Embodying the spirit of the Porsche 550 Spyder, the Rubau Speedster drives as well as it looks, with one caveat that has more to do with Porsche than Rubau. Since the car is based on the 982-generation 718 Spyder RS, and all RS models are PDK-only, there is no manual gearbox option. Is this a problem?
Threading my way along near-empty, winding country roads north of Girona, Spain with the wind in my hair and nature flashing past in a blur, it quickly became clear that the missing ingredient that would elevate an already heady experience into something truly inspirational was a manual gearbox. That, however, is a matter of personal taste. Some drivers will find the seamless, race-car-fast upshifts and downshifts of Porsche’s PDK transmission perfectly suited to the car’s character.
It brought to mind a conversation I had in 2017 with Andreas ‘Andy’ Preuninger, Porsche’s Head of GT Cars, following the backlash from enthusiasts when the 991.1-gen 911 GT3 was launched as PDK-only. Customer demand for a manual option echoed all the way back to Zuffenhausen, ultimately leading to the 991.2 GT3 being offered with both manual and PDK transmissions. In closing our discussion, Preuninger remarked that which version he took home after work depended entirely on his mood that day.
The Rubau Speedster is a highly focused driving machine, conceived purely for high days and holidays. For me, full driver engagement can only come via a clutch pedal and gear lever. Rubau does offer a manual option, but only when using the 420 hp non-RS Spyder as the base car. Beyond that caveat, the Rubau Speedster does exactly what it promises, delivering about as pure a driving experience as you will find this side of a fast motorcycle.
Who is Josep Rubau?
Now in his early fifties, Josep Rubau graduated from the University of Barcelona with a degree in Industrial Design, but it was the next step on his career ladder that truly set him apart. Each year, the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London offers just 12 places on its coveted Master’s degree in Automobile Design. With roughly 1,000 candidates from around the world competing for those places, selection is fiercely competitive. Rubau was one of the chosen 12 for the 1996-1997 intake, and he quickly established himself among his peers.
Sponsored by Volkswagen during his second year, Rubau’s graduation project was the 1997 Muira concept motorcycle, which won widespread acclaim. He subsequently joined Volkswagen’s Advanced Design Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany, where he worked on several projects over the next few years, including as part of the design team behind the Beetle Dune concept car unveiled in 2000.
Although he enjoyed his time in Germany, Rubau missed family life in Spain and eventually returned to his hometown of Roses, near Girona. A lifelong car and motorcycle enthusiast, he has always been drawn to the romance of open-air motoring, and it was there that the idea of creating his own car began to take hold.
The seed was planted during a conversation with a Welsh car collector at the RCA’s final-year award ceremony. The collector suggested that the world needed more cars with real character, and the pair went on to discuss a wild hypercar that might look like a cross between a Formula One car and a jet fighter.
Named after the mighty wind that blows around the Pyrenees, separating northern Spain from France, Rubau’s Tramontana prototype would be built around an immensely stiff carbon-fiber tub, with tubular steel front and rear spaceframes bolted to either end. After a six-year gestation period and the arrival of an investor, the Tramontana design study debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, followed a year later by a production-ready prototype.
The first time I saw the tandem two-seater, it conjured up images of Gordon Murray’s Light Car Company Rocket—albeit on steroids. Tipping the scales at 2,785 lbs, the open-wheel Tramontana weighed two times as much as the Rocket, but also offered more than four times the power (710 vs 165 hp).
By this point, Rubau had a firm grip on his destiny as an independent car designer. So when Jean Todt approached him at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show with a job offer, his instincts told him that Ferrari was not his path. Knowing his dream lay elsewhere, he turned down an opportunity most designers would have leapt at.
The improved Tramontana R of 2009 was a highlight of that year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. With its Mercedes V-12 uprated to 720 hp and delivering 811 lb-ft of torque, the Spanish supercar accelerated to 125 mph in just 10.15 seconds on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 203 mph. In total, seven examples were sold at 650,000 euros (approximately $467,600 in 2009 or $717,700 in 2026 U.S. dollars).
Following the Tramontana, Rubau applied his industrial design skills to create a water bike with a low center of gravity and an extendable keel for added stability. He founded Red Shark Bikes to bring the concept to market, and sales quickly took off. “It’s an amazing feeling out there on the water,” he says. “No traffic lights, no crowds—just fresh sea air and the silence of nature, all year round.”
“Years ago, I made a wager with two close school friends that if we were still alive and healthy at 50, we would do an extreme sports challenge together.” That challenge became a journey across the icy waters of Antarctica on Red Shark water bikes, an expedition captured on film that also proved to be an inspired marketing tool for the company. Yet there was no denying the gasoline running through Rubau’s veins. By 2021, he knew it was time to embark on another automotive project.
Redesigning a Porsche
“I spoke to my wife and children, who are all involved in our family business, and we mapped out the idea for a new car,” he explains. “My wife runs the administration, my son is a mechanical engineer, and my daughter has a degree in economics and business management. We agreed to carry over the logo from Tramontana, but this time we would put our family name on the car. That’s how Rubau Cars and the Speedster were born.”
The 718 Spyder RS-based prototype made its public debut at the Top Marques Monaco show in April 2025 as a tribute to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it was voted one of the standout cars on display. Drawing spiritual inspiration from Porsche’s classic mid-engined 550 Spyder, with its lithe form and small, frameless windscreen, the Rubau Speedster attracts attention wherever it goes. Driving through towns and villages, even those who clearly knew cars found themselves doing a double-take.
While the basic proportions of the 718 Spyder remain, every body panel on the Rubau Speedster is new, crafted from aluminum or carbon fiber and tailored to each client’s preferences. The sleeker profile and removal of the factory windscreen reduce drag by 12 percent, while the center of gravity is lowered by eight percent.
Although Porsche engineered an impressively rigid structure for the 718 Boxster and Spyder, Rubau went further. Carbon-fiber strut braces span the front and rear suspension turrets, while an additional brace reinforces the front bulkhead beneath the dashboard. Together, these measures increase torsional rigidity by approximately 17 percent, pushing the figure beyond 20,000 Nm per degree. That makes this open car more rigid than a 996-gen 911 coupe.
Power-to-weight ratio is a defining metric for any sports car. The prototype weighs 3,126 lbs, while the carbon-fiber-bodied production version will shed around 95 lbs. Rubau could have based the Speedster on the standard 718 Spyder and its 420 hp 4.0-liter 92A Evo engine, but at this level, absolutes matter. Using the Spyder RS and its race-derived 500 hp MA176 engine was the only logical choice, despite the fact that it comes exclusively with PDK.
For those seeking even more performance, the engine can be tuned to a reliable 550 hp. Exhaust gases exit through four outlets connected to a bespoke titanium system, handcrafted by a specialist in Madrid. Compared with the stock RS exhaust, the prototype system delivers a deeper, more bass-rich note, though Rubau says it can be tuned to evoke the full-blooded wail of a racing Porsche as the engine spins to its 9,000 rpm redline.
The Speedster’s cabin strikes an elegant balance between sport and luxury. A central structural strut between the seats, inspired by sports-racing cars of a bygone era, can be removed quickly by undoing just a pair of bolts.
The standard 918 Spyder-style carbon-fiber bucket seats are trimmed in tan and black leather, but with an unconventional asymmetry. The driver’s seat features tan bolsters with black center panels and a tan headrest, while the passenger seat reverses the scheme. Even the helmets stowed in the front luggage compartment mirror this detail.
As with any low-volume, hand-built car, paint and interior trim can be specified in factory colors or created to sample. Whichever route is chosen, the bespoke process ensures that no two Speedsters will be exactly alike. The prototype runs on Porsche factory alloy wheels and steel brakes, though Rubau offers lightweight forged wheels in either five-bolt or center-lock configuration. Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes remain an option.
Between 1970 and 2017, Porsche secured 19 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Rubau will build just 19 Speedsters in tribute. Each car carries a plaque in the front luggage compartment detailing a specific Le Mans year, the distance raced, and an iconic quotation from the drivers involved. Only one car will be allocated per market. Some will be built from new Spyder RS donor cars, while others may be converted from vehicles already owned by clients.
The Speedster is not the only Rubau concept. Illustrations show the same treatment applied to a 911 Cabriolet and even a 918 Spyder. While it is unlikely that many 918 owners will pursue such a transformation, the idea of a Rubau 911 Speedster is undeniably appealing.
The caveat is that the total production run of 19 cars applies across all three models. If all 19 allocations are taken by the 718-based Speedster, there will be no 911 or 918 variants. Whichever route an owner chooses, however, the spirit of open-air driving—experienced the old-fashioned way—remains central to the Rubau experience.
The Verdict
The Rubau Speedster wears its soul on its sleeve. It is a sharp, low-volume tribute to classic Porsche DNA, built upon a contemporary spine. The frame feels stiff, the flat-six hungry, and the handling surgical, providing a visceral connection that is becoming rare—even when channeled via PDK rather than a manual. While that transmission might slightly distance the most rigid purists from the asphalt, it never dilutes the car’s spirit. This Rubau Speedster is designed for fleeting, high-voltage bursts of driving joy, a mission it carries out with absolute grit, offering zero excuses and no concessions.
