SPY PICS: Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder

Porsche’s first turbocharged – and first four-cylinder – Boxster (the ‘718’) arrived Down Under last year in standard and S guises, and will be joined by the hotter Boxster GTS early next year following its global launch later this month.

But just as we expect another limited-edition GT4 version of its mid-engined coupe twin, the Cayman, these fresh spy shots show Porsche is also readying another Boxster Spyder.

Pictured here with a low-slung canvas soft-top, this prototype also appears to feature – like previous Boxster Spyders -- a pair of flying buttresses on a modified engine bonnet.

Apart from its unique roof system and rear-end design, it’s also reasonable to assume the 981-generation Boxster Spyder will be the lightest model in the German sports car maker’s compact convertible range.

Once again, likely weight-saving measures should include the elimination of the standard Boxster’s electric roof mechanism and other equipment items, and perhaps the use of aluminium panels.

Inside, expect unique Spyder-branded seats, steering wheel, centre console and arm rests, but it remains to be seen whether Porsche fits the mechanical rear differential lock with torque vectoring and 10mm-lower active suspension from the Boxster GTS.

As before, the new 718 Boxster Spyder should share its front-end design with the upcoming 718 Cayman GT4, although it will be less powerful.

Expected to be priced above the already-pricey 2018 Boxster GTS ($175,900 plus on-road costs), the Spyder should share its uprated 269kW/430Nm 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder boxer engine.

In the Boxster GTS, which delivers 11kW and 10Nm more than the Boxster S on which it is heavily based, that equates to 0-100km/h acceleration in 4.1 seconds and a 290km/h top speed, when paired with the optional $5980 PDK automatic transmission.

Recalling the Porsche 550 Spyder in which James Dean was killed in 1955, the last Boxster Spyder was revealed at the 2015 New York motor show, so the latest one could be revealed as soon as this month’s Los Angeles motor show.

But we reckon it’s more likely to debut at next April’s instalment of the Big Apple auto show – where Porsche revealed its last Boxster Spyder in 2015 and the city in which Ferry Porsche introduced the brand that bears his name to America in 1950.