718 Boxster

Some roads change character the moment the roof disappears. The Alghero–Bosa coast road is the proof: some forty kilometres carved into the cliff face, the sea always on your right, griffon vultures wheeling above the sheer drop at Capo Marargiu. In a coupé you watch it; in a Boxster you are inside it, the wind carrying salt and helichrysum into the cabin. It is no accident that this roadster features in our selection of 7 perfect convertibles for the Sardinian coast.

The north-west is its kingdom: the climb to Capo Caccia with the white cliff falling sheer to the sea, the pine woods of Porto Conte, the thin road running out to Stintino and La Pelosa. Starting from the Coral Riviera, Porsche rental in Alghero with hotel delivery makes everything immediate; and to weigh up the open-top alternatives, the full range of convertibles for rent in Sardinia is a click away.

The fabric roof vanishes in seconds, even during a slow manoeuvre outside the hotel, and from that moment the soundtrack is the flat-four working behind your shoulders: a dense burble at low revs, a raw, granular voice as the needle climbs, crackles on the overrun bouncing off the rock in the tunnels towards Bosa. The 6-speed manual keeps you inside the machinery, gear after gear, with no screens in between.

Open to the sky, the Boxster also teaches you another speed: the slow one. The wind deflector keeps the air in check so conversation never needs a raised voice, the mid-engined chassis makes every turn-in fluid, and the Miami Blue paintwork seems made to mirror itself in the turquoise of Cala Dragunara. The golden light at six in the evening, in these parts, is an option no configurator can offer.

The GTS swaps the four-cylinder for the naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six: longer legs, a full, classic voice, the temperament of an open grand tourer. It is the Boxster for covering the whole coastline, from Castelsardo to Santa Teresa Gallura, switching between promenade pace and committed stretches without ever changing car in your head.

The Spyder RS is the opposite extreme — and the forbidden dream: a GT3-derived engine, a roof pared to the essentials, weight and filters at a minimum. A roadster for collectors of experiences, to be booked for the driving day that justifies the journey. To find out which of the two souls matches your Sardinia, write to our WhatsApp concierge: check availability.