Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS: Enjoy The Roaring 9000RPM Redline

Porsche wanted to keep the 718 Cayman GT4 RS a secret. Whether someone got too excited and spilled the beans during golf or someone snuck into the R&D facility in Stuttgart, information about the 718 GT4 RS came to light sooner than expected.

What beauty did the whole shebang uncover! Hardly anyone disliked the Cayman. Now however, Porsche turned the beauty into the beast by fitting it with the 4-liter flat six of the 911 and making it scream 493hp at 9000RPM. 

Unmistakably Loud 

The new Cayman GT4 RS was tested initially in the Alps, making it a prime time location to enjoy the unconstrained exhaust notes of the flat-four engine. Later on, at the official unveiling during the Los Angeles Auto Show, Porsche GT head Andreas Preuninger called the Cayman GT4 RS “the best sounding GT car out there”.

With the other weapons in Porsche’s GT lineup frowning at the statement, let’s have a look at what makes the new 718 Cayman GT4 RS so loud and so fast.

Plenty of Gear to Cope with Power

The 4 liter engine found on the Cayman is good for 493hp and 331 lb-ft. of torque. While the same engine is good for 502hp and 346 lb-ft. In the 911 GT3, it was explained that there wasn’t a downtuning attempt to keep the 911 ahead. Instead, the need for longer exhaust pipes on the Cayman. There are some changes on the intake side to accommodate a central mounted engine. On the Cayman, the intake is now fully carbon fiber, with the inlets replacing the usual rear quarter windows as well as drawing air through the inlets found behind the doors.

The RS is built solely for track performance. The first thing this statement translates to is the sole availability of a 7-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission with shortened ratios to better suit bloodthirsty accelerations out of corners.

Of course, the standard Cayman suspension had no chance to fight the monstrous power unit on its own. Thus, the suspension has seen some heavy reworking, including stiffer springs and adaptive Bilstein dampers; and since this is a track car, there’s a greater range available for camber and toe adjustment.

With so much power at the wheels, the aerodynamics of the Cayman GT4 RS were upgraded to match the challenge. The rear wing is way larger and benefits from the airflow improving swan neck mount. The front splitter takes on more air thanks to its increased frontal area and the front diffuser is now adjustable in synchronization with the rear wing.

The signature vents above the front wheels and hood integrated NACA ducts for brake cooling are also to be found on the new Cayman GT4 RS. All in all, the GT4 RS is roughly 50lbs lighter on the scale compared to the more tamed GT4, even though there is plenty more aero and engine hardware added into the mix.

The Weissach Package

The Weissach Package is an optional upgrade to add even more carbon fiber and shed even more weight off the GT4 RS, all to get it even more track focused.

The GT4 RS will obviously be the most expensive Cayman yet, given all the extra gear it packs on and under the hood. With a MSRP of $143,050, it is still roughly $20,000 cheaper than the Porsche 911 GT3. According to Porsche, the Weissach Package will add another 5-digit figure to the price of the GT4 RS, yet there is a high confidence that more than two thirds of the buyers will opt for it.

A Tribute to Horsepower and RPMs

As Porsche GT head Andreas Preuninger puts it, the philosophy behind the Cayman GT4 RS is to provide a car to be enjoyed. Somewhere in the maybe not so distant future, the 718 lineup will switch to fully electric powertrains. As such, it is best to enjoy the roaring 9000RPM redline of the GT4 RS which may soon become not just a powerful track weapon, but also take its place in history as a classic.