It’s a recipe with almost limitless appeal: just two seats, a modest kerb weight, rear-wheel drive and a naturally aspirated engine. Plus, of course, a manual gearbox.
Any one of these five ingredients is to be welcomed with open arms in the world of the driver’s cars but the truth is that, these days, seldom do we see even three of them together in the same machine. And four? Depressingly rare.
The subject of today’s road test has the full quintet. Porsche is the manufacturer to deliver it, although not long ago, with legislation demanding ever-lower emissions and market research showing most buyers wanted the convenience and rapidity of the firm’s dual-clutch automatic transmissions, such a car appeared to be destined for the marque’s back catalogue.
How unexpectedly things can change. In recent years, Porsche has reversed not only its decision to banish a clutch pedal from its most popular GT-division model – the excellent 911 GT3 – but also its decision to ditch flat-six engines for the 718 Cayman and Boxster in favour of comparatively dreary turbocharged flat fours.
For an organisation historically so committed to driving pleasure, these acts were met with bemusement, but following the reintroduction of the manual gearbox for the GT3, a new naturally aspirated flat six has now been developed for the 718 twins. Both the new 718 Spyder (there is no ‘Boxster’ any more) and Cayman GT4, revealed together last summer, are therefore ‘quintet’ cars.
