Porsche Spyder Is Music to Our Ears

Some cars are for winning races. Some are for winning attention. The Porsche Spyder is for winning souls.

It's not the quickest car in the 718 Boxster/Cayman family. Or the most structurally stiff. But what it lacks on the spec sheet, it returns in deep and meaningful allure. We spent two days firing through the Spyder's six-speed gearbox, kissing 8000 rpm with its flat-six until our ears rang, and bending Southern California's Sierra Nevada roads to our will. No turbos, just a manual transmission and a 414-hp 4.0-liter flat-six with enough character to merit a documentary.