Ah, the Nurburgring. Automotive heaven to some while a critical testing site for others. For Porsche, it’s the latter. Nearly every Porsche has been seen testing here, from the GT2RS to the Panamera, and even the new Taycan. This week though, a heavily modified Cayman was spotted swerving around the track. For those that haven’t seen it, this new Cayman looks like a track focused version of the new GT4, could this perhaps be the long awaited 718 GT4RS?
If it is though, I’m honestly not surprised, I’m sure you’re not either. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been wanting and expecting a GT4RS ever since I found out about the long gearing and de-tuned engine on the 981 gen GT4. Could it be that Porsche is finally turning the Cayman into a proper supercar? But would they even consider it?
It’s no secret that Porsche has been holding the Cayman back from reaching its full potential. Just look at my Boxster, that thing has a 2.5 liter flat 6 that barely makes 200 hp and keep in mind, the 911 that had the same M96 engine made 300 hp in 1999. If you want a more recent example, look at the gearing on both of the Cayman GT4s. 1st gear takes you up to about 46 mph while second hits the limiter at something like 81 mph! I remember Motor Trend did a calculation back in the day, that said if the 981 GT4 had Porsche’s typical 30 mph for 1st and around 60 mph for second, the 0-60 time would have gone from 4.1 seconds to around 3.6. Guess what, that’s faster than EVERY 911 short of the GT3; coincidence, I think not.
Like every other RS car, this new GT4RS features the whole 9 yards of Porsche aero upgrades. It’s got NACA ducts, louvers on the rear window to cool the engine, what looks to be small front fender vents, and its party piece, that monstrous rear wing. I don’t care how much power they suck out of the engine or how long they make the gearing, this thing will be glued to the track.
Speaking of power, Porsche has made it very clear that they intend on using the current GT4’s 4.0 liter flat six in other cars. And the current engine for the GT4 is the naturally aspirated beauty we’ve been waiting for, it’s literally just a giant middle finger to turbo charged engines…I love it. What Porsche did is that they took the 911’s 3.0 liter twin turbo flat 6, they bored it out to 4.0 liters, they changed a bunch of internals, and they cut off those soul sucking turbos just like God intended. To add some insult to injury, they also raised the engine’s redline to 8,000 rpm; this thing is a screamer. Now the question is, how much power will they extract from it, because they’ve also made it very clear that the GT4’s engine is performing far below its potential. Realistically, I’m placing my bets at around 460 hp, which is enough to make the GT4RS insanely fast, but not faster than Porsche’s precious GT3.
Or what they could do, and this is a stretch, is make the GT4RS the long awaited mid engined supercar I’ve always wanted, AKA the Porsche 960 we never got. Who knows though? All we do know, is that there are going to be some fast Caymans loose on the streets. Watch out!
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