Last week, members of the New England motor press, including yours truly, were treated to automotive wares old and new, as historic automobiles set the stage for some face time with the latest Boxster from Porsche. The setting was the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, the stone and mortar structure is a masterpiece made for a spectacular location. Any automaker choosing this site for a press event surely must keep their product in high regard.

The vehicle in question on this evening was the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder. What another version of the Boxster? Oh, but its so much more. The Spyder is a holistic approach to lightening the vehicle in the name of a more pure driving experience. Most notably, the convertible top has been completely gutted, and replaced with a makeshift canvas bikini top. It is held down by tension hooks on the corners of what is one of the prettiest rear cowls I’ve ever seen. That lack of a power top resulits in a 46-lb weight savings, and that’s just the beginning.

Carbon fiber bucket seats save 26 lbs., base models come without radio or A/C resulting in a 29-pound snip (although, we have to be realistic. At a base price of $61,200, you’re probably opting for the A/C and radio, not to mention the available satellite navigation system). That and many more small weight-saving efforts (like the red strap door-pulls, which cut out 2-pounds) add up to a Boxster that’s 176 pounds less than the standard Boxster S. The Boxster Spyder clocks in at 2,811 pounds. When combined with the Boxster S’s 3.4-liter direct injected horizontally opposed flat six, makes for a potent mix. Putting out ten more horsepower than in the Boxster S, the 320 horses coming from this engine are enough to propel the Boxster Spyder from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, and up to a hundred in 10.8 ticks (which you can verify with the dash-mounted timer. It’s like a juicer- I’d probably never use it, but its nice to have). Needless to say, I had been anticipating this evening.

Approaching the museum, I was greeted by the sight of not one, but five Porsches- four examples of the Boxster Spyder and a Boxster S. Keys were on hand and we were sent on our way, navigating the neighborhoods of Brookline, one of the more picturesque communities in the Greater Boston area. Making my way to the Arborway, I got a chance to run the lightweight two-seater (while obeying all traffic laws), down the curving four-lane thoroughfare.

6-speed manual equipped Spyders were on hand, as were those fitted with Porsche’s PDK dual clutch gearbox. The PDK is fast- faster the any human being. The PDK is fuel efficient, and the PDK makes for a very enjoyable driving experience, but it’s the manual that I must have. Swapping gears in that car makes me want a 6-speed in my Tahoe. Every car on the planet should be a manual- and it should be a smooth as this one. The clutch was sublime and felt like it could be quite forgiving (I wouldn’t know however because clearly, my shifts and pedal work are perfect).

The term ‘visceral experience’ gets thrown around a lot. This is it. This is joy in the few quick moments of getting up to speed. Hearing that raw exhaust stretch its legs. Brookline is a rather quiet neighborhood so we had to be on our best behavior. I took joy the fleeting moments in which you can get this car within a twinkle of its potential. Sure it’s lightweight for track days, but if this were your daily driver (and you learned how to operate the fully manual canvas top) you wouldn’t need a therapist. You would if someone tried to take this from you.

Following our drive time we were then treated to a fantastic meal of filet mignon and Chilean sea bass. I also spent that time talking with Dave Engelman about LeMans, Porsche 917’s and classic GT40’s. He spoke of standing at the “carousell” at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, watching varying car classes pass one another without any sense of decorum. These are the people I need to hang out with more on weekends…

As the evening winded down, the sky started to clear, and we decided to go for one last quick shoot- the all-important magic hour of filming. Nick got some shots. I got a few photos. The car looked beautiful in the waning daylight. We packed up, getting quite a lot of coverage out of several hours of face time with these cars. At that moment, what was most important to me however, was the next ten minutes I would have with the Spyder. I had to carve up the back roads of Brookline just one last time.