A Collector’s Enthusiasm Brings Three of 39 Worldwide 000 718 Spyders Together for Rare Gathering

There are car magazines, and then there’s 000. The gap between the two is almost as wide as the transcontinental mileage from New York to London, a no-compromise amalgamation of visual art, the written word, and a wonderfully premium tactile experience. 000 is a “magazine” as much as Porsche is a “car”. It’s fitting enough that 000 and Porsche would eventually cross more deliberate paths. 

2022 presented that opportunity: a collaboration between 000 and Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur that would mesh the magazine’s nuanced tastes with the marque’s tailor-making skunkworks team. Four hues were available as part of the named “000 Package”—GT Silver Metallic, Brewster Green, Albert Blue, and Slate Gray. Regardless of your exterior color preference, the interior was trimmed in handsome Ascot Brown leather with Pebble Grey stitching and dark, brushed aluminum trim. The yellow calipers that typically accompany Porsche’s ceramic composite brakes were ditched for black very deliberately—there’d be no color-clashing here—and I deeply respect the subtlety. The 000 718 Spyder, then, is a car for those in the know. 

In fairness, so is the magazine. 000 isn’t something you can go to your local Barnes and Noble to browse; it is a luxury item that is delivered—on a quarterly basis—directly to two camps: enthusiasts who currently live and breathe the brand and aspiring owners who are already well acquainted with the Porsche moniker. People outside of these realms may scoff at the $275 annual subscription, but until you’ve received it, handled it, and read it, you really have no place to argue; the entire experience—whether it’s the first read or the fifth—is more special to handle than a college diploma. And the magazine is much cheaper than that.

That’s a very long and winding road to get back to why we’re here: the cars. Porsche Warrington has been a 000 supporter since its earliest days and was among the first to sign the paperwork to nab the Brewster Green and Slate Gray examples you see here. The third car—the GT Silver Spyder—arrived recently as part of the dealership’s quest to collect them all, or at least one of each color. That pursuit is more difficult than you’d think—there are only 39 examples of the 000 718 Spyder in the world—and many of the owners are out there actually enjoying them on the road (gasp) rather than relegating them to bubbles in climate-controlled garages to preserve their value.

I think that’s what I appreciate most about readers and appreciators of 000. As much as the journal does to make you revere Porsche, it does so in a way that encourages you to treat them as experiential tools, a soundtrack of all five senses that’s meant to be played on a loop, instead of sterile, single-digit-mile museum pieces. There’s nothing worse than seeing a battery tender spending more time with a Porsche than the owner giving it the exercise it deserves. And that’s exactly what Porsche Warrington does regularly. Remove the tedious Photoshop work and you’ll find bugs splattered generously and ceremoniously across each car’s front fascia. What a heavenly way to die.

The 987 Spyder launched fifteen years ago and the theme has been consistent since: it has been emphatically overshadowed by its GT brethren, and in many cases, even its Cayman equivalents. But people have recently started to recognize what some of us have known all along: the Boxster Spyder deserves a place in the spotlight. As a styling exercise, I’d argue that a Spyder is more special than the Cayman R or GT4. Knowing that the 987 borrowed a lot of its styling cues from the 550 (Spyder) and this latest generation from the Carrera GT, it’s a hard argument to refute; those are some of the best-looking Porsches ever made.

Take style out of the equation, and the Spyder is still one of the all-time greats because of how well it drives. I’d wager that nine out of ten people could pilot the Spyder faster and with more confidence than a GT car right out of the gate; thanks to its layout and emphasis on keeping the curb weight down, it’s light on its feet. Admittedly, the 718 is 400 lbs up over the original 987 recipe, but for a modern car, it’s still a proper featherweight.

The only shame about the 000 Spyder is that you’ll seldom run into another one that you can share the twisties with over the weekend. Its 39-unit production run made sure of that. Your only option is trying to pry the keys away from Porsche Warrington to join them for a Saturday morning jaunt through Pennsylvania’s winding B roads. It feels like they simply paved where the horses walked—a bit to and fro—rather than build exacting, logical grids. It’s indisputably old school, but that’s made wheeling these roads far more entertaining than the Midwest roads I grew up driving. The analog experience is also what’s made the Spyder one of the most tempting grabs from your pile of keys and rowing through its gears reminds you of two very important things: 1.) that there’s never been much need for more than 500hp and 2.) a 000 Spyder should absolutely be on your forever car wish list if it isn’t already.

Thank you to Marc and David from Porsche Warrington for allowing us to spend some time with these 000 Spyders for the day. And to 000 Magazine for applying its no-compromise philosophy to create such special machines.