Update: Added 16 additional spy photos to a new gallery, available below.
It’s officially a Porsche day at Motor1.com today as news from Stuttgart just won’t stop coming. After seeing the refreshed Cayenne Coupe GTS lapping the Nurburgring, we have an even hotter Porsche vehicle being evaluated at the famous track. What you see in the gallery below is a test prototype of what we believe is the 718 Boxster Spyder RS.
This is not the first time we see a test car for the hardcore Boxster and actually, this is the very same prototype that we photographed earlier in August. However, this time around, the roof of the car is open and we can see the headrests have embroidered Weissach logos, suggesting this car might be equipped with the Weissach Package.
First offered for the 918 Spyder supercar several years ago, the Weissach Package adds lightweight components to the vehicle in order to reduce its overall weight. It was then available for some 911 models and the sports car automaker has hinted it might introduce it to other nameplates, including the Boxster/Cayman duo and the Cayenne.
Gallery: Porsche 718 Spyder RS Weissach New Spy Shots
Aside from the Weissach logo on the seats, this prototype looks unchanged compared to the previous 718 Boxster Spyder RS shots we’ve seen. This is surely a long name but the RS badge will reportedly bring a healthy power increase. We are confident there’s a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six engine sourced from the Porsche 911 GT3 behind the driver. It is expected to produce somewhere around 493 hp or the same power it has in the most hardcore Cayman version. Power will be routed towards the rear wheels through a dual-clutch transmission.
Gallery: Porsche 718 Spyder RS Weissach spy photos
Numerous aerodynamic upgrades are also in the cards. From what we are able to see, Porsche has installed small vents that sit on top of the quarter panels, modified vent housings angling towards the mid-mount engine at the back, and larger side vents. There might be other tweaks too and it’s important to note the vehicle rides on center-lock wheels worthy of the RS badge.
As a final note, the 718 Cayman GT4 RS accelerates to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 3.2 seconds and has a top speed of 196 mph (315 kph). We expect the 718 Boxster Spyder RS to be a tad slower given the expected higher weight compared to the coupe.
