2020 Porsche 718 Spyder Base

The 718 Spyder is Porsche's open-top, track-focused roadster, the one you buy when you want the mid-engine feel without the 911's rear-engine weight. It's the rare modern car that rewards you for slowing down and revving it out, with a naturally aspirated flat-six that sings all the way to redline. The chassis is stiff and the steering is alive, so it carves corners with a precision you'll feel through the seat and the wheel. Inside, it's a no-frills cockpit with manual seats and minimal sound deadening, which keeps it light but means you'll hear plenty of road and wind noise. The Spyder is the purist's pick over the Boxster, swapping a power top for a manual one and dropping weight to sharpen the handling. The cabin strips out sound deadening and uses pull-straps for the doors, which keeps weight under 3,206 pounds but makes every road noise audible.