Expect open-air emotion in new Porsche 718 Spyder RS

Porsche on Wednesday unveiled its new 718 Spyder RS, a wind in your hair, bugs in your teeth version of the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. The Spyder RS swaps the coupé’s closed roof for a minimalist folding fabric top that can be unclipped and stowed in the roadster’s trunk. This feature not only allows a more visceral driving experience, but also amplifies the shriek of the 4.0l naturally aspirated six-cylinder boxer engine. 

Plucked from the firm’s 911 GT3 Cup racing car and 911 GT3 series production model, this piece of internal combustion art pumps out 368kW and 450Nm worth of torque. Exhaling through a standard stainless steel sports exhaust system and capable of revving up to 9,000rpm, Porsche claims the motor will see the Spyder RS accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds and reach a VO2 max of 308km/h. A short-ratio seven-speed PDK transmission is fitted as standard, as are unique air inlets mounted behind the headrests.

Tipping the scales 5kg lighter than the Cayman GT4 RS (1,410kg vs 1,415kg), the Spyder RS sports an aerodynamic front end, which is home to a lightweight CFRP bonnet cut with race car-inspired NACA ducts, a pair of vented CFRP front wings, a model-specific front spoiler lip and bumper side blades designed to generate downforce at high speed. While the Cayman GT4 RS gets a fixed swan-neck rear spoiler, the Spyder RS receives a more elegant ducktail that’s vaguely reminiscent of the one used on the iconic 911 Carrera RS 2.7.

Handling promises to be nothing short of sublime, thanks to a sport-tuned chassis 30mm closer to the asphalt than a regular 718 Boxster. Other weapons in the Spyder RS arsenal include standard Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with a mechanical limited-slip differential, special ball-jointed suspension bearings and a set of lightweight 20-inch forged aluminium wheels.

According to Porsche, the car’s ride height, camber, track and anti-roll bar can be adjusted individually. It’s also interesting to note that the Spyder RS is, from the factory, tuned to deliver a slightly less hard-core driving experience than the Cayman GT4 RS, thanks to reduced spring and damper rates — which might make it better to drive on bumpy everyday roads. 

The cabin of the Spyder RS — reduced to the bare essentials — comes festooned with many motorsport-derived features such as a RS sports Race-Tex steering wheel with a yellow 12 o’clock marking. Lightweight CFRP bucket seats are standard and upholstered in a mix of black leather and perforated Race-Tex. While the headrests are embroidered with the “Spyder RS” logo, the dashboard and door trims are also covered in black leather. 

Available exterior colours include four plain and three metallic paints — Vanadium Grey Metallic, Arctic Grey, Shark Blue and Ruby Star Neo. A Weissach Package is available as an option and, when specified, adds forged magnesium wheels, titanium exhaust tailpipes and a dashboard covered in antiglare Race-Tex. 

As with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS, the 718 Spyder RS will be produced in limited numbers. Pricing with a three-year drive plan starts at R3,024,000, and the first cars for local delivery will arrive in the country during the second quarter of 2024.