BOXSTER RS 60 SPYDER * 2008 ‘08’ * 52,940 MILES £21,995

The ubiquitous Boxster is the most democratic Porsche: £4000 buys a usable if slightly doubtful elderly example, twice that can net you a decent 3.2, while ten times this sum finds a nearly new four-cylinder 718 with the controversial if ballistic flat four turbo. This Tried & Tested concerns itself with a ten year old 3.4 priced at roughly half that: the RS 60 is another of Porsche’s special edition models, this one marking the end of the 987.1. It is based on the Boxster S, but with a catalogue of extras – sports exhaust, PASM and the 3.4 tuned to 303bhp; the cabin has leather upholstery including ventilated sports seats, silver-grey seat belts to match the largely blemishfree GT Silver bodywork, automatic a/c and cosmetic touches which include RS 60 door thresholds, a unique gearknob and de-cowled instruments. There is also a facia plaque to inform you that this is no.1476 of 1960, the number chosen to commemorate the 1960 718 RS 60 racer. Besides the special paint shade,19 inch wheels, here shod with almost new Goodyear Eagles, are standard and the front spoiler is slightly deeper; a decade on this Boxster is for sale for half its original retail price.

A four-owner car first supplied by PC Wilmslow, PC Sussex carried out servicing in 2010, 2012 and 2014; an independent garage undertook this in 2016 and vendor Cridfords has just performed a major service. As is this vendor’s modus operandi, it has also carried out remedial work renewing brakes (and fluid), replaced the exhaust flange bolts and a clutch spring; the non-functioning a/c was restored with new radiators and hoses and the coolant hoses, though not failing, were renewed at the same time. For the same reason, the hood cables which tend to stretch were also replaced. So this newly fettled Boxster is ready, you might hope, for another 50,000 miles.

The blue-grey leather cabin is impressively finished, a distinct improvement on the 987’s usual black plastics. The interior has worn well, the only wear being slightly frayed stitches on the driver’s seat. Compared with the 981 cabin the 987 feels quite intimate and if the control panel on this gen 1 car looks rather dated, the controls are unworn and everything works. The 3.4 fires with a pleasant burble, the clutch immediately feels right and the gearshift is still pleasantly taut (987-997 cables can stretch making the shift feel loose). Once warmed up the RS 60 responds enthusiastically to the driver’s right foot. The steering is nicely weighted and has that delightful but difficult-to-describe organic feel compared with the electrically driven racks of later Porsches. The ride is firm and no rattles or squeaks spoil the impression of a well maintained example with seemingly nothing to reproach. It does have the very last of the M97 engines, but these seem to cause little trouble. “It’s the gen 1 Carrera S that fails,” says Jonathan Leach. “We have three in bits now, but I don’t ever remember having to dismantle a gen 1 987. With a ten year old car, there are always things you have to watch which is why we did the coolant pipes and the exhaust flanges.” Not strictly necessary, but good preventive maintenance.

The Boxster is ubiquitous and there are plenty of younger examples cheaper than this one. The RS 60 is, however, slightly special and nicely equipped: it is not difficult to imagine a buyer somewhere ready to spoil themselves with this one. A worthy special edition, for a change. PW