What do you get when you mix one of America’s greatest race tracks with one of today’s best sports cars? I don’t know exactly, but it can’t be anything less than a fast, giddy treat that’s sure to conjure wistful daydreams for weeks to come.

How could it be anything less? I’ll be driving a quick lap of Road America in one of Porsche’s latest models, the “50 Years of the 550 Spyder” Boxster S. (Yes, the name is a mouthful. For the sake of brevity, I’ll refer to it as the “Anniversary Edition” from here on.)

The original Porsche Spyder, introduced in late 1953, was a stripped-down, purpose-built race car that successfully did battle with front-engine machines that had far more displacement. Piloted by such drivers as Ken Miles and Hans Herrmann, it racked up an impressive competition record, sealing its place among the more famous cars in the history of this German manufacturer.

Today, Porsche’s closest thing to a direct heir to the Spyder is the Boxster, first introduced for 1997. Yes, there are significant differences: the Boxster is larger, heavier and vastly more plush than the original Spyder. What’s more, the Boxster is powered by a smooth-running liquid-cooled six that makes more than twice the power of the Spyder’s rattley, VW-derived, air-cooled four-cylinder.

Those things aside, the cars share one key element: a horizontally-opposed engine mounted between the cockpit and the rear wheels. And, like the Spyder, the Boxster competes in a market packed with mostly front-engine machines.

Road America should prove to be an excellent setting in which to evaluate this new version of the Boxster. With long, open stretches punctuated by corners that range from an autocross-tight chicane to a sprawling carousel, it can gauge the mettle of anything you want to put on it. What’s more, Road America is simply beautiful. Built in the mid 1950s to replace a public-road circuit that ran for several years amid the nearby village of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the track is nestled in a picturesque green valley that’s as nice to look at as it is to drive through.

And that valley reverberates with history. Over some five decades, Road America has played host to practically every major North American racing series, including Trans-Am, Can-Am, IMSA, and Indycars.

Accompanying me on this trip is David Donohue, son of famous driver Mark Donohue. The younger Donohue’s racing career includes a GT-2 class win at Le Mans, and he now earns his living piloting one of Brumos Racing’s Porsche-powered Daytona Prototypes in Grand American Rolex Sports Car competition.

After waiting awhile in line to get on the track, the green light on the starting tree flashes. With a hearty blip of the throttle and quick lift of my left foot, we’re off. The clutch pedal’s smooth, easily modulated action serves as the first of many subtle hints at the Boxster’s substantial, all-of-a-piece feeling. There are many more such reminders to come.

The car pulls strongly off the line, perhaps aided a little by the Anniversary Edition’s extra six horsepower over the standard Boxster S’s 258-hp rating. While not exhibiting the burly punch of bigger-engine rivals such as Corvette, the car acquits itself well in this short initial sprint, and we arrive at the first turn running a brisk pace, already in third gear.

Turn one opens to a daunting little kinked downhill section, terminating in a tight bend that looks like it could easily fool the uninitiated into carrying too much speed here. But it’s not a problem this time; the Boxster S four-piston brakes haul the car easily down to an appropriate velocity, while the light, communicative steering gives all the information needed to make good decisions about how to best use the car’s considerable grip. In fact, the Boxster communicates so well that I already feel confidently at-ease behind the wheel, despite thus far having spent less than thirty seconds on-track with it.

Coming out of the turn, I gradually roll into the throttle, reaching full power as I cross through the safe, late apex I’ve chosen. “You hit your marks really well,” says Donohue. “You’ve been around here before and it shows.” I’m obviously quite flattered, but I can’t help but suspect the car’s making me look better than I am. Boxster is that sort of machine.

From there we blast all-out into a gradual, uphill bend that basically acts like one long straightaway. As can be expected, there’s considerable wind noise as we rise into triple-digit speeds, but it’s not annoying.

At the end of this fast section is a hump, which obscures the tight turn that lies just past it. As I come up over the crest on the brakes, I work my way down to second gear. The pedals are wonderfully placed for heel-and-toe work, making it easy to do clean, race-track-appropriate downshifts. Also aiding the process is the Boxster’s smooth, precise shifter, which on the Anniversary Edition has 15-percent shorter throws than on the regular Boxster S.

I dive quickly into the turn, reveling in the car’s composure; the stiff chassis and quick steering ratio are well matched to make for turn-in that’s sharp but never twitchy. The car’s inherent good balance is evident here too, with barely a trace of understeer.

One thing that hasn’t particularly called attention to itself during our time on the track is the interior accommodations - a good sign, signaling how well-suited the design is to such a performance environment. Although the seats in the Anniversary Edition don’t have the big, winglike bolsters found in many performance-car interiors these days, they nonetheless provide plenty of lateral support.

And before we started our lap, I noticed that this car’s seats are also quite nice looking, covered in unique, dark-brown Cocoa leather that’s used throughout the interior and matches the convertible-top color. A black top with gray leather interior is also available. Adding further luster to the Anniversary Edition’s cabin is an abundance of silver-colored trim, topped off with a bright-metal, individually-numbered, “50 Years of the 550 Spyder” plate on the center console. While perhaps not mimicking the stripped down, ready-to-race ambiance of the original 550 Spyder as much as I’d like, the accommodations are quite impressive and undoubtedly better suited to the expectations of today’s typical Porsche buyer.

From turn five we quickly climb a steep uphill, to another somewhat sharp, flat turn. It’s just the first of two more, before another at the end of a quick, twisty downhill called the Hurry Downs. Through the whole sequence, the Boxster remains unflappably agile, maneuvering crisply with help from the mid-engine design’s low-polar moment of inertia. Our progress through the course’s twisty middle portion is undoubtedly also aided by several suspension tweaks that are part of the Anniversary Edition. These include a ride height that’s lowered 10mm, and a slightly wider stance achieved by 5mm wheel spacers all around.

As we dash under the Snap-On bridge, we enter the carousel. “You can carry a lot of speed into here,” says Donohue. Who am I to argue with a Le Mans-winning Viper driver? Especially since I haven’t sensed any nervousness in his voice during our trip. And that’s no small point. Ask any driving-school instructor - few things have the potential to scare sweat out of you like riding in the passenger seat with some leadfoot you just met a few minutes ago.

But Donohue also has a backup in case of impending idiocy behind the wheel: Porsche Stability Management, which is standard instead of optional on the Anniversary Edition. The system uses the same basic throttle-and-brake-control principles employed by other manufacturers’ stability control systems, but Porsche has programmed its system for enthusiast drivers. “It allows you to get a good feel of what the car is doing - understeering or oversteering - before it becomes active,” says Donohue. “It’ll only save you when you really need to be saved.”

Indeed, as we press closer to the limits, the car remains pleasantly free of the lurching, nannyish intervention often exhibited by such systems in more prosaic cars.

Throughout our drive, the engine treats us to a symphony that sounds part contemporary megabucks exotic, part vintage Porsche. The pleasing sound is another extra that comes with the Anniversary Edition, the result of an exhaust system that differs from that of the standard Boxster S.

The rest of the track plays out in a succession of elements that span almost the entire gamut of performance-driving conditions - a maddening, blind little chicane; another long, bent straightaway; and a series of medium-tight turns in succession. Through it all, the Boxster cooperates, shirt sleeves rolled up, eager for whatever you put it through.

It seems almost tailor-made for Road America. And that’s saying a lot. Some lower-powered sports cars can feel lost - almost tediously slow - on this track’s abundance of long, open sections. Conversely, high-powered, front-engine haulers often seem a tad clunky on Road America’s tighter parts.

Boxster is at home everywhere here. What’s more, it’s nimble enough to negotiate smaller, club-oriented tracks with equal aplomb, making it a worth considering for enthusiasts looking to pick up good track-day car.

The Anniversary Edition Boxster starts at $59,900, which seems reasonable, considering that a comparably equipped regular Boxster S wouldn’t be all that much less money. What’s more, other Boxster models don’t even offer some of the Anniversary Edition’s features, including its lowered suspension, short-throw shifter, and unique silver paint.

As Donohue and I power through the last corner and ease onto the pit road, I can only sigh. It’s a shame life’s more delicious treats sometimes come in such small servings.

Thanks to:

Porsche
http://www.porsche.com

Road America
http://www.roadamerica.com

Brumos Racing
http://www.brumosracing.com