Porsche’s petrol 718 Spyder is a monster with phenomenal noise, scalpel-sharp steering & brakes as sticky as porridge

THE road up to Col de Turini is sketchy.

Snow and ice narrow the mountain pass to little more than a car’s width.

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There’s a hungry wall of rock on one side and a sheer drop to oblivion on the other.

But I’m in my element.

I feel at one with the car.

This isn’t PlayStation.

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I can’t reset if I go off.

This is real and intense.

This is why God gave us two hands and a steering wheel.

And a petrol engine.

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For a rally fan, Col de Turini is the most famous stretch of road on Rallye Monte-Carlo — and arguably the entire World Rally Championship.

Like Eau Rouge is for Formula 1.

Crowds come here to party as their heroes flash by in a haze of flares and fireworks.

It’s on my bucket list to contest the Monte.

But the next best thing is to pinball up these twisty mountain roads, high in the Alps above Monaco, in a Porsche.

Any Porsche, really. They all put hairs on your peaches.

Special sauce

This one is extra special because it’s the open-air 718 Spyder RS.

The last small pure petrol Porsche.

The next 718 models will be electric.

Like the hardtop Cayman GT4 RS, the Spyder RS is powered by the same naturally-aspirated 4-litre flat-six as a 911 GT3.

It’s a monster 500hp and revs to 9,000rpm.

The noise is phenomenal.

It’s like having your own personal orchestra nestled behind your lugholes.

Electrification will never replace the sound, feeling or vibration produced by a high-performance engine.

But it’s not just the noise that makes you fall in love . . . every inch of the Spyder RS has been baked in special sauce.

The engine is paired with a short-ratio PDK gearbox for lightning-quick acceleration.

Softer springs (compared to the track-ready GT4 RS) make it better suited to normal roads.

The steering is scalpel-sharp.

The bulging brakes are stickier than porridge.

It’s impossible to be glum at the wheel of this car.

The black carbon-fibre bonnet and air intakes shave a bit of weight, as do the titanium exhausts and magnesium wheels.

That’s also why there are red fabric straps for door handles in a £123k motor.

Ah yes, the price.

Expensive, isn’t it? But then again, no. Not really. It’s surely a sound investment as one of the last special pure petrol sports cars.

We’ve already seen the 911 R triple in value to £400k-plus.

What’s next from Porsche?

Bosses will be unveiling the new electric-only Macan in Shanghai today. But the current model will continue for those who want petrol.

We’re also expecting a 911 hybrid later this year and a crazy-fast Taycan Turbo GT.

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A prototype of the electric four-seater lapped the Nordschleife within two seconds of the £2million 2,000hp Rimac Nevera.

But I’d still want a Spyder RS to do Col de Turini.

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