Porsche Boxster Spyder (2010) - lots of new photos

Updated photo gallery of the Porsche Boxster Spyder below

Porsche has sent us a whole new photo gallery of the new Porsche Boxster Spyder, which will launch at the Los Angeles Motor Show in December.

Porsche revealed the Boxster Spyder at the beginning of the month, together with a smallish set of photos and a video. But for Porsche fans out there the modest set of photos of the new Boxster Spyder were never going to be enough, so the good news is that Porsche has now sent us a full gallery of images of the Boxster Spyder for those of you who need more of a Spyder-Fix before the launch proper at the Los Angeles Motor Show next month.

The Los Angeles Motor Show is probably the perfect location for Porsche to launch the Boxster Spyder. The West Coast of America has always been a good market for open-topped Porsches because of its endless sunshine and wealth. And none more so than the Speedster / Spyder models Porsche has released over the years.

But has Porsche gone a little awry with the Boxster Spyder when it comes to marketing it on the other side of the Pond? In principal an open-topped Porsche – especially one with a roof that shouldn’t really be there and looks more like an origami creation than a proper element-protector – should mop-up in the US. But Porsche has gone the ‘Superleggera’ route with the Boxster Spyder and stripped out a lot of the fripperies and comfort.

This has meant removing the front fog lamps and sticking on a blanking plate. The electric roof on the regular Boxster gets dumped in favour of a manual version and inside the seats get stripped down, the AirCon gets dumped and even the stereo gets removed. Which all adds up to a weight saving of 80kg / 176lbs. Which obviously helps the Boxster Spyder scoot to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. But so what?

That 176lbs is the same as the average passenger probably weighs (and – without unfairly generalising – probably much less than the average American passenger. And before our Colonial Cousins start griping about ‘Fat-Yank’ jokes, I confess to weighing in at a not inconsiderable 225lbs). So if I lived on the West Coast I’m afraid I would much rather keep the proper seats, the sound system and certainly the AirCon and just go out without a passenger when I wanted to play.

Running round LA in November without AirCon will work. It’s not too hot and the weather is usually dry and sunny. But at times in the Summer – especially during the day – you’ll want the top up and the AirCon on. Because my experience of LA is that the Summer months can be hot but often cloudy. Which is just when you want the AirCon on and the roof up.

Still. I’m sure the Boxster Spyder will sell well on the West Coast. Even without the AirCon.