Spied! Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder Spotted Testing

Porsche launched the last manual-roof Boxster Spyder back in 2015, just before the Cayman and Boxster adopted the new 718 nomenclature and new turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-four engines. Thus, the Boxster Spyder was sort of a last hurrah for the six-cylinder mid-engine cars, receiving lots of goodies from the 911 and Cayman GT4 parts bins. Now, as these spy shots show, Porsche is bringing the Boxster Spyder back—likely with flat-six power once again .

The 718 Boxster Spyder will retain its fancy, manually operated fabric top, along with the characteristic headrest fairings molded into the rear deck. This test mule, however, relocates the tailpipes slightly. They’re still centered in the lower rear valance but are now more spaced apart, similar to a 718 Cayman GT4 prototype we caught recently.

It’s not clear what that means for the next Boxster Spyder’s powertrain, but rumors suggest the model could even get a version of the 911 GT3’s 4.0-liter flat-six detuned from 500 hp to around 430 hp. The car could also use a further evolution of the tried and true 3.8-liter flat-six, which made 375 hp and 309 lb-ft of torque in the last Boxster Spyder.

We’ll find out when the Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder debuts later this year, possibly as early as this summer.

Photo source: CarPix

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