Porsche 718 Spyder

 

 

There are trials that we expect more than others. You have, those who make you vibrate several weeks in advance, those who push you to do research on the Internet several days before to be sure to master the subject once D-Day, those who prevent you from sleeping the day before and wake you up before your 10 morning reminders. Testing the 718 Spyder, like all my Porsche tests so far, is one of them, and after two days of exploring every aspect of it, I finally understood why. 

 

Although it's not really a car among the latest innovations, I always volunteer when it comes to getting behind the wheel of a recent sports car, even more when it ticks the boxes discoverable, atmospheric engine and manual gearbox (although the PDK gearbox is also available). This Holy Trinity so much praised by aficionados of sportiness finds here one of its most recent interpretations and perhaps also one of the very last, to see the headlines of the automotive news in this year 2021. If I couldn't stop praising the result of the marriage between a simple 4-cylinder and the Boxster/Cayman name more than two years ago, seeing the flat-6 make its big comeback in June 2019 and especially in an atmospheric version under the hood of the 718 filled me with joy, until I could hope to try it, I didn't ask for so much.

 

 

Sweet dream

It is however true, here I am at the wheel of the 718 Spyder. As you will have noticed, the sportiest versions of the 718 range thus lose the name Boxster & Cayman to take up only the names Spyder & GT4 respectively. As on the 981 generation, the Spyder & GT4 are therefore the ultimate versions (although it is rumored that a GT4 RS could see the light of day…) of the famous entry-level Porsche sporting duo, intended either for track racers , either for lovers of driving and pure sensations, with almost no frills, or even for lovers of rare objects. Because if the duo is not limited in number, its call price of around €100,000 excluding options and excluding registration fees promises a reduced distribution of this toy for true amateurs of the Zuffenhausen firm.

 

 

Let's go straight to the heart of the matter, mechanically at first. The atmospheric flat-6 4.0 L is derived from the engine of the 911 generation 992 (3.0 L biturbo) and displays performances close to the said legend. 4.4 seconds on the 0 to 100 km/h exercise and a top speed of 301 km/h for the Spyder, which we obviously didn't have fun approaching. The technical sheet did not tell us if this speed could be reached with or without a hood. This soft top is also one of the most striking distinctive elements of the 718 Spyder from a standard 718 Boxster, on the one hand because it is no longer electrically operated, on the other hand because its shape recalls tirelessly that of a racing tray that we would have hidden in a hurry. However, the system is not artisanal and has been a feature of the Spyder since the Boxster generation 987.2. Another particularity is that of being closely derived from the most track-oriented of the 718s, the GT4, of which the Spyder takes up almost all of the specific elements, starting with the mechanics. In terms of style, there is a shield identical to the two versions except for the inscription on the plastic blade. Two large vents come to take place under the LED optics (optional) while at the rear, there is an imposing diffuser revealing two separate exhaust outlets. The 20-inch rims are also specific and respond to the sweet and simple name of “Spyder”. Finally, two characteristic elements complete the whole,

 

 

Half-tracker, half-GT

If we haven't yet tackled the driving chapter, I'll leave you salivating at least as much as me, the interior and the few changes made to make the cabin exclusive will also make more than one lose their minds. The only specific elements are the removal of the door handles in favor of far from ergonomic fabric straps, the “Race Tex” finish (a kind of Alcantara) on the steering wheel and the gear lever gaiter and the presence of the Sport Chrono package as standard. Ah yes, the “Sport plus” seats with bigger reinforcements at the shoulders are also delivered as standard instead of the “Sport” seats available on the 718 Boxster. Well, it's starting to make some distinctive elements I grant you. If, like me, this small description leads you to think that Porsche could have gone further in this "Spyder" version, don't panic, the German manufacturer has thought of everything and offers you a good number of options that will allow you like anyone what a Porsche, to make your 718 Spyder unique. Especially since our copy offers many of the latter in its long list, first and foremost of which are the sumptuous sport bucket seats with a carbon shell. This is typically an element that for me is essential in the configuration of your Spyder. Especially since our copy offers many of the latter in its long list, first and foremost of which are the sumptuous sport bucket seats with a carbon shell. This is typically an element that for me is essential in the configuration of your Spyder. Especially since our copy offers many of the latter in its long list, first and foremost of which are the sumptuous sport bucket seats with a carbon shell. This is typically an element that for me is essential in the configuration of your Spyder.

 

 

There is also the Spyder Classic interior pack, which displays this superb two-tone black and red interior as well as numerous elements also covered with “Race Tex” coating such as the glove box, the central armrest and the panels. of door. Finally, you can opt for almost all the comfort options available on a 718 Boxster: cruise control, heated seats, heated steering wheel, display of speed limit panels, dual-zone automatic air conditioning, etc. If some of they can be very useful, this possibility represents for me the paradox of this Spyder: radical but possibly comfortable. These options should for me have been left to the sole benefit of the 718 Boxster GTS version, using the same mechanics as the Spyder but deflated by 20 hp and above all, more intended for regular than occasional use. After between us, I do my snob like that behind my computer, but I was damn happy to have a steering wheel and heated seats given the outside temperature displayed once the “opening up” ceremony was over.

 

 

pure pleasure

Engine, my first few kilometers at the wheel of the 718 Spyder are in town. The engine snorts in a very mechanical noise, a few clicks then a purring with a rocky number is heard, typically Porsche. I quickly realize after 10 minutes at the wheel that we are far, very far from the favorite terrain of the 718 Spyder. Between the speed bumps that are too high, the suspension firm enough to break your lower back, the first gear that is much too long, the 2nd that grazes at 20 km/h, the huge blind spots due to the structure of the soft top, I pray at every crossroads that an overly enterprising Uber does not stamp my long-awaited toy of the moment. Phew, here I am out of trouble, direction the A13 to join the French Vexin countryside and let the atmospheric flat-6 express itself (at 80 km/h) in a more suitable environment. Panel 130 in sight, I push the 2nd to its maximum to see if the first reports are so long as expected. Indeed it takes long, very long even, you are already outside the legality if you push the 2nd gear up to 8000 rpm (start of red zone). Moreover, we can not say that this motorway journey is easy. The single thickness hood with the visible mechanical system shines with its more than minimalist soundproofing and the suspension betrays its typical track damping by going up to the steering wheel the feeling of the slightest pebble on the roadway. No need to go further to understand that this 718 Spyder is definitely a toy intended for occasional use, preferably on suitable surfaces. Mean by that a beautiful macadam track or the routes of the passes of the Alps, perfectly maintained since each year borrowed by the Tour de France.

 

 

Once off the freeway, it doesn't take long for me to figure out how the 718 Spyder works. Everything seems innate on board this car which encourages mechanical gestures, dosed to the mm, for a surgical result. Well encased in the back of the bucket seats, my back and lower back perfectly maintained, the platform-vertical steering wheel facing me, I am in the best conditions to feel the slightest movement of the body, each result of the slightest degree in the steering wheel or the slightest pressure on one of the pedals. Hop, I fold the hood in the trunk, open the valves of the sport exhaust with active valves and it's off to Nirvana. The engine reveals its full personality from 4000 rpm where the sound becomes harsher, more present, without falling into caricature with pops & bangs in all directions. The brake pedal turns out to be a bit too high to use the heel-toe to perfection (at least on the road), the rev-matching via the “auto-blip” button on the left turns out to be very useful and throttle pick-up at each gear drop is calibrated as precisely as possible. I firmly hold my steering wheel with both hands, the 718 Spyder reading the coating almost dangerously. I hope it's worth it… Good God, what did I say there. Obviously yes it was worth it, oh yes it was worth it. I brake much too early on the approach to the first corner, very pleasantly surprised by the typed track attack of the brake pedal and with just perfect consistency, I take my turn, the front axle obeying the finger and the eye with each movement of the steering wheel and, oh miracle, a roll to the absent subscribers. But when I tell you that it's absent, it's not just a slight pitch then an admirable body handling, no, it's quite simply that the 718 turns flat, literally, largely helped by its architecture, moreover, and without no doubt by its tires offered as standard, Michelin Sport Cup 2 with phenomenal grip. At this very moment, I dream of being on the track at the wheel of the same car because I still have via PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) a “Sport” suspension setting, activating via a dedicated button near the gear lever. To tell you the truth, during my two days of testing, I never had the feeling of needing it, I even think that it would have degraded the driving experience on the open road.

 

 

I take a hitherto unfelt pleasure at the wheel of the Spyder. I really have the impression of becoming one with the machine, each gesture is transcribed in the behavior of the Spyder with the purest accuracy. A change of gear, and the auditory pleasure is there, a frank pressure on the middle pedal, and the 718 stops dead in its tracks, a movement of the steering wheel and the car turns flat, an acceleration and your smile does not stop growing until 'at 8000 rpm, the speed at which you would like to stay for hours as everything seems beautiful to you in this world during this short moment. Of course, the 718 Spyder encourages the big attack. On one of my favorite sequences, I have rarely been able to feel so comfortable and above all, to take such unmentionable speeds, much higher than at the wheel of more powerful and assisted toys that I have ever driven. It's simple, to this day, I can affirm without blushing that the driving experience aboard this 718 Spyder is one of the most authentic encountered up to now.

 

 

Irrational 

Irrational, that's the word, and it hurts my spirits to end my essay on such a paragraph. Irrational because unreasonable for driving on the open road, irrational because too expensive for most of us, but irrational also because it is undoubtedly one of the very last of its kind, that of cars intended for and purely for driving pleasure. The real, the only, pure driving pleasure. It's hard to talk numbers after all that, but at €114,163 in our configuration, I'd be almost tempted to say that the 718 Spyder is almost a bargain compared to the astronomical sums achieved by the least underpowered and over-optioned SUV. . Of course, that was without counting the 249 gCO2/met the related penalty of €30,000. All of this disgusts me to no end.