sound changes from refined sports car to snarling Germanic wail. Tim Cupp, Porsche's product manager for sports cars, says the sport exhaust is available on other Boxsters, but only raises the volume. On the RS 60, it helps the car take advantage of a re-worked engine management system, which adds eight horsepower. On paper, that's not worth the extra $9,200 you pay for a Boxster RS 60 instead of an S. Not even if the RS does have a luxurious-looking digital/analog timer atop the center of the dash. But in the right hands on a track, the GT Silver Metallic drop-top comes to life and quickly proves that red interior bits on a Boxster S an RS 60 does not make. At least that's what the Porsche guys told me. So I eagerly jumped behind the wheel of a regular 2008 Boxster S with accomplished racer David Murry in the passenger seat and did three very quick laps around …
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