Porsche Ownership – Economics and Emotions Series
by Tom Kirk, Financial Advisor – Savant Wealth Management, tkirk@savantwealth.com, 321-241-1313
It still amazes me how fast and how far you can travel today by commercial airlines for a few hundred dollars. Air travel from Melbourne to Atlanta, to spend a day at the Porsche Experience Center, only costs around $500 for the round-trip on Delta. Extra legroom costs around $600. But first-class will cost you over $1,100. This is a large jump in price just for the priority seating and free drinks of first-class (no meal since such a short flight), and is an example of the law of diminishing marginal returns. The first $500 gets you quickly to and from Atlanta (big bang for the bucks). The last $500 only gets you a bigger seat at the front of the same plane (not as much marginal bang for these marginal bucks).
Is the law of diminishing marginal returns evident in the price of Porsches as well? Consider the 718 Boxster. The Boxster is credited as playing a crucial role in saving Porsche from bankruptcy when it was introduced in 1997. Now, in 2025, we are seeing the last gas-powered iterations of this beloved roadster before it becomes an EV. The base 718 Boxster starts at $77,600. For this price, you get a 300 hp, mid-engine, nimble, well-balanced, convertible Porsche. That’s a lot of bang for the buck. The other end of the 718 Boxster spectrum is the Spyder RS. Starting at $170,100, it is over twice the cost of the base model. Is it twice the car?
Some people might say no. To the casual observer these two cars look similar. Same wheelbase, silhouette, and side body panels. Sure, the Spyder RS has a different rear deck and some interesting ducts on the hood and front fenders, and it has 500 hp vs. 300 hp in the base model. But who needs 500 hp anyway? And the roof of the Spyder RS is not automatic like in the base model and must be manually put up and down. They say Porsche can uniquely charge its customers more money for less convenience (i.e. fabric door pulls).
But a Porsche enthusiast would probably say yes, the 718 Spyder RS is twice the car that the base Boxster is. It’s not just any 500 hp engine, but an engine directly from Porsche Motorsports. It is the same naturally aspirated, four-liter, 9,000 RPM screamer that is in the 911 GT3, GT3RS and GT3 Cup racecar, but in the smaller, light-weight chassis of the 718 Boxter. That chassis being optimized to support this increased engine performance with features including Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), a mechanical rear limited-slip differential, and ball jointed suspension bearings.
Measuring bang for the buck is a subjective thing. First-class is almost always sold out in the flights I take. It doesn’t matter that I think $1,100 is too much to pay for an hour and a half flight to Atlanta and back. There are obviously lots of other people who think that this is a good deal. Likewise with a 718 Spyder RS. The demand for this car has outpaced its production, making allocations hard to come by and dealer mark-ups common. If you want a Porsche Motorsports influenced, mid-engine, light-weight convertible with a 500 hp, 9,000 RPM engine, one of a kind and the last of its kind, then the 718 Spyder RS is the only car to get.
I say the 718 Spyder RS is not an example of the law of diminishing marginal returns and worth every penny. This combined with the likely increasing value of this unique car makes the extra money paid at purchase like a refundable deposit that is returned when the car is sold while having the opportunity to drive and enjoy an exceptional vehicle in the meantime. (Click here for my article about the refundable deposit idea). I’m elated that I got mine.
