The one Porsche I can‘t stop talking about

by Andrew Maness

April 3, 2021

Before launching into the kind of stream of consciousness soliloquy for which I was known for in my early years in this racket, I think it’s a good idea to make damn sure you understand what the 2021 Porsche 718 Spyder is and is not. Misconceptions abound when it comes to Porsche, which is fair given the company’s propensity to reuse names, add some numbers to a model here, subtract some numbers from a model there, and generally have history of designations that to an American mind-- could be best described as completely cattywampus. It all makes sense to the Germans though, and likely most of their neighbors, so here we are and here we’ll stay.

The 718 Spyder is not a Boxster, even though its hardtop sibling, the 718 Cayman GT4, is a Cayman, as denoted by the inclusion of the word Cayman in the name. The 718 Spyder is a convertible two seater made by Porsche and in the past decade Porsche did in fact make a Boxster Spyder, the first coming in 2010 and a new model in 2016, but this 2021 718 Spyder is clearly a departure from those two cars because again, it is not a Boxster. If you want a Boxster, Porsche currently offers five variants of the 718 Boxster, including a beautiful 25th Anniversary edition that calls to mind the 1993 Boxster concept that made my jaw drop as a 7 year old and had me immediately asking for a 1:18 scale model, which I still have to this day. My point is that although the name may be absent from the top tier variant, Porsche still believes in the Boxster name. And they damn well should given that the Boxster saved the company from bankruptcy or worse, having to sell out to Toyota. With that being the case you’d think there would be some real reverence for the Boxster among automotive enthusiasts, but apart from those that really “get it”, there’s not. Chalk it up to outdated notions of what is or isn’t a masculine car(there’s no such thing as a masculine or feminine vehicle, vehicles are genderless inanimate objects) or the equally stupid view that a Boxster is little more than “the entry level Porsche”(it’s a mid-engine sports car with a good power-to-weight-ratio and available manual transmission) but either way the Boxster doesn’t generally get the respect it deserves. Taking all that into consideration makes the absence of the Boxster name from the seriously special 718 Spyder that much more of a head scratcher. Then again, I’m but a simple wheel jockey and I probably lack the capacity to understand such delicate decisions. Frankly they could have called this car something completely asinine, I’d still be enamored with it. It’s that good.

The best cars I drive get under my skin and into my bones. They’re memorable in a way that typically is reserved for really, really ridiculously good looking people or experiences that touch the most primal parts of my being. A crisp winter morning on my favorite canyon roads with the 718 Spyder is right up there with the conversations I’ve had with Alessandra Ambrosio or Aldis Hodge. It’s like a midweek blower powder day at Mammoth free from the action selfie stick wielding crowds or getting a clean lap through the snake section at Venice skatepark. It’s equally about the freedom to just flow and at the same time being held captive by something stunning. It’s hard to put a fine point on it, but that’s literally what I’m here for and a basic understanding of the technical might help, because without that it’s hard to gauge the effect of the perfect driving environment that is a misty 48 degree morning in Southern California from the actual prowess of the vehicle.

Before launching into the kind of stream of consciousness soliloquy for which I was known for in my early years in this racket, I think it’s a good idea to make damn sure you understand what the 2021 Porsche 718 Spyder is and is not. Misconceptions abound when it comes to Porsche, which is fair given the company’s propensity to reuse names, add some numbers to a model here, subtract some numbers from a model there, and generally have history of designations that to an American mind-- could be best described as completely cattywampus. It all makes sense to the Germans though, and likely most of their neighbors, so here we are and here we’ll stay.

Contrary to what some know-it-all at your local Cars & Coffee told you, the 2021 718 Spyder doesn’t run a detuned version of the 4.0 litre flat six found in the previous 911 GT3 and Speedster. Instead, a bored out version of the 3.0 litre twin-turbo found in the new 911 has been stuck in the middle of the 718 platform and had the turbos removed. A common criticism has been that this engine lacks the rawness that characterized the two previous Spyder variants. Having not driven either of those cars(holler if you can help remedy that) I can’t make a comparison, however I will say that with the top down I found there to be no lack of personality. With the top up, sure, I suppose I could do with more of a “motorsport” sound, but it doesn’t critically hurt the allure of the car, and really you should have the top down every chance you get. After all, this is a Spyder.

Apart from the engine the 718 Spyder differs from other 718 Boxster models in that throws of the shifter are shorter, the steering is telepathically direct, the brakes are firm AF and the suspension is simply magical. Again, having not driven previous iterations I can’t speak to the difference in damping, but compared to the other 718 Boxsters I’ve driven the 718 Spyder handles like a completely different vehicle. We’re talking McLaren quality suspension tuning here. Firm when you want firm, less firm when you want less firm, which living in Los Angeles you definitely want less firm most of the time. Upsetting the 718 Spyder seems damn near impossible even if you’re not the most skilled driver. It’s like Porsche acknowledged that not all of their customers are well studied German drivers and made one of their sportiest cars safe for the deep pocketed overconfident masses. It’s yet another testament to Porsche’s knack for going above and beyond when it comes to covering all bases with their vehicles.

If however you have a great deal of experience with regard to high performance driving, the 718 Spyder is a gift that keeps on giving. I could not get my mind off the car the entire time it was in my possession. It seemed criminal to let it sit when it was clearly happy to keep going all day and all night. So every free moment I had I took it out, because even just a short run up to the closest canyon road 15 minutes away would leave me with memories that will last a lifetime. Taking the whole package into consideration I can’t think of another new vehicle I’ve driven that’s so complete. The sharpness of the gearbox, the precision of the steering, the way it looks(especially with the top down), there is nothing else on the new car market today that offers such a classically dramatic and engaging drive. This is Porsche operating at their best and if we are indeed in the twilight years of the internal combustion engine, the 718 Spyder will go down as one of the last truly great sports cars to roam the roads. Order books close in September, act accordingly.