Porsche unveils 2024 718 Spyder RS — outrun the sun

Porsche’s RS treatment as seen on the 718 Cayman GT4 has come to the Spyder. Packing 493 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, the hot-to-trot drop-top will rip off a 60 mph run in just 3.2 seconds on the way to a top speed of 191 miles per hour. That’s a whole lot of wind in your hair.

Sticking to the previous RS formula, the Spyder packs Porsche’s 4.0-liter flat-six mated to a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox. It borrows its front-end design from the Cayman GT4 RS, sucking more air into the Spyder RS’s cooling features without an outsize impact on its aerodynamics. The front lip is carbon fiber and the winglets on the edges of the front bumper add downforce. In place of the GT4 RS’s protruding rear wing, the Spyder is rockin’ a ducktail spoiler.

The Spyder’s manual soft top breaks down into two pieces — sun shield and weather protector — that can be stowed right in the car. The sun shield can be used alone or paired with the weather protector for the closest you’ll get to a water-tight driving experience; just make sure you remember to put the windows up. This bikini is 16 pounds lighter than the standard 718’s one-piece. See? There are practical benefits to going slinky.

Porsche’s Active Suspension Management (PASM) is standard, as is the mechanical torque-vectoring limited-slip rear differential. Components from the Cayman GT4’s suspension were repurposed here as well and the fully adjustable setup carries over, from the ride height to the anti-roll bar stiffness. Porsche says the Spyder’s ride will be a bit more touring-oriented than the Cayman GT4’s to achieve a “more relaxed, characteristically convertible-style set-up.”

The interior has been stripped to its “functional and ergonomic essentials,” Porsche says. The carbon-fiber full-bucket seats are designed for lateral support while still offering adjustability. Despite the broader air of performance-minded austerity, the dash and trim pieces are still adorned in leather. What are we, farmers?

Porsche’s treatment takes 59 pounds out of the RS compared to the normal Spyder, but if that’s not enough (and of course it’s not, right?) there’s the Weissach package, which adds an exposed carbon fiber hood, carbon fiber side air scoops, and a carbon fiber Gurney flap on the rear spoiler. You can also spec this out with forged magnesium wheels. Porsche says only that they are “particularly lightweight”; perhaps the final figure is not yet available.

The 2024 Porsche 718 Spyder RS will make its worldwide debut at Porsche’s June festivities celebrating 75 years of sports cars in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, after which it will appear at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It will go on sale in the U.S. next spring for $162,150 — give or take a hundred thousand or two.