Porsche’s current 718 Cayman has been around since 2016. The car — at least in combustion form — appears to be at an evolutionary dead end, as the next-gen 718 is going electric. But if you thought Porsche would be suspending Cayman development and coasting into the post-combustion era…well, you thought wrong.
The current top-of-the-line Cayman is the GT4 — not to be confused with the Cayman GTS 4.0 — which packs a 414-hp naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six. Porsche just announced they are building an even quicker version, the GT4 RS. “RS” stands for RennSport, or “Racing Sport” in English. And it’s not a badge Porsche gives out lightly.
PorschePorsche didn’t offer any specs for the 718 Cayman GT4 RS just yet, but they have confirmed that it lapped the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife (20.6 km) in 7:04.511 minutes. That’s 23.6 seconds faster than the 718 Cayman GT4. Porsche says the only modifications were a racing seat to protect the driver and optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires.
PorscheWe don’t yet know what exact sorcery Porsche used to achieve that dramatic performance upgrade for the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. Photos show a swan neck rear wing like the one from the 911 GT3. More power from the 4.0-liter flat-six would be a good bet. So would more racing components and significant weight reductions. Judging from recent RS versions of the 911, Porsche’s seven-speed PDK transmission would likely be the choice for performance — even though the Cayman GT4 is manual-only.
Porsche should provide us with a better picture of the new super-718 when it makes its world premiere in November.
