The Spyder has been developed first and foremost for driving in the open air

Another month, another new Porsche. But rather than being another update for one of the dizzying array of 911s, this one’s a bit more special. The Boxster Spyder marks the return of the Porsche speedster – it’s the first Stuttgart sports car with the iconic body style since the 964 Speedster launched in 1992.

How successfully it pulls off the look is open to debate. It’s certainly striking, revving up the rather bland lines of the regular Boxster in favour of a more dramatic look that Porsche reckons apes the Carrera GT hypercar.

We’ll reserve judgement until we drive it. But the Spyder does focus on lightweight performance in a similar way to its more stratospheric cousin, shedding 80kg from the weight of a Boxster S (down to 1275kg, making this the lightest current Porsche), sharpening up the suspension and squeezing an extra 10bhp from the 3.4-litre engine, lifting peak power to 316bhp.

Mated to the PDK twin-clutch transmission, the flat-six hustles the lighter Boxster to 100kph in 4.8sec – a 0.4sec drop – and on to a 267kph maximum. The latter is down slightly, but is achievable with the roof off.

That’s if you can really call it a roof. The rudimentary soft-top looks a bit like the hood on a series 1 Lotus Elise. According to Porsche, the Spyder ‘has been developed first and foremost for driving in the open air’, with the soft-top ‘serving exclusively to protect the driver and passenger from bright sunshine, wind and weather’. It won’t be the last word in refinement, then, but it is responsible for much of the weight-shedding and a usefully lower centre of gravity.

Firm details on the roof, and the rest of the car, will be released at the Los Angeles motor show in early this month. Sales will begin soon after, with the Spyder joining the Boxster range in February 2010. It’s not a limited edition, but it will be built to order, and Porsche expects relatively small numbers to reflect the car’s more specialised character.

Expect to pay around $ 58,500 for one, a seven per cent premium over a regular Boxster S.