Sunday Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: A car in search of a road

A manual gearbox with the good old H-pattern shifter is quite a treat in this age of twin-clutch transmissions and paddle-shifters. In fact, for purists, there’s no better treat than this car—the Porsche 718 Spyder.

Gloriously gizmo-free

As far as driving experiences go, it’s hard to find anything as pure and deeply analogue as the 718 Spyder, which combines one of the most loved naturally aspirated engines, a snickety-slick, six-speed manual gearbox, and a soft top that exposes you to the elements, all wrapped in what is possibly the best balanced chassis in the world.

At one level, the Spyder is an escape from today’s geeky digital world in which multiple screens, driver assistance aids and connected tech is what is selling cars today. The 718 Spyder arrogantly shuns these gizmos. The small touchscreen looks and feels outdated, all the dials are analogue and even the soft-top operation is manual. Porsche isn’t out to please everyone. This is a car that has the joy of driving at its heart.

Taking off the fabric hood is no joy though. It has to be manually done and is quite fiddly. Another issue is ground clearance. Sitting 39mm lower than a standard Boxster, large speed breakers have to be treated with caution to prevent teeth clenching contact with the underbody.

Speed king

The Ambenali ghat just below Mahabaleshwar is pure 718 Spyder country, a place where the otherwise illogical convertible has a sense of purpose. With the top down and nothing but a few inches of air between your ears and the flat-six, the engine sound at full chat is nothing less than theatrical.

On a tight and twisty road, the sense of control you get with this brilliant engine and the precise-short throw manual gearbox is sublime. Spyder’s 4-litre flat-six motor is so responsive, reacting with millimetric precision to the tiniest of the throttle inputs in each gear. The trouble is that you can only use first and second gear of this six-speeder to the fullest because of the ridiculously tall gearing, which is one of the Spyder’s few flaws. This engine makes its magic close to the 8,000 rpm limit, which means, in second gear, you are past an illegal 130kph.

On the Ambenali ghat, I was limited to first and second gears and occasionally shifted to third. The Spyder gets into its stride at around 3,000 rpm, is blisteringly quick at 5,000 rpm and goes completely ballistic when you approach 8,000 rpm. Be in no doubt, this is a very fast car, hitting 100kph from standstill in 4.4 seconds. If you hire the NATRAX high-speed track, you’ll get the only chance to max out the Spyder in all six gears and hit a top speed of 301kph.

The beauty of the Spyder is how easy it is to drive fast. The outstanding chassis, the pin-sharp steering, the swift brakes and the finesse of all its controls makes you feel totally connected and one with the car.

An urban nightmare

However, the Spyder needs commitment if you want to enjoy it to the fullest. And that commitment means having the time and inclination to seek out Spyder roads because honestly, in the city, it’s like a fish out of water.

Driving out of Mumbai was painful. The massive speed breakers had me on edge and the heavy clutch was sheer torture in stop-start rush hour traffic. Don’t even think of buying this car if you’re going to use it in the city. But if you find the right road, there is simply no other car that offers the focussed, precise and approachable character of the Spyder, along with the thrill of an open top.

For the money ( ₹1.77 crore, ex-showroom) the Spyder is simply the best driver’s car you can buy today. Period.

The views expressed by the columnist are personal

From HT Brunch, January 7, 2023

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