Porsche 718 Spyder RS review

Leaving the hotel in convoy, the Porsche press fleet is a riot of dazzling colours, including Racing Yellow and Ruby Star Neo – a reinvention of the classic 964-series 911 RS Rubystone red. My car, however, is the more sober shade of Vanadium Grey Metallic, a new colour unique to the Spyder RS. Its ducktail spoiler is less obvious than the swan-neck wing of the Cayman GT4 RS, but there’s no doubt this Boxster means business. The bonnet is punctured by brake-cooling NACA ducts, there are side blades ahead of the front wheels and a supplementary rear spoiler bridges the gap between the Speedster-style humps.

On the Cayman GT4 RS, air intakes replace the smaller side windows, but here they are mounted atop the rear wings, force-feeding a central airbox behind the seats. Preuninger calls them ‘music boxes’ and they’re the reason this RS required a bespoke roof. The entire roof arrangement weighs just 18.3 kg: 7.6kg lighter than the 718 Spyder’s manual top and 16.5kg less than the electric roof in a regular 718 Boxster. Helpfully, Porsche notes that ‘drivers who wish to shave an additional eight kilograms from the weight of the vehicle can leave the top at home entirely, weather allowing’.

The weather isn’t playing ball so far, but the Spyder RS is proving amenable to the conditions. Its ride on adjustable dampers is less abrupt than that of a GT4 RS and those exterior air intakes mean you’re slightly insulated from the induction noise, at least with the hood up. The CFRP fixed-back bucket seats are well-padded and genuinely comfortable, too. Granted, no amount of red stitching or Race-Tex trim (Porsche’s answer to Alcantara) can disguise the age of the Boxster’s cabin, but I’m all for the modest touchscreen and physical switches. There’s less to distract you from the job of driving.

Then, as the morning traffic dissipates and the terrain becomes more undulating, the rain stops and a shard of sunshine breaks through the cloud. There’s no time to waste, so I pull over, remove the Spyder’s roof and stow it in the dedicated compartment ahead of the rear boot. This time, thanks to my training, the process is much swifter (danke schön, Norbert) but if you really get stuck, there’s a QR code underneath the hood holder that links to an idiot’s guide video.

Now there’s nothing between the engine and my ears and it’s loud. Lamborghini loud. The carbon fibre pod just aft of my left lughole broadcasts a cacophony of gurgles, gulps and gasps, the uncouth blare of the induction joining forces with the snarl from the twin exhausts as the revs rise. The final stretch from 8000rpm to the limiter feels overwhelming, a headbanging howl that’s as glorious as it is genuinely uncomfortable.

Still, great Porsche engines often sound more visceral than musical, and this is one of the best: a close relation to the flat-six in the 911 GT3 Cup racing car. Maximum power is 493bhp at 8400rpm – 10bhp less than the roadgoing GT3 due to greater back-pressure in the more convoluted exhaust system – and performance is close to supercar territory: 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds and 191mph.

As a fun-focused car you might expect the Spyder to come with a manual gearbox – and part of me wishes it did. Still, the seven-speed PDK has shorter ratios than the Boxster’s rather leggy six-speed manual and, frankly, it’s hard to fault. Whether you leave it in automatic, use the steering wheel-mounted paddles or pull/push the manual-style sequential lever, the dual-clutch transmission feels almost precognitively quick. Acceleration is uninterrupted, and the downshifts cut the air with a volley of brutal barks. It’s better at changing gear than I will ever be.

Arriving at the lunch stop, I refuel on cabbage-themed German cuisine then swap into a Guards Red 718 RS Spyder with the Weissach package fitted. Priced at a not-inconsiderable £9309, this introduces yet more Race-Tex to the interior, along with plenty of visible carbon fibre and ‘Weissach RS’ logos. If you’re feeling flush, you can add forged magnesium wheels (saving 2.5kg per corner) for an additional £11,573. My favourite features are the beefier titanium tailpipes, inspired by the GT2 RS-based 935 reboot from 2018. ‘Drive hard enough and they will glow blue,’ says Markus Atz, manager for Porsche GT cars. Sounds like a challenge…

The route back to base follows the rural Landesstrassen carved into the Swabian hills. They’re quiet and fast-flowing, with plenty of third-gear corners and well-sighted straights, but also narrow and dotted with mobile chicanes created by lumbering tractors. Here, where a 992 GT3 would frequently feel a size too big, the Spyder’s slimmer hips liberate more road space and boost your confidence, along with your point-to-point pace.

There’s also an economy of effort that flows from the Porsche’s lack of weight. At 1410kg, the Spyder RS is hardly a 909 Bergspyder (384kg, since you ask), and it’s actually portlier than a new 911 S/T (1380kg). Nonetheless, being 40kg lighter than a 718 Spyder and 5kg less than a Cayman GT4 RS brings its benefits. You sense it in the steering’s directness, the ease with which the carbon-ceramic brakes (a £6156 option) scrub off speed, and indeed in the relatively calm ride. Even when the road surface gets a bit ‘British’, the RS keeps its composure.

Just let’s not pretend this is a comfortable cruiser, nor even a daily driver in the mould of the Boxster GTS. The Spyder is always on its toes, always egging you on, its outrageous engine breathing down your neck. It’s no tyre-smoking hooligan – finding its limit on dry roads takes commitment – but try hard enough and you’ll discover the precision and finely wrought, throttle-adjustable balance that Weissach does so well.

As we get within 20 miles of the hotel, the weather also turns a bit British, a light drizzle spattering the screen. Rather than fully fit the roof again, I try the halfway-house ‘sun sail’ option. Like a bimini atop a boat, this retains the top cover, but leaves the rear and sides open, keeping the rain out without muffling the sound of the flat-six. In fact, with the intakes exposed and its roof acting like a kind of echo chamber, the Spyder seems even noisier and more intense. ‘That’s our favourite way to drive the car,’ says Atz with a knowing grin, as I return the keys.

So, should you buy one? This being a RS-badged Porsche, the more pertinent question is can you buy one? The 718 Spyder RS isn’t a limited-numbers car, but production will be restricted by the availability of certain carbon fibre parts. At £125,499, it looks expensive versus a Boxster 4.0 GTS (£75,300) or good value compared to a 911 S/T (£231,600 – and a car that, incidentally, has an identical mission statement to provide ‘maximum driving enjoyment on winding country roads’). Either way, the question of value for money seems slightly moot.

Some may take issue with the 964 RS, but I’d argue Porsche has never, in 50 years, built a disappointing Rennsport road car. The 718 Spyder RS is a new twist on the formula, one with an open roof and a slightly softer focus, yet it remains unquestionably worthy of the badge. It’s a superb sports car and an exhilarating head-rush. No caffeine required.