The first-generation Boxster is the car that brought forth change at Porsche in the 1990s, paving the way for the water-cooled 996. The recipe was then improved with the next Boxster, which welcomed the RS 60 Spyder in 2007 as a tribute to the 718 RS 60 Spyder piloted by Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien that finished 1st in the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring.
An amazing car inside and out, the 303-horsepower Boxster RS 60 Spyder with Porsche Active Suspension Management used to retail at $64,900 when it was brand spanking new. Limited to 1,960 examples worldwide, the breed is rare whichever way you look at it. But despite the exclusivity, one owner decided to swap the boxer six-cylinder for an American V8.
“What kind of blasphemy is this?” Well, it’s a Boxster with an LS7, the 7.0-liter tower-of-power that’s now available as a crate engine. Priced at $14,837 and rated at 505 ponies and 470 pound-feet, the LS7 is the real deal for. So, curious what sort of output figures it makes in this particular application?
Renegade Hybrids of Las Vegas, Nevada, quotes almost 500 horsepower, with the dyno showing 483 at the wheels and 414 rear-wheel pound-feet of torque. “Madness” is the best word to describe the swap, and even though purists would tell you otherwise, we here at autoevolution like the result.
The Las Vegas-based shop is specialized in conversion kits for Porsche, offering solutions for anything from the Boxster to the classic 911, 996, 914, 928, and 944. The company has been at it since 1983, and the mission of Renegade Hybrids is: “We make Germany’s fastest… faster.”
Those interested in the most basic conversion kit for the Boxster need to spend $3,895 on the mods, excluding the price and installation of the engine. The small-block LS3 is the most standard of options, but as you found out from this story, the big-block LS7 fits in the engine bay as well.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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