The Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder is a stellar sports car, for it is great to drive and sounds the business. At Rs 89.95 lakh, it is great value given how capable it is and will certainly make for a wonderful future classic. The difference between the Cayman GT4 and the Spyder is the aerodynamic packaging. While the GT4 gets a huge rear wing, the Spyder makes do with a smaller retractable wing that sits flush with the bodywork. Even the front splitter isn’t as prominent as the GT4’s.
Look at me
The 718 Spyder is a very attractive sports car; perhaps the best-looking in the 718 range. At the front, the bumper gets huge air ducts, stylish headlights and a sloping bonnet. The side profile includes air inlets on the rear haunches. The twin buttresses on the rear deck give the 718 Spyder a very sophisticated look, and helps you separate it from the rest of the range. The tail lights get a smoked-out look with black accents running through the middle. The twin exhausts look sporty as well.
A sporty cabin
The interior of the Porsche 718 Spyder looks pretty minimalist and well-built, but doesn’t match the new 992-generation 911 for modernity. There are lots of buttons on the centre console and the central dashboard fascia. The graphics on the infotainment display could’ve been better. We love the instrument cluster for its simplistic appeal. The seats are nice and snug and the quality of materials is top-notch with lots of leather, Alcantara and polished metal-like panels. The solidity of plastics is very impressive. The Alcantara-clad sports steering is motorsport-inspired and isn’t cluttered with buttons. The carbon-fibre buckets seats provide great lateral support. While the seatback is fixed, the height of the seat base can be electronically adjusted. There are door bins and cup holders as well and the storage compartment at the front has a capacity of 150 litres while the one at the rear has a capacity of 120 litres. The 7.0-inch touchscreen is neatly integrated in the dashboard while below it, you will find buttons that give you access to its sub-menus. It gets features like satellite navigation, DAB radio and Bluetooth connectivity and Apple CarPlay. A Burmester surround-sound system can be opted for as well.
Power play
The 718 Spyder is powered by a 4.0-litre, naturally-aspirated, flat-six engine that produces 414bhp and 420Nm of torque, paired only to 6-speed manual transmission. The car can sprint from 0-100kph in 4.4 seconds and can reach a top speed of 301kph. Power delivery is linear, throttle responsive is great and the motor seems very flexible as well.
Under the skin
It also gets Porsche’s Active Suspension Management damping system. Also part of the package is a torque-vectoring system and Porsche Stability Management. It comes with the option of ceramic brakes too and comes shod with Porsche-specific Michelin high-performance tyres. Also, grab the latest info on the upcoming cars, only at autoX.
