• Competes with: BMW Z4 and Audi TTS
• Looks like: A Boxster just for boys
• Drivetrain: 320-hp, six-cylinder with seven-speed double-clutch PDK transmission
• Hits dealerships: February 2010

Cars.com editor Joe Wiesenfelder recently tested the 2009 Porsche Boxster S and raved about how it’s still a good performance convertible. Porsche doesn’t seem to think it’s the ultimate, though and has come up with a lighter, slightly more powerful and infinitely cooler-looking version called the Boxster Spyder for the L.A. Auto Show.

It adds 10 horsepower to what the Boxster S packs and subtracts 176 pounds to make this the lightest Porsche for sale, all of which ultimately makes it a better performer. It also gets a sport-tuned suspension lowering the car 20 millimeters — or less than an inch — and a limited slip differential; it comes with a standard six-speed manual or an optional seven-speed double-clutch transmission. You get all of that for the relatively low price of $61,200, which is only $3,200 more than a Boxster S. When equipped with launch control, the Spyder can do zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.

Add the cool-looking body work on the backside and exclusive wheels and you get a package any Porsche fan boy would die to drive. And probably Wiesenfelder, too.