Music to My Ears:

The sound of the ball going through the net as your favorite team hits a 3-pointer to win the game. Your baby's first cry. Your doctor saying the test came back negative. These are all things that can be considered "music to your ears." They are embedded in our brains as special moments of the aural kind. Well, recently I had such a moment, and it came from an unlikely source.

Over the weekend I was on one of my very favorite roads on the entire planet - Decker Canyon in Malibu. I hadn't driven this piece of asphalt heaven since my days as a student at Art Center many years ago. It's just so far from where I live in San Diego that I never seem to make it up that way. Anyway, on this particular day I had an appointment in the area. So after tending to business, I headed up PCH and made a right onto my ideal Disneyland.

The unlikely source of my musical moment was the new Porsche Boxster RS60 Spyder. I only say unlikely because I didn't expect to like this car as much as I did. Let's face it, most of us think of the Boxster - even the "S" - as the hair-dresser's Porsche. It's the 911 Carrera and its many variants that we all love so much, not the mini-me Boxster, right? Well, let me tell you, this car is ALL PORSCHE.

Having spent the previous two days driving it in front of the cameras, back and forth over the same piece of road for OnCars (I know, my job is so difficult!), I was happy to be off the leash and on my own. So I headed up Decker Canyon with the top down, the "sport" button engaged and the RS60 Spyder dancing from apex to apex. The road is mostly a second gear affair, which means it's not super high-speed. In fact, you don't even have to break the speed limit to enjoy it (which is part of its charm as you can relax your rear-view-mirror-vision).

Now, the view - especially on the way back - is certainly amazing as you crest over a rise, mid-apex and see the Pacific Ocean at the base of the road, but what moved me was the music. Obviously I'm not talking about the music from the stereo (which is not that great), but about the music from the car. The sound coming from that sport exhaust and bouncing off of the canyon walls was just un-freakin'-believable! WOW! Is this really a stock exhaust from a major manufacturer? Impressive, and truly music to my ears.

Soon, we will be featuring the RS60 Spyder on the OnCars website and you'll get to hear it for yourselves. In the meantime I can tell you that it is one of the top ten best-sounding production cars I've ever driven - and I've been lucky enough to have driven some epic cars. I'd rank it right there in terms of aural delight with some of the great V8s (Audi R8) and 6s (911 GT3), and just behind the Kings of Exhaust Music, the 12 cylinder Ferraris (Enzo, 512TR), and the V10 from the Porsche Carrera GT. I know, that sounds ridiculous. But that little Boxster S-based RS60 Spyder really does sound that good. I can't wait for you to hear it yourself.