Enlarge / Everyone always said Porsche would never put its best flat-six engine in the Cayman or it would overshadow the 911. Maybe that’s exactly what’s happened. (credit: Bradley Iger)
Judging by recent projects like the Mission R and 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance, Porsche looks poised to introduce an electrified version of the Cayman in the not-too-distant future. While it’s likely that such a sports car will raise the bar for certain measures of performance, it’s also safe to assume that the driving experience will be altered significantly. Thus far, high-performance EVs have struggled to deliver the kind of emotional connection that enthusiasts have grown accustomed to from their ICE-motivated counterparts—a factor that’s undoubtedly top of mind for the designers who are working on the next generation of the automaker’s lineup. In the meantime, though, the folks in Porsche’s GT division have ensured that the current era of the Cayman will not go gentle into that good night.
A vocal contingent of the Weissach faithful long insisted that a model like the GT4 RS would never be produced. Since its introduction in 2005, the Cayman has been positioned as Porsche’s entry-level sports coupe relative to the 911, and many posited that this mid-engine platform would never realize its full potential due to concerns that it might upstage its iconic older brother. Although the debut of the 981-generation Cayman GT4 back in 2016 was arguably the first piece of evidence that effectively refuted this theory, the 718 GT4 RS puts the notion to bed. Not only is this the most visceral and capable Cayman ever produced, it also makes a strong case for itself as the most compelling sports car on sale today, full stop.
The GT4 RS benefits from a wide variety of upgrades, but the engine is undoubtedly the star of the show. While it shares the same displacement as the naturally aspirated 4.0 L flat-six in the standard 718 GT4, it’s actually an entirely different engine that’s borrowed from the latest 911 GT3. Output is down slightly from that rear-engine application due to the backpressure created by the Cayman’s longer exhaust system, but peak figures of 493 hp (368 kW) and 331 lb-ft (449 Nm) of torque still make this the most powerful factory-produced Cayman ever offered by a wide margin and bestow it with a searing 9,000 rpm redline.
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