The Porsche 718 Spyder RS Is the Last of a Dying Breed. Drive It While You Can.
There’s a moment — usually somewhere between the first corner and the second — when you stop thinking of the Porsche 718 Spyder RS as a machine and start thinking of it as something alive.
The way it reads your mind through the steering wheel. The way that flat-six engine screams behind your head, climbing toward 9,000 rpm like it’s chasing something personal. The way it begs you to push harder instead of suggesting you take it easy.
This isn’t a car that asks you to drive it. It demands it.
And honestly? We’re not going to have cars like this for much longer. Before Porsche goes all-in on electric, before the naturally aspirated engine becomes a museum piece, they built this — a roadster so focused, so raw, and so ridiculously fun that it might be the best driver’s car they’ve ever made for public roads.
I drove it. I still can’t stop thinking about it.
What Even Is the 718 Spyder?
The 718 Spyder sits at the very top of Porsche’s 718 lineup. It’s the convertible version of the Cayman GT4 RS — that hardcore track machine that enthusiasts worship. But where the GT4 RS is about lap times and winning races, the Spyder is about something else entirely: pure, unfiltered freedom.
The name “Spyder” goes back to the 550 Spyder from the 1950s. That’s the one James Dean died in. That’s how seriously Porsche takes this badge.
And here’s the kicker: this generation of Spyder only exists as a convertible. There’s no fixed-roof RS version. If you want the GT4 RS engine in a car where you can feel the wind in your hair, the Spyder RS is the only game in town.
For more on where Porsche has been, check out our piece on Porsche classics at Goodwood — seeing the first 356 next to modern cars like this really puts things in perspective.
The Engine: The Thing That Makes You Forget Everything Else
Let’s talk about what matters.
Under the hood is a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six — the same engine you’ll find in the 911 GT3 and the Cayman GT4 RS. In the Spyder, it makes 493 horsepower at 8,400 rpm and 331 lb-ft of torque at 6,250 rpm.
No turbos. No electric motors. No batteries. Just pistons, valves, and 9,000 rpm of pure mechanical symphony.
Most modern performance cars hit hard down low and run out of breath up top. The Spyder RS is the opposite. Roll into the throttle at 2,000 rpm and it pulls cleanly. Keep going past 5,000 and it turns into a completely different animal — like someone strapped a rocket to your spine all the way to the redline.
The gearbox is a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch. No manual option. Porsche decided the PDK’s ability to fire off perfect shifts in milliseconds was better for a car this fast. Purists will complain. Nobody who actually drives it will care.
0-60 mph: 3.2 seconds (Porsche says), 2.8 seconds (Car and Driver says)
Quarter mile: 10.9 seconds at 127 mph
Top speed: 191 mph
But honestly? Numbers don’t capture it. The engine feels different from anything else on the road today. It’s the difference between watching a concert on YouTube and being in the front row.
The Chassis: Borrowed From a Race Car
The Spyder RS doesn’t just have a race-car engine. It has a race-car skeleton.
The chassis is lifted from the Cayman GT4 RS, which itself uses tech from the 911 GT3. Adaptive dampers are standard — you can toggle between comfort and sport depending on the road. The steering is hydraulic-feeling in the best way, telling you exactly what the front tires are doing without any artificial numbness.
Under hard cornering, it understeers slightly at the limit — predictable and controllable. You can rotate the rear with aggressive throttle inputs, but the stability control catches you if you get too ambitious.
Carbon-ceramic brakes are standard. Sixteen-inch front rotors. The car stops from 70 mph in 147 feet. That’s ridiculous.
For comparison, our Honda Passport buyer’s breakdown stops from 70 in about 185 feet. Not that anyone’s cross-shopping these two.
The Open-Top Experience
Here’s the thing that separates the Spyder from the Cayman GT4 RS: the sky.
The manual soft top folds in seconds. With the roof down, that flat-six engine’s voice fills the cabin completely. No sound insulation. No muffling. Every gear change, every rev-match, every exhaust pop arrives unfiltered and magnificent.
Porsche says keep the top up above 124 mph. I say drop it at every opportunity and experience the full 191 mph with the wind tearing past your ears.
The cabin is minimal by design. No giant touchscreen. No unnecessary weight. Carbon-fiber bucket seats hold you in place through corners. They’re not comfortable for long highway slogs. That’s not the point.
The optional Weissach Package adds more carbon fiber, lighter wheels, and a titanium roll bar. It also adds about $15,000 to the price. I’d still tick that box.
Practicality? Don’t Make Me Laugh
Let’s be real: this is not a practical car.
Two seats. Minimal storage — about 4 cubic feet in the front trunk, maybe 5 more behind the seats. You can fit a weekend bag and nothing else.
Visibility is terrible thanks to the high rear deck. The suspension translates every pebble into cabin vibration. The carbon brakes squeal at low speeds.
None of this matters. This car wasn’t designed for Costco runs.
The Competition
At around $170,000, the Spyder RS lives in a weird space. Faster than most supercars from ten years ago. Cheaper than a new 911 GT3.
- Chevrolet Corvette Z06: Similar performance, way less money. But American V8 muscle vs. German precision — they’re different religions.
- Lamborghini Huracán Evo Spyder: More drama, more exclusivity. Also way more money.
- BMW Z4 M40i: Comfortable cruiser. Not in the same league dynamically.
Truth is, the Spyder RS competes with itself. There’s nothing else with a mid-engine, naturally aspirated flat-six, and a convertible top. If you want this specific combination, this is the only option.
Speaking of options, here’s a wild one: a Tesla Model 3 vs Hyundai Ioniq 7 comparison — two very different visions of where cars are headed. The Spyder RS is the past. They’re the future. Guess which one is more fun?
The Pros, The Cons
What’s great:
- That engine. Seriously. One of the best ever made.
- Chassis balance is telepathic
- Open-top experience is unmatched in the segment
- Surprisingly daily-drivable with the roof up
- Limited production = special ownership
- Values hold well
What’s not:
- No manual gearbox (the purists will bring this up forever)
- Ride quality is punishing on bad roads
- Minimal storage
- $170k+ before options, $200k+ after
- That glorious exhaust note gets tiring on 5-hour highway drives
Should You Buy One?
If you have the money and you love driving, the answer is yes.
Not because it’s practical. Not because it’s sensible. Because cars like this aren’t going to exist much longer. The naturally aspirated flat-six is on its way to the museum alongside the V8 and the manual gearbox. Future generations will read about engines that rev to 9,000 rpm the way we read about steam locomotives.
The Spyder RS is the last dance of internal combustion at its absolute peak.
Buy it. Drive it. Rev it to nine thousand with the roof down on a warm evening. Your future self will thank you.
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