Automobile companies keep up the curve of developing new models and car concepts every now and then. However, many such bright concepts do not see the light of the day as experimental engineering prototypes get crushed or lost in the anonymous rubble of the warehouses and many concepts are not finally sealed. The Porsche Boxster Bergspyder is one such prototype built in 2015 that could not be rolled out but has spark.
For the Boxster Spyder fans, here goes the story of the inception of its advanced prototype: the legendary Porsche 909 hillclimb car turned 50 in 2015. And, the ‘Bergspyder’ (‘Mountain Spyder’, in English) stands to be the company’s lightest racecar, with an impressive kerb weight of just 384 kg. Following up on this, the Executive Board of Porsche commissioned a special car based on the then-current Boxster Spyder to take things further in the production line while also celebrate the remarkable feat. This new car was to be white and green, like the 909, and be as lightweight as possible.
Consequently, they came up with a Boxster that doesn’t have a roof, windscreen or even passenger seat, with the second seat junked and the passenger’s door glued shut, to cut down on the car weight. Not only this, instead of the seat, there’s space for luggage, a shelf for one’s helmet and a removable cover for the driver’s seat. Much of the dashboard and the driver’s seats are borrowed from the 918 Spyder.
The Porsche’s engineers brought the new Bergspyder to weigh about 1,099kg – which was 216 kg less than the normal Boxster Spyder, and only a fraction more than a VW Up GTI. It had the same engine 3.8-liter boxer from the Cayman GT4, making 387bhp. With these features in place, the company anticipated the 0-62mph time of less than four seconds and a sub-7min 30sec Nurburgring lap.
Up until now, Porsche is making 1,948 911 Speedsters, so why not roll out a few of these do? To this, the Porsche team says “a major question mark remained as to whether the car would be eligible for registration in some countries”, so it discontinued the project. The one-off was put on display at the development center in Weissach before and then transferred to the Porsche Museum. It opened its first proper outing at Gaisberg Hillclimb in the last weekend.
However, the discontinuation of the project props the question that should Porsche have put the Bergspyder into production, or not? And the question remains up for discussion.
What’s your take on this?
