Porsche 718 Spyder RS debuts as final 718 model with internal combustion engine

Porsche introduced the 718 Spyder RS, the final 718 model with an internal combustion engine. Priced at a whopping $162,150, the Porsche 718 Spyder is a Cayman GT4 RS with its roof yanked off. It gets a retractable and manually operated fabric roof, offering the owners the charm of open-top driving.

Porsche claims the 718 Spyder RS is not a carbon copy of the Cayman GT4 RS since the Spyder RS has different tunings for the springs and dampers to achieve a more comfortable ride to fulfil customer expectations in a better manner.

The Porsche 718 Spyder RS weighs 1,410 kg, making it 40 kg lighter than the non-RS variant. The car looks nearly as similar to its coupe sibling with the roof on. Porsche claims that its internal combustion engine has been lowered by 30 mm, and it runs on 20-inch forged wheels, which optional magnesium wheels can replace.

Speaking about the other elements of the car, the single-layer sun sail, and wind deflector weighs 18.3 kg combined. Shedding these make the car 7.6 kg lighter than the Porsche 718 Spyder. Also, it comes 16.5 kg lighter than the 718 Boxster.

Porsche is offering a Weissach Package for the mid-engined sportscar. Under this package, the exhaust tips are influenced by the 2018 Porsche 935. The all-new sportscar mirrors the flagship Cayman in terms of the powertrain. It draws power from a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre engine borrowed from the 911 GT3. Mated to a seven-speed PDK transmission, this engine churns out 493 hp of peak power and 450 Nm of maximum torque. The car can sprint 0-100 kmph in 3.4 seconds and 0-200 kmph in 10.9 seconds. It can run at a top speed of 308 kmph.