North Wales is a driving paradise. The roads through Snowdonia National Park are, in the truest sense of the word, epic. Narrow and winding as you climb the mountains, fast and flowing in the valleys, with glorious views all around in the shadow of Mount Snowdon. Park on the side of the road for an hour and you might see three or four cars go by. One of them might be someone on a pilgrimage. Most of the time it’s just you and the sheep.
Our furry friends aren’t interested in the car, like most things. I’m not. The Porsche 718 Spyder RS is the final salvo for the internal-combustion Boxster, complete with God’s Own Flat-Six—a 4.0-liter, 493-hp, 9,000-rpm engine taken from the 911 GT3. Pair that with a chassis honed by Porsche’s Motorsport department but optimized for the road, and you have a car that’s as good as any place.
And, a bittersweet farewell.
| Brief Specifications | 2024 Porsche 718 Spyder RS |
| Machine | 4.0 Liter Flat-Six Engine |
| Output | 493 Horsepower / 331 Pound-Feet |
| Transmission | 7-Speed Dual Clutch |
| Speed 0-60 mph | 3.2 Seconds |
| Price As Tested | $188,775 (US spec equivalent) |
Dean Smith
In its current guise, the Porsche 718 Boxster has been around since 2016, but its underpinnings are derived from a 2012 981-generation Boxster. It may be old in car terms, but it still feels great. Porsche got the basics right. In all its forms, the Boxster has always offered a perfect balance of handling and a driving experience that is almost unmatched by the Cayman. In fact, the Boxster is usually lighter than the Cayman, and the Spyder RS is no exception.
Funnily enough, Porsche doesn’t call this car a “Boxster.” It’s just the 718 Spyder RS, and that’s pretty accurate. The Boxster has always offered a mix of everyday utility and sports-car fun from the start, but the Spyder RS sacrifices some utility for more style, more drama, more… more. Putting up the lightweight top is like pitching a tent. The fabric top offers the same amount of sound insulation and theft protection; the ride is fairly stiff at low speeds; the gearing is relatively short, so the engine hums at highway speeds; the bucket seats are hard to climb in and out of.
The Boxster GTS 4.0 is a car you can use every day, without any problems. The Spyder RS demands more, but also offers more. This car takes the Boxster to a higher level.
Dean Smith
The firm suspension around town comes alive on fast roads. Snowdonia’s ‘B roads’ are bumpy and uneven, too twisty to cope with the constant rain, and with the odd dip on the inside of the corners. And the occasional hill to contend with. Here the Spyder RS floats along the surface, the adaptive dampers smoothing out any harsh edges with perfection. Sport mode suspension settings are often too firm for places like this, but in the Spyder RS the dampers just keep the body tied down a little better, without ever unsettling the car.
Porsche has softened the spring rates compared to the Cayman GT4 RS and it pays off. On basically every road we’ve driven the Spyder RS on, even outside Wales, it’s devoured it.
Like every Boxster before it, the Spyder’s handling is perfectly calibrated. It turns right on center, with a chassis balance that responds to throttle inputs with precision. Like the Cayman GT4 RS, the Spyder RS is a very fast car, but one that makes the driver feel instantly at ease. You just get in and push hard. The big brakes also boost your confidence. I can’t remember the last time I drove a Porsche Motorsport car without their optional carbon ceramics, but these cast-iron brakes stop well enough and offer excellent pedal feel.
Dean Smith
Pros: Great Engine, Perfect Chassis, Pulls at Any Speed
If anyone is still skeptical about electric steering, they should drive the Spyder RS. A technician once told me that you can tell if a car has good steering by the way the wheels start to come off a little when you’re going over wet ground mid-corner. It rained constantly during our time in Wales, as usual, and the Spyder RS felt every little wet spot on the road through its wheels. It followed the wheel arches a little, but it never felt like it was going to throw you off track.
But the most important thing is the engine. The most spectacular engine ever put into a Boxster, with the feel of a true racing engine. I imagine some of it is a bit artificial, but the uneven revs, the hum, the rattle and the vibration through the firewall make this engine feel like a pure racing engine. That said, it’s very tractable around town. You should try it, though, because this 4.0-liter has a stunning midrange and a top end that’s basically unmatched by anything this side of a Ferrari V-12.
The sound. The sound! Like the GT4 RS, the Spyder RS has intakes just behind the doors that feed a large central airbox and throttle bodies for each cylinder. You can hear the throttle position change as you step on the pedal. It’s addictive to hear the Welsh air go from hiss, to sniff, to deep roar as you accelerate. The induction sound is so loud, you don’t even need to have the active sports exhaust on. It sounds best with the top up, but with the rear windows down, the awning traps and amplifies the sound in the cabin. My jaw dropped the first time I heard the engine song this way. And while the 8,000-9,000rpm boost is metallic perfection, this engine sounds divine at any speed.
Dean Smith
Cons: Top is a bit of a hassle, noisy on the highway, I don't have one
Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch remains the best of its kind, so good that you can forgive the Spyder RS for the lack of a manual option. (A manual is obviously not a good fit for this engine, and Porsche RS cars have long been PDK-only.) The shorter final drivetrain can be annoying on the highway—I often wondered when to upshift, until I saw a “7” staring back at me on the gear indicator—but it allows you to use more of the engine more of the time. Shifts can be as quick as a real racing sequential, yet as smooth as a traditional automatic. In normal automatic mode, it’s quick to upshift for fuel economy, so you’ll want to put it in PDK sport, or better yet, shift manually. Both the paddle shifters and the sequential-style lever on the center console are a joy to use, and no matter how you use them, you’re amazed at how seamlessly and efficiently everything works.
Performance is top-notch here, with all the power you could possibly need. There’s incredible grip from the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres and a chassis that just won’t quit. This formula often produces cars that only feel alive at very high speeds, but the Spyder RS feels great at any speed. You can feel the balance without going over the limit, enjoy the superb feel of the steering and brakes, and enjoy the sharp throttle response even if you’re not using all 9,000 revs.
Dean Smith
And it can’t be overstated how well this car is set up for the road. Photographer Dean Smith, who has ridden up and down these Welsh B-roads in hundreds of cars, remarked on how smoothly the Spyder RS glides without the need for insane speed. Many recent Porsche Motorsport efforts have focused too much on the track, losing some of the utility and appeal of the division’s cars of years past. This is not the case. I’m sure this Porsche would be a lot of fun on the track, but the Spyder RS belongs in the wild. Among the sheep.
