FS: 2008 Boxster S RS 60 Spyder

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2008 Boxster S RS 60 Spyder.
Limited edition, number 1766 of 1960. Fewer than 800 came to the US.
Very late production car, built June 27, 2008
GT Silver Metallic paint.
Carrera red full leather interior.
Original owner; PCA member since 1982.
22,978 miles.
303hp 3.4L, 6 speed.
Loaded, see below.
Zero modifications.
Zero track use.
Zero autocrosses.
Zero daily driver use.
Zero wrecks, zero door dings, zero curb rash on the wheels.
Zero Big Macs eaten in this car.
Non-smoker.
Full service history, last service 400 miles ago.
Original Bridgestone tires - see notes below
Original Porsche battery
All books, service records, spare keys, key tags, tools, air compressor, original window sticker.
Original COA, post-purchase letters from Porsche, copies of the sales documents, MSO, etc.
Spare set of factory floor carpets, never used, still in the original bag.
Original Porsche touch-up paint.
Ordered from and delivered through Jackie Cooper Porsche, Tulsa.
Kept in climate-controlled garage, year-round.
Asking $42,000.









More photos and info to follow...

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Why an RS 60?

The RS 60 Spyder was built to commemorate Porsche’s first overall victory in a major race with the type 718 RS 60 Spyder. Driven by Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien in 1960 at the 12 hours of Sebring, they won what many consider to be the toughest endurance race of them all, beating a similar car driven by Bob Holbert, Roy Schecter and Howard Fowler and entered by the famous team of Brumos Porsche. The nearest, big-engined Ferrari finished 3rd, eleven laps down. Previously contented with class victories, this win helped establish Porsche as a “Giant Killer” and played a part in focusing their efforts on building cars that would achieve overall victories and dominate their classes of racing. The new RS 60 Spyder had its North American debut at the New York Auto Show on March 19, 2008. It was introduced to the press at the 2008 Sebring 12 hour race.


Differences between an RS 60 and a standard Boxster S:

• Painted GT Silver Metallic, very close to the color of the 1960 car, and a color usually seen on the 2004 Carrera GT.
• The front end incorporates the Porsche SportDesign package, with enlarged cooling openings, a lower lip spoiler and a splitter/dive plane on either side.
• Black frame for the windshield.
• The taillights have red lenses.
• 8.5/9.5 by 19-inch SportDesign wheels.
• Door sill plates made of stainless steel, with the RS 60 Spyder logo.
• A unique leather and aluminum shift knob
• Special surface texture in the center sections of the sports seats and the center door linings as well as on the steering wheel rim and handbrake lever.
• GT Silver Metallic center console, rear sections of the seat backrests and rollbars.
• Seat belts finished in silver.
• Silver-colored placard on the lid of the glove compartment, with limited edition number.
• Titanium-look side air vents
• 5 mm wheel spacers to widen the track.
• The Boxster S script on the rear deck is chromed instead of matte silver.
• Sport exhaust, with modifications to the exhaust flow and ECU changes, with dual round tips.
• 303 hp, the first Boxster with more than 300 hp.
• The instrument cluster cover has been removed, prominently displaying the GT Silver Metallic instruments which have been set wider apart.
• Some normally optional equipment is included as standard – see below:

Standard equipment for this RS 60:

• 3.4L engine with Variocam plus, 2 stage induction, sport exhaust system
• PSM - Porsche Stability Management
• ASR – Anti Slip Regulation
• ABD - Active brake differential
• EDTC – Engine Drag Torque Control
• PASM - Porsche's active suspension system
• Slightly (10mm) lower ride height
• 12.5”/11.8” brake rotors with red four piston calipers
• POSIP- 6 airbags
• Full leather interior
• Sport seats with carbon-fiber reinforced construction
• Seat belt pre-tensioners and force limiters
• 3 spoke sport steering wheel, adjustable for height and reach
• Power convertible top
• Speed activated rear spoiler
• Alarm system, with interior surveillance and remote
• Homelink system
• Cruise control
• AM/FM/CD sound system with 7 speakers
• Trip computer
• LEV II status

Extra cost options on this car:

• Self-dimming mirrors and Rain Sensor
• Bi-Xenon headlights, with home feature
• Heated seats
• Wheel caps with colored crests
• Porsche windstop (wind deflector)
• Automatic climate control
• Bose Sound system
• Sport Chrono package (firmer engine/trans mounts, digital stopwatch)
• Plastic trunk liners for both trunks

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Miscellaneous notes:

This car originally stickered for $71,060. There are a lot of features on the RS 60 that were not available on other Boxsters but I once added up the cost of a similarly equipped (what options were available) Boxster S and the price was over $85,000. All in all, not a bad deal from Porsche. Of all of the 986 and 987 Boxsters, I would say that this model will do the best in terms of long term value retention. All of the original sales and service documentation has been retained, so the car is as well-documented as they come.

This car was used for pleasure use only, as I had around 20 other cars when we bought this one. It saw use year-round, as long as the roads were clear and dry. Tulsa doesn’t get much winter weather and we had plenty of Audi quattros around to drive in rain or snow. This one generally got driven to breakfast on Saturdays with the local PCA club and on all of the PCA outings out of town. The only times it spent a night out of the garage were at the annual Porsche Palooza event in Arkansas and then it had private parking at a B&B.

This car was rated at 18/26 mpg. I routinely see up to 20 mpg around town and up to 30 mpg on the highway. It has always been fed ethanol-free gas. I have a station a mile from my house that has always had ethanol-free premium available and I have sought out similar stations when on out-of-town trips. They are out there, at least in the middle of the US.

I’ve owned a dozen Porsches, including 8 examples of the 911 and 930, and this car is faster than all of them. Some of you might be surprised that this car is faster than either of my 930’s (one ROW, one modified US car) but it is so. 0-60, quarter mile, top speed, braking, handling… this car spanks them all. It’s not even close and the good thing is that the performance is easily accessed. Pushing a 930 hard is not for the inexperienced. Driving this car at the same pace can be done one-handed. I’m so fond of the driving characteristics of a Boxster that I don’t know if I will ever buy another new 911. This car has the low inertia of my old 914-6, without all of the bad manners at the limit. You can turn into a corner as fast as you like and the car just goes where you point it. Off the brakes, on the brakes, it just doesn’t matter. It just turns.

In spite of the former comments, this car has been driven fairly easily. I’ve never activated the ABS, or the PSM. And, as an example, it still has its original tires, after nearly 23,000 miles. The front tires have about 8/32nds of tread left, the rears have between 4/32nds and 5/32nds. That’s double, or triple, the tire life of any other Porsche I’ve owned that was built in the last 40 years. That includes the less powerful (ironic, no?) 930’s.

As someone who has driven Porsches for over 35 years, I’m well acquainted with how to drive them properly to preserve their life. When it got stupid-hot here in the summer (over 100, plus humidity!), or down below freezing in the winter, this car stayed in the garage. It also got properly warmed up when driving, which is not to say it got lugged around. The engine is really flexible and torquey when fully warmed up, but these engines last longer if they don’t get trundled around like a diesel taxi.

Tim Cupp, Porsche's product manager for sports cars, said at the 2008 intro that the sport exhaust was available on other Boxsters, but only raises the volume on those. On the RS 60, it helps the car take advantage of a re-worked engine management system, which adds eight horsepower. You can run the exhaust in sport mode (louder) without also running the suspension in sport mode.

The Sport mode stiffens the suspension, changes the throttle response, raises the intervention threshold for PSM and changes the rev-limiter activation. The greater throttle response is easily noticed and a sane driver will not hang the tail out on corner exits as far as the PSM will allow, when in sport mode. It’s interesting to see how much Porsche still left up to the driver.

The top is tight, quiet for a soft top (it has three layers) and doesn’t leak water. Having owned a few 911 Targas, this is a vast improvement. The windstop is removable for summer use, installs in seconds and comes with its own storage bag. With the windows up and the windstop installed, the car can be driven with the top-down in pretty cold weather. The heater output is high, very controllable and the heated seats get quite warm. The sound system is the best of any Porsche I have owned. It’s usable with the top down.

Since we stored this car in a heated/air-conditioned garage and generally drove it on moderate temperature, sunny days, we didn’t raise and lower the top endlessly. I’d expect the top to have a longer life, as a result.

The red leather is a more subdued red than the colors used in the older cars (Lobster Red, Can-Can red, Lipstick Red, etc.) It changes color somewhat with differing light levels but never approaches maroon, or bright red. Everybody that has seen the car in person has liked it, unlike the Can-Can Red leather interior in my last 930. Surprisingly, the red dash doesn’t reflect in the windshield like the older, colored 911 dashes used to do. Porsche got it right, finally.

The steering wheel is a smaller diameter than past Porsche wheels. The effort isn’t high, as the car has variable ratio power steering. You don’t notice the boost, it’s completely transparent. No kickback, or bump steer, either.

The sport seats have manual adjustment of fore-aft position and height. The backrest rake is adjustable electrically. They are considerably lighter than the all-electric versions. Support is great. They are a lot more user-friendly than the sport seats in some of the more sporting Porsches. I have a friend who owns a Carrera GT and the seats in that car are painfully tight to sit in and very hard to get out of. I have no idea why these seats aren’t standard in all Porsches. The leather remains unmarked.

There is plenty of storage space in the interior and three 12V power outlets. You can run a radar detector, a navigation device and charge a cell phone, all at the same time. The cup holders actually work and are adjustable for size. They don’t take up any useable space and disappear when not in use.

The shifting is easy and quick and the car has the best relationship between the brake and throttle of any I have owned. Heel and toe downshifts are incredibly easy. A large, useable dead pedal is present and it doesn’t get in the way of your left foot.

The trunk capacity is pretty large and a lot easier to access than a similar vintage 911. We installed fitted trunk liners in both trunks when the car was new so the original trunk carpet hasn’t seen any wear.

The car has a factory tire pressure monitoring system. Before the original warranty expired, I had a friendly service advisor at the local dealer write up a warranty claim and change the original sensors. Therefore, the sensors that are now in the car should outlast the tires.

The only real problem written up under warranty was the original clutch interlock switch. I have since learned that the switches are not faulty, contrary to internet wisdom, but the little arm on the switch bends over time. It takes all of 30 seconds to fix this, using no tools. I bought a spare switch, which will come with the car, before I figured out that the switches didn’t actually fail like people though they did.

I drove an early example of the Boxster, when they were first introduced and I didn’t like the car, at all. The difference between the early cars and this car are like night and day. Those that have not driven this era of Boxster S, or have not driven a modern Boxster at all will be surprised at how good this car is.

I’m selling it only because the wife wants a new car and she shall be obeyed. I have reduced the family car inventory in recent years to a manageable number and don’t want to have more cars than garage spaces at this point. I used to store some of my cars in a warehouse but I no longer wish to do that.

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More photos:

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And more photos:

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More photos to come...

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More photos to come, later...

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More photos later...

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For those of you that have emailed comments about the car, thank you. For those that need additional information, I'm now back in Tulsa.

I didn't mention this in the original post but the car is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I figured that was sort of self explanatory from my profile location but I thought I'd mention it.

Thanks,
Jeff

[javadog]

On hold, for a buyer flying in to look at it tomorrow.

Thanks,
Jeff