Porsche 718 Spyder RS 982
The 911 GT3's 9,000-rpm flat-six dropped into an open-top Boxster — PDK only, no roof to hide behind.
GT3-derived 4.0, 9,000 rpm, PDK-only halo.
17 reviewers · 18 videos · 5 hours watched
Reviewers strongly agree on its performance and handling, but split on daily drivability and value.
across 17 reviewers
"Porsche has reduced the spring rates on the suspension to give it a softer ride more compliant more daily driver usable."
Doug DeMuro · ▶ 5:05"It is the most impractical Porsche I have ever driven."
Autoblog · ▶ 10:52"this is a glorious special object and it's worth every bit of the 200 Grand that it costs"
Motor1 · ▶ 7:01"it's £50,000 more expensive"
The Intercooler · ▶ 25:30Performance
5.0/517 of 17 reviewersstrong consensus“500 horsepower... 9,000 RPM and it's my spine's just gone into tiny little zigzags like that just superb”
positive · Drivetribe · ▶ 1:41“The responses from this engine are Savage... zero delay.”
positive · CAR magazine · ▶ 14:30“The 4 L naturally aspirated Flat 6 lifted from the 911 GT3 and put into a boxer... it has about 495 horsepower and about 330 lbet of torque.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 2:04Handling
5.0/517 of 17 reviewersstrong consensus“The balance is incredible had a little moment earlier and it just pivot around its Center perfectly”
positive · Drivetribe · ▶ 5:24“the steering is fantastic tremendously precise and so is the handling that the car is flat it is predictable it Corners perfectly.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 3:45“the box is such a balanced chassis it it's just dreamy in this spec”
positive · Harry's garage · ▶ 15:06Fun to drive
5.0/517 of 17 reviewersstrong consensus“I feel more connected more intimate with that engine because it's closer to me it's not locked away in the back like in the 9/11”
positive · Drivetribe · ▶ 6:45“I'd go so far as to say that with the sun cover on and the rain cover off it makes it like an echo chamber and in that case it's almost too loud.”
positive · CAR magazine · ▶ 13:00“that alone is worth the price of admission oh my God I love that oh this is just stupendous superb Magnificent the sound is incredible.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 3:40Daily drivability
3.5/517 of 17 reviewerssplit“Porsche has reduced the spring rates on the suspension to give it a softer ride more compliant more daily driver usable.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 5:05“It is the most impractical Porsche I have ever driven.”
critical · Autoblog · ▶ 10:52“It's a lovely lovely comfortable car to cruise around in and that just shouldn't be the case.”
positive · Joe Achilles · ▶ 17:49Value
3.5/517 of 17 reviewerssplit“it's £50,000 more expensive”
critical · The Intercooler · ▶ 25:30“this is a glorious special object and it's worth every bit of the 200 Grand that it costs”
positive · Motor1 · ▶ 7:01“one of the greatest sports cars on sale today at any price.”
positive · Doug DeMuro · ▶ 26:51Mechanically, the Spyder RS swaps the GT4's 4.0 for the GT3-derived 9A2 Evo — the 992 GT3 and 718 GT4 RS engine — 493 hp at 8,400 rpm and a 9,000 rpm ceiling, fed by the intake snorkels mounted just behind the occupants' heads. It is PDK-only, like every modern RS; the manual that defined the lesser Spyders is gone by design. The hardware is GT4 RS: ball-jointed suspension, the RS aero and cooling package, carbon-ceramics optional. Where it places in the lineage, this is the open-top GT4 RS, not a trim of the regular Spyder — a separate, GT-grade halo. The +79 hp, the extra 1,000 rpm of redline and the unfiltered induction put it on a different tier, and Porsche frames it as the pinnacle of mid-engine open-top driving. It is also a full stop: the final newly-developed combustion-engine 718 before the line goes electric, which is why it was spoken for almost immediately. Where the manual Spyders were about lightness and analogue feel, the RS is about the GT engine — the most extreme the badge has ever been.
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
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GT3-derived 9A2 Evo 4.0 shared with the 718 Cayman GT4 RS and 992 GT3. Process-air intake snorkels sit just behind the occupants' heads for the induction soundtrack. PDK-only. The final newly-developed combustion-engine 718 before the line goes electric.