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James Dean Boxster S


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o celebrate 50 years of the 550, and to help salvage plunging Boxster sales, Porsche is offering a special edition of the Boxster S called, logically, "The Boxster S Special Edition." Porsche also calls it the "550 Spyder Boxster S Special Edition," "50 Years of the 550 Spyder Boxster S" and "this very special Boxster S." Take your pick. Just tell your Porsche dealer any of the above names and you can get one of only 1953 of them, 500 of those bound for the United States.

Yes, that's 1953, same year the 550 debuted at the Paris motor show. Does that make this 2004 model the 51st anniversary edition? No, says Porsche. 1954 was the year the car made its racing debut, taking first in class and third overall in the final running of La Carrera Panamericana, a finish that is still marked today by the "Carrera" badge on many of the best Porsches.

This commemorative 2004 model comes with 264 hp, 7 more than the Boxster S (thanks to tuning of the computer chip). It also has a shorter-throw shifter in the manual, unique exhaust, 10-mm-lower suspension with five-mm-wider track, Xenon headlights and a host of commemorative cosmetic and trim touches highlighted by gleaming silver metallic paint just like the Carrera GT.

We drove one on a Porsche-sponsored, morbidly themed run to the site of James Dean's crash in the central California hills (yipee!). Dean was driving a 550 at the time. Turns out Dean is still gone, but we liked the Boxster.

We don't know if you can really feel those 7 extra horses, but a day's drive in the S reminded us just what a great sports car the Boxster still is. Power and torque bands are still so wide you could just about leave it in third gear all day on the winding, twisting highways we traversed. The new shifter is indeed shorter and feels downright Miata-like in the shortness of its throws. The steering feels superb.

If there is one place to fault the seven-year-old Boxster, it is in the torsional rigidity of the chassis. It must be at least a decade since engineers laid out the stiffness points on this car and it shows its age in cowl shake when compared to more modern competitors like the 350Z, Z4, S2000 and even the Crossfire and SLK.

But it is still hard to beat for sheer driving fun, anniversary or not.

The Special Edition is priced at $59,900, which includes a good deal on option packaging if you scrutinize the features list.

Is 60k too much? Porsche is also reminding people that its certified pre-owned program is going strong almost a year after its launch. While you can't get a certified pre-owned Special Edition yet, you can get into a Boxster for less. For instance, you can get a 2000 Boxster S with 25,000 miles and a cap cost of $29,000 for $489.80 a month. That was one example Porsche showed us. There are other deals out there. Crunch some numbers, then go convince the significant other that you really, really need a Porsche.

Say it's an anniversary present.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I love that car...I don't care what anyone else says..It's quick, handles great and a beautiful car...

...You people gotta remember that not everyone can afford a 911 turbo...Sometimes we gotta settle...

why settle when you can just wait until you can have what you want...

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if you just wanted a collector's edition car, yeah i could see the money, but bang for the buck I'd go with an elise or a Z06.

To me there's nothing glamorous about spending that much cash just to say you have a porsche. It's not like you can show off what it does.

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if you just wanted a collector's edition car, yeah i could see the money, but bang for the buck I'd go with an elise or a Z06.

To me there's nothing glamorous about spending that much cash just to say you have a porsche. It's not like you can show off what it does.

Spending the money on a z06 and getting a car with the fit and finsih of a cavilier isnt any better.

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I like them, took awhile, after I drove my bro's S it was fun, definitely a sports car, rough ride and the engine is right there with you, so you hear everything. Not sure about 60k though, lot of stuff out there for that kind of money....

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