If you want to go faster, you can add horsepower or reduce weight. Until the Cayenne arrived, Porsche’s only heavy vehicle was their line of tractors back in the 50’s. Colin Chapman was the founder of Lotus, and his recipe was “Simplify, then add lightness”. That is what Porsche’s Executive Board was considering 5 years ago. Their request came to fruition thanks to the engineers at Weissach. And that is why the 2015 Porsche Boxster Bergspyder is light & fast.
Before the current 718 Series Boxster & Cayman went to 4-cylinder power, the 981 Series Boxster & Cayman used flat-six engines that were closely related to the 911 Carrera GTS. The engineers were inspired by the Porsche 910/8 Bergspyder, which debuted in 1968 with a curb weight of 847 lbs. Half a century later it would be hard to reach that target starting with a street-legal car, but they accepted the challenge.
A literal translation of Bergspyder is a Spyder built for hill climbs (berg = mountain). To built a modern interpretation, a Boxter lost its windshield, roof, door handles and almost everything else. It gained the 388 horsepower engine from the Cayman GT4. The end result could hit 62 mph in just over 4 seconds and lap the ‘Ring in 7:30.
The car offered amazing performance because it only weighed 2,422 lbs. It was considered for production, but the lawyers stepped in. The Boxster Bergspyder would not be legal to drive in the developed world, so the prototype was the only example to be built. It has been in storage for a while, so we’re glad it will be shown at this year’s Gaisberg Hillclimb race. A used Boxster is a great platform to build a race car, so click the link below and get ready for a wild ride! Stay with us for all your Porsche news.
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