Los Angeles  - The new Porsche Boxster Spyder, which celebrates its world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in December, takes its design cues from the legendary Porsche 550 in which actor James Dean died.

Two humps stretching over the rear create the illusion of a longer body and are a reminder of the days of the Carrera GT. Designed mainly for open-top travelling, a simple vinyl construction operated by hand shields the two occupants from rain if necessary.

Compared to the standard Boxster S, the Spyder comes with an exclusive paint job and is lighter and faster. Engineers boosted the engine by 10 hp to 320 hp, reducing the zero to 100 km/h sprint by half a second to 4.8 seconds. The top speed is listed at 267 km/h.

Weighing only 1,275 kilograms, 145 kilograms less than the standard model, the Porsche Boxster Spyder is the lightest Porsche production model but still a lot more than its 1950s predecessor which weighed only 550 kilograms.

The Porsche 550, nicknamed "Little Bastard," was the car in which James Dean was killed in an accident in 1955.

The Porsche Boxster Spyder is available in the showrooms from February next year at a listed price of 63,404 euros (94,325 dollars), some 7,000 euros (10,413 dollars) more than the standard Boxster. (dpa)