Presenting... the Porsche Boxster Spyder

Some may raise an eyebrow at this. It’s not a ‘real’ Porsche, not a 911. It’s new but it doesn’t even have the new turbo engines. It doesn’t have the GT’s wicked and adjustable front suspension. And this model lacks the PASM adaptive suspension. It’s a manual. Yet it’s £60k. Really, what’s to like?

What’s to like is a rip-roaring celebration of what might be considered an old-fashioned new sports car. Apart from anything else it looks simply gorgeous. Notably with the roof down, the lines are simply superb, from the nose to the new spoiler. It’s a real looker, and that’s not much compromised by having the roof up. Which was handy as it rained throughout the test.

Sure, it’s noisier with the roof up but it’s something you soon learn to live with. It’s the sort of roof you could live with every day, and the reversing camera helps with the marginal rear visibility.

Ride height has been lowered by a fairly substantial 20mm, which helps with the sporty looks and of course helps with the handling. You can’t really talk about power and handling as separate issues with most Porsches and that’s so true here. The 3.8-litre naturally aspirated flat-six will pull from low down and then growl and yowl its way up the scales to 8000rpm. It’s scintillating.

The surprise is how tractable it is. Look at that torque figure – max torque only starting at 4750rpm. That’s high. But you can pootle around in top should you wish to. But you won’t. The glorious gearbox is such a delight to all the senses that you end up stirring the box even when you don’t need to. Big, non-turbo engine, gorgeous manual gearbox – it’s almost looking a dated concept but it remains a great one.

And all that power feeds perfectly into a fully sorted chassis. It might lack some of the final bite of say a Cayman GT4 but this Boxster handles fantastically, flowing the horsepower through the transmission and then nailing it to the road, whatever the road might be doing. Put bluntly, for the money you almost certainly won’t find better.

The steering and brakes of course form part of that package and they both add their elements so strongly that you simply continue to gain in confidence and trust with this car, whatever the weather. Partly it’s that they work so well but it’s also partly that they communicate so well.

There’s masses of feedback from the incisive steering and the braking tells you so much you can modulate it mid-turn without having your heart in your mouth.

So a Boxster Spyder is about £6,500 more than a GTS but it’s well worth it. It shows what you can do with ‘classic’ technology, but we fear the days are numbered for such a car. It’s not a 911 but some would consider it even better looking and it’s noticeably cheaper while delivering a wonderful drive every time you get behind the wheel. Which could be every day. Enjoy it while you can.

Porsche Boxster Spyder

Engine: 3800cc flat-six

Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive

Power: 375bhp @ 6700rpm

Torque: 310lb ft @ 4750-6000rpm

0-62mph: 4.5sec

Top speed: 180mph

Weight: 1315kg (unladen)

MPG: 28.5

CO2: 230g/km

Price: £60,459