These are the best spy pictures yet of the new Porsche Boxster, as the disguise is stripped away from the snout of 2012’s new roadster. It's the car that saved the company back in the mid-1990s, and this third-generation Boxster (internally dubbed 981) will push more upmarket to make way for a 'baby Boxster' being developed with VW and Audi.

What do we know about the new Porsche Boxster?

As we get closer to the new Porsche Boxster’s debut (we hear it’ll appear at the 2012 Detroit motor show, with sales starting in time for the summer next year) the disguise is steadily being removed. Ignore the stickers covering the rear lights and the still-hidden rear deck, but what you see at the front is pure production car with sharper, more aggressive bumpers. The whole shape of the Boxster is more curvaceous, too.

As much as the looks will be an evolution, the chassis under the skin is all new – the 981 Boxster shares brand new underpinnings with its Cayman sibling, and this year’s new 911. The wheelbase is stretched by 60mm for an extra inch of interior space, and the Boxster is 37mm longer and 10mm lower. The weight won’t go up though: the Boxster will tip the scales at 1320kg (down from 1335kg) and the bigger-engined Boxster S will be 1340kg (1355kg).