Porsche 718 vs Audi R8

What's the difference?

“If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance.”

King Theoden may have been talking about the men and women of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings, but he could have just as easily been talking about the team behind the Porsche 718 Boxster.

It’s been nearly 30 years (yes, that long) since the Boxster joined the Porsche line-up as the more affordable sports car alternative to the 911, but now it’s facing a dramatic change that will make it a very different beast.

Porsche has committed to an electric future for the 718 but before it does so, there was one more petrol-powered version to create, this one, the 718 Spyder RS. It stands to be the final 718 to have an internal combustion engine, but could also be the best.

The 718 Spyder RS is the Boxster version of the previously released Cayman-based GT4 RS. So it takes every element of the sports car and turns it up to 11. This is faster, more powerful, lighter and more dynamic than the Boxster has ever been.

Supercars can sometimes be seen as the divas of the auto world – delicate, over-the-top, not very good with reality. Well that may be the case for some supercars but not Audi's R8. It's affordable by supercar standards, easy to drive and still very, very fast.

Now the updated R8 has arrived, looking fiercer than ever, but remaining one of the smartest supercar buys on the market. But did you know there are two types of R8? Both have very distinct personalities and I lived with them for two days – in the reality of road works and also ideal country roads.

Here's everything you need to know...