With electricity slowly taking over as the eventual, main propulsion method, even brands such as Porsche, which are big on tradition, are forced to change their focus. For now, the iconic 911 will remain internal-combustion-powered, but things are different for its smaller sibling, the 718, which will go fully electric, in 2025. However, the latest spy footage suggests that the current 718 Boxster will not go down quietly. A hardcore version of the open-top 718 has been spotted and it’s powered by one of the company’s most exciting engines.

So far, the most exciting versions of the Porsche 718 were reserved for the Cayman. The Boxster Spyder RS changes that, before the model’s apparent demise, come 2025. Underneath the bodywork, resides a mid-mounted, 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated flat-six, shared with the 911 GT3. Like in the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, the high-revving flat-six has been turned around 180 degrees.

It produced 493 horsepower at 8,400 RPM and 331 pound-feet (449 Nm) at 6,250 RPM and has a redline of 9,000 RPM. It’s worth noting that this engine has nothing in common with the 4.0-liter flat-six in the regular Cayman GT4, which is actually, based on the 3.0-liter flat-six, minus the twin-turbocharging.

The hot Porsche Boxster test prototype comes with dual-streamliner bulges at the rear, similar to those on Porsche’s Speedster models. You also get the obligatory for a track-focused variant - center-lock wheels - which in this case, seem to be identical to one of the wheel designs, offered on the 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

The Boxster Spyder RS features the same front fascia as the Cayman GT4 RS, but with slightly more restrained air ducts, in front of the wheel arches. The only novelty on the side is the redesigned side air intakes, which are split into two sections, and lack the carbon-fiber blade of the 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

Normally, the open-top version of a car is more mildly-mannered. While the car in front of us, is a pre-production prototype and not all of the features may be present, we see the front trunk lid and front wings lack air vents, in contrast to the Cayman GT4 RS.

Going to the rear, we see additional air intakes on top of the rear quarter-panels, but the typical-for-the-RS-models tall rear wing is lacking. Instead, there seems to be an active rear spoiler that could double as an air brake.

As for what you can expect in terms of performance, the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, which has the same engine, can sprint to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.2 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 196 mph (315 km/h). The fixed-roof model also weighs 3,227 pounds (1,463 kg), but this figure is expected to be slightly heavier than the Cayman GT4 RS, but it all depends on how much chassis strengthening is required and whether or not the soft top will be manually-operated (probably, yes).

The Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder RS is scheduled to debut in 2023 and it will be one of the last versions of the 718 to come with an internal combustion engine, before the mid-engine model transitions to a fully electric powertrain, in 2025. As far as Porsche engines go, we couldn’t think of a more appropriate one for the combustion-powered 718’s swan song.