The Porsche 718 Spyder RS Is The Final Swan Track

The arrival of the GT4 RS meant it was solely a matter of time. Porsche had carried out what it had by no means earlier than; it stuffed the 911 GT3’s 9,000-rpm naturally aspirated flat-six right into a 718 Cayman. The outcome was dramatic.

By no means thoughts its 493-horsepower output, an additional 79 hp over the GT4, the RS gained a close-ratioed seven-speed PDK, weight-saving carbon elements, and beefed-up aero items full with a swan-neck rear wing. Its intakes sat simply behind your head, making certain no dialog, tune, or lingering thought may come between you and its blaring notice.

It was inevitable then that the Porsche 718 Spyder RS would come subsequent, solely that it didn’t arrive as anticipated. Whereas it has the identical 4.0-liter engine bolted to its again, an similar PDK, and a lot of the GT4 RS’ aero, its roadster kind meant it may by no means be a totally devoted monitor automobile.

Porsche factored this in from the beginning of its growth, designing essentially the most excessive Boxster ever solely as a highway automobile. As such, you’ll discover softer suspension hiding beneath its arches, a modest ducktail as a substitute of a towering wing, and a two-piece prime you’ll have to interrupt down and stow your self.

Most significantly, its engine intakes stay tucked behind your ears, now unmuffled by metallic or glass. It doesn’t sing. It transitions from a guttural bassy notice at low revs to a deafening shriek because the needle on its tach approaches its 9,000 rpm redline. But even then, as your ears ring and your head kilos, the sensation behind the wheel is bittersweet.

The Porsche 718 Spyder RS arrives at a vital second for the German carmaker and the broader sports activities automobile scene. Later this yr, it is going to exit of manufacturing, as will all gas-powered Cayman and Boxster fashions, with a yet-to-be-announced electrical successor anticipated to debut within the coming months. The concern is, after all, that it’ll swell in measurement and weight because of its must make room for a battery pack. 

It’s nonetheless far too early to get on the soapbox, although. If the Taycan has taught us something, the parents at Stuttgart know easy methods to construct an exhilarating EV. Nonetheless, the Spyder RS represents one of many remaining alternatives you’ll ever have to purchase a mid-engined Porsche powered by a high-revving naturally aspirated engine. Whereas the 911 will carry atmospheric aspiration so far as it’ll go, the Spyder RS symbolizes the tip of an period. 

That’s the bitter, however what in regards to the candy?

There’s loads. The expertise of driving a Porsche 718 Spyder RS can solely be described with superlatives and melodramatic reward. It’s among the many most thrilling, best-sounding, and finest-driving sports activities automobiles of the final a long time. It’s the form of automobile you’ll be able to’t reside with out after you’ve skilled it.

It first attracts you in with its steering. Even earlier than you decide up the tempo, it chatters with suggestions from the floor under. It could not convey as a lot highway texture as a hydraulic setup in older Porsches, however it’s glorious so far as electrical energy methods are involved. It’s properly weighted and masses up effectively as your velocity will increase. The Race-Tex wrapped wheel itself is small, paired with a fast rack, ensuing instantly response from the entrance finish.

The RS sits 1.2 inches decrease than a regular Boxster whereas its entrance and rear tracks widen. Peek beneath its entrance fenders and also you’ll discover a pair of MacPherson struts, every with a most important and a helper spring such as you would in a 991.2-generation 911 GT3 RS. 

Though the Spyder will get decreased damper charges to create a extra compliant journey, it comes customary with Porsche Energetic Suspension Administration, which lets you shortly agency issues up when wanted. Likewise, its journey top, toe, camber, and anti-roll bars are all individually adjustable. 

You needn’t mess with any of it, although. The Porsche 718 Spyder RS completely balances consolation and efficiency for road use. Though nonetheless firmer than a Spyder or GTS 4.0, the roofless RS doesn’t crash over bumps like its coupe counterpart nor translate pointless harshness to you behind the wheel. As an alternative, you get the suggestions you’d need pulsing by means of the chassis with out the added roughness of driving one thing primarily track-oriented. 

As such, the RS isn’t a automobile that requires an important day or an ideal highway to take pleasure in. Whereas its engine revs to the moon, it’s equally completely satisfied to putter round city because of its quick-shifting seven-speed PDK. It’s sensible, too, retaining the entrance and rear storage capability that makes the Boxster a flexible sports activities automobile. Even deploying and stowing its two-piece roof turns into second nature after a number of makes an attempt. It’s nonetheless removed from a fast setup ought to darkish clouds start to loom overhead.

Level it in direction of your favourite mountain highway, open the valves in its exhaust, agency up its shocks, and also you’re immediately reminded that it’s nonetheless essentially the most excessive Boxster ever produced.

Tipping the scales at 3,214 kilos, it’s a featherweight by trendy sports activities automobile requirements. Due to its use of carbon fiber entrance fenders and hood, the RS is 59 lb lighter than a PDK-equipped 718 Spyder. The $12,570 Weissach Package deal and a set of magnesium wheels lower 22 lb of unsprung weight. 

Extra importantly, the RS feels virtually massless on a winding highway. Its ultralight wheelset actually contributes to the sensation. Nonetheless, in an area the place sportscars usually depend on intelligent tire and suspension tech to disguise their heft, the Spyder RS has nothing to cover. 

Regardless of its softer suspension, there’s no physique roll to talk of. The Spyder RS flows by means of a twisty highway with easy steadiness, fixed suggestions, and super velocity. The efficiency of its $8,000 carbon-ceramic brakes is superb, they usually make no undesirable noise round city. The ensuing driving expertise is cohesive, deeply concerned, and thrilling. 

Its 911 GT3-sourced 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated flat-six will go down in historical past as one of many greats. It revs to 9,000 rpm, a full 1,000 rpm greater than a 718 Spyder, and produces sturdy energy all through the rev vary. 

Flat out, it’ll spring to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and full the quarter-mile in 11.3 seconds whereas maxing out at 191 mph. 

Oftentimes, you’ll rocket out of a nook, look down on the tach, and notice the needle is just midway there to the redline. Opposite to what you would possibly count on from a high-strung engine, the facility isn’t hidden away on a prime shelf, though getting there’s thrilling nonetheless. 

A blast up a mountain highway with the highest down is a recipe for essentially the most pleasant headache you’ve ever had. The buzzing shriek that comes on because the redline approaches is deafening. It’s not like another trendy manufacturing automobile in that it isn’t coming from its twin pipes however from its rear-mounted intakes. It’s a noise that’s as genuine as it’s loud and might be sorely missed in an electrical future.

Nonetheless, there’s an elephant within the room, and that’s its worth. This 2024 model-year tester begins at $163,650, together with a $1,650 vacation spot and a $1,300 glass guzzler charge. Should you’ve been including up the non-obligatory extras talked about thus far, this automobile’s $211,090 as-tested worth ought to come as no shock. 

But after experiencing it, it’s onerous to fault anybody who places up the cash to have one, and even those that pay even greater sums on the second-hand market.

It’s not at all times instantly obvious that you just’re behind the wheel of one thing particular. As counterintuitive as that will sound, it could typically take a number of hundred miles for a bond to kind or an ideal Sunday morning drive on an impeccable winding highway earlier than the automotive epiphany comes. In different cases, a automobile’s greatness can stay hotly contested for many years. 

Take the Lamborghini Countach as the last word instance. It’s been over 50 years because it went into manufacturing, and whereas its standing as an automotive icon is just not up for debate, you’ll discover no scarcity of diametrically opposed opinions on whether or not or not it’s any good to drive. This gained’t be the case with the Porsche 718 Spyder RS.

It’s the final swan track for Porsche’s mid-engined featherweight and a becoming sendoff for one of the vital beloved sports activities automobiles in current a long time.