I must confess I never got the whole James Dean thing. His entire legacy is based on three films -- East of Eden, Giant and Rebel Without a Cause. I'll put my antipathy toward his performance in East of Eden down to not liking the movie. But I actually like Giant, save for his acting, which I found wooden. I thought he was OK in Rebel, but one movie is hardly the stuff of legend. Still, Hollywood has long worshipped moody actors and nothing guarantees celluloid immortality more than a moody actor dying young.
One could also consider that Porsche's legend might not be as bright had Dean not died so glamorously in one of its race-bred little roadsters.
Porsche back in the 1950s was barely a pimple on Ferrari's behind. The publicity surrounding Dean's death certainly didn't hurt its prospects stateside.
An impossible amount of lore has sprung up around Dean's death, everything from conspiracy theorists espousing that the tragic accident on California's Route 466 was actually part of a larger conspiracy to websites that contend Dean's silver Porsche was cursed and continued to claim further victims after his death. But, as they say in Hollywood, there's no such thing as bad publicity, so Porsche's legend grew along with Dean's.
The reason I mention all of this is that a 550 Spyder like the one Dean died in begat the RS60, which catapulted Porsche into the big leagues of racing by winning the famed 12 Hours of Sebring and the Targa Florio.
Since boomers are nothing if not sentimental, Porsche has brought out a special version of the Boxster dubbed -- you guessed it -- the RS60. And, making sure no legacy goes unexploited, the Boxster RS60's production will be limited to 1,960 units, not so coincidentally the year of its racing breakthrough.
Commemorating the original, the 2008 high-zoot Boxster gets a completely red interior that honours the Sebring victory of Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien. You had better like the Valentine's Day hue because, once ensconced in the bucket seats, it's all you're going to see.
As for other changes, Porsche claims there's an extra eight horsepower thanks to some subtle exhaust system improvement. That might not sound like much, but it allows Porsche to claim the RS60 is the first Boxster to develop more than 300 hp -- 303 to be exact.
My normally sensitive butt dyno couldn't feel the difference, although the exhaust note did sound more authoritative.
Whether I could feel the change in exhaust plumbing or not, the sexy speedster proved more than powerful enough.
Porsche claims the car will hit 96 kilometres an hour in 5.1 seconds and continue on to a top speed of 272 km/h, neither of which I tested on our increasingly over-policed streets. I can attest, however, that gunning the flat six was a delight both viscerally and aurally.
As for the rest of the RS60 experience, it's pretty much Porsche's standard operating procedure. Other than 19-inch rims and rubber -- compared with the Boxster S's 18-inchers -- there's little to separate the two. That's not a bad thing because the sporty S has always won accolades for its handling.
The silver roadster sticks to the road like glue and, unlike the base Boxster, it will not push its front end when attacking hairpins. And body roll is all but nonexistent. Be warned, however, that both the S and RS60 ride more firmly than the base Boxster. It's not going to rattle your fillings, but neither will it coddle your hernia.
In more pragmatic terms, the Boxster is a bit of a mixed bag. For instance, the seats are comfortable, but, because of the small cabin, they don't recline very much for snoozing on long trips. The 911's vestigial rear seats are impossibly small for anyone other than a child, but at least they allow space for the front seats to tilt back. On the other hand, the Boxster actually has useful if not spacious cargo capacity. The rear trunk is flat and can fit a moderately sized suitcase or a suit bag, while the deep front cargo section can swallow a medium-sized roller or duffel bag. That may not be a reason to buy a Boxster, but it's nice to know you can at least take an overnight bag to the airport.
The biggest obstacle to RS60 happiness, like all Porsche ownership, is the price.
At $81,800, the RS60 is $11,600 more than a Boxster S and just $11,400 less than a base 911 Carrera. It's also $16,900 more expensive than what Americans can buy the car for, something sure to infuriate fervent cross-border shoppers. Pricing issues aside, the 2008 RS60 is sure to please a select few as Canada is allotted only a limited number of units.
-- Canwest News Service
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