Porsche Boxster Spyder 987
The roadster the purists kept asking for.
DFI 3.4, A/C deleted, top raised by hand.
12 reviewers · 12 videos · 3 hours watched
Reviewers strongly agree on its performance and handling, but split on value.
across 12 reviewers
"i think they're actually undervalued right now"
Zygrene · ▶ 13:31"Is it worth four grand more than the Boxster S? No."
Fifth Gear · ▶ 9:59Performance
4.5/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“The 3.4 l Flat 6 now has 320 horsepower 10 more than the standard boxers and because it's lighter not to 60 is done in just 5 Seconds”
positive · Top Gear · ▶ 3:23“it is a 3.4 liter flat six naturally aspirated and it makes a little bit more horsepower than the Box rest of 320”
positive · Porsche Club America · ▶ 0:45“this flat 6 3.4 L motor is a tactile linear delight. As the revs rise, so does the power”
positive · Roger Bailey · ▶ 2:04Handling
5.0/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“I can see why people call this the best handling Porsche at the time because it really does handle really well”
positive · Porsche Club America · ▶ 6:44“hydraulic steering... way better than any electric rack... super playful”
positive · Zygrene · ▶ 12:20“the spider is the best handling production Porsche we've ever driven”
positive · MotorWeek · ▶ 3:57Fun to drive
5.0/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“this is a really happy car it's full of vibrant energy and enthusiasm”
positive · Top Gear · ▶ 7:12“I'm going to give this a 9.25 for fun Factor because you don't find very many cars modern Porsches that are as fun as this”
positive · Porsche Club America · ▶ 14:02“this is one of the most enchanting sports cars that you can drive with impunity.”
positive · Roger Bailey · ▶ 10:32Daily drivability
2.5/512 of 12 reviewersstrong consensus“What is uncomfortable though is the wind noise created by the roof. anything over 60 miles an hour and it sounds as though you have left a rear window open.”
critical · Fifth Gear · ▶ 3:55“what if you're driving along with the roof down and suddenly it starts to rain... it was a nightmare”
critical · Top Gear · ▶ 5:49“I can't say that this would be a good daily driver maybe in sunny California like we are here now but over in Maryland and most of the country it just is not the right car to daily drive”
critical · Porsche Club America · ▶ 11:47Value
3.5/511 of 12 reviewerssplit“Is it worth four grand more than the Boxster S? No.”
critical · Fifth Gear · ▶ 9:59“i think they're actually undervalued right now”
positive · Zygrene · ▶ 13:31“This car costs £46,000 that's £5,000 more than the standard car and you get Less in return”
critical · Top Gear · ▶ 2:52Mechanically, the first Boxster Spyder ran the 987.2's MA1.20 3.4-litre DFI flat-six, lifted 10 hp over the Boxster S of the day and — because this is a direct-injection MA1 motor — free of the intermediate-shaft worry that haunts earlier M96/M97 Boxsters. The point was mass, not power. Porsche stripped it to the lightest car it sold: aluminium doors, lightweight buckets, A/C and radio deleted as standard, and the now-signature manual two-piece top — a tent-like shade you raise by hand rather than a powered roof. In the lineage, the 987 is the purist's prototype: 20mm-lower sport suspension, the humped twin-fairing deck every later Spyder would inherit, and a kerb weight that undercut the S by well over 150 lb. PDK was offered, but the manual is the one owners chase. It reads today as the moment Porsche decided the Boxster could be a deliberate lightweight rather than the entry car — the idea the 981 and 982 Spyders would later take to the GT-engine extreme.
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
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Signature manual two-piece fabric top — raised by hand, not powered. A/C and radio deleted as standard for weight (re-addable as no-cost options). A DFI MA1 engine, so the intermediate-shaft (IMS) bearing concern of earlier M96/M97 Boxsters does not apply.