Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS (2022): screaming from the inside

28,107 €. This is the minimum amount of the French 2022 penalty for the 300 horsepower Porsche 718 Cayman equipped with a manual transmission and is offered at €59,692 without option. What naturally discourages you is to fall for the “little” Porsche, a descendant of the first Boxster of 1996, which will soon return in favor of an all-electric model. Even if that means paying a lot of tax in a sports Porsche, you can still do it by choosing the excellent 911, which continues to dominate the market for outstanding GTs thanks to its thrilling driving and outstanding versatility.

This little Porsche, which some have taxed as easily as a “hairdresser car” in the past like the Mercedes SLK or Audi TT, has nevertheless upped its game in recent years with the arrival of more radicals. After the first Cayman GT4 and the other Boxster Spyder appeared in 2015 equipped with a 385 horsepower atmospheric straight-six, the current Cayman is now even faster and more efficient in the 718 GT4 version priced at €103,267: 420 horsepower. A non-turbo block predicted from the 911 Carrera S embodies the perfect track racer, thanks to a very high level of performance, a manual transmission, a singing engine and tremendous endurance on the track. That’s why it’s the model of choice for track-day goers that fail to be as memorable as the 911s of the GT3 and GT3 RS series: nothing on the scale of Porsche tastes can beat these powerful versions of a simply accelerating engine. 9,000rpm, which will mark you forever when you hear the rev counter sweep the last part. The engine, currently under the hood of the 911 GT3 type 992, is still a time-record machine in the circuit despite its limited power (510 horsepower) compared to some of the most heavily armed supercars on the market.

The most beautiful engine in the smallest model from Porsche

On paper, however, the small Porsche Cayman has one technical advantage over the 911: better weight distribution thanks to its mid-rear-positioned engine, unlike its older sister, which retains its door-to-door flat-bottom. . That’s why fans of the Zuffenhausen brand were ecstatic when, just before Christmas, Porsche unveiled the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, the only Cayman with a true 911 GT3 flat-six. Because mounting the prettiest engine in the lineup in the car best calibrated for sporty driving leads to potentially the perfect Porsche. Especially since this new 718 GT4 RS goes much further than other Caymans in extremes: in addition to a block that is exactly the same as the block of the 911 GT3, which lost just 10 horsepower due to the longer exhaust due to its different position, it’s monstrous. Equipped with the 991 Phase 2 type 911 GT3 RS PDK transmission with shortened proportions, wider tracks, solid articulated suspensions, a brake cooling circuit worthy of a race car and more generous downforce aerodynamics.

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As an option, it can go as far as the most radical 911 in terms of lighting: the €15,948 Weissach package adds a front hood and a carbon rear wing in addition to a titanium inner rim. Those obsessed with the pound hunt can even opt for magnesium wheels at €15,000 and carbon brakes at €7,980. What to add, in addition to the €40,000 additional cost compared to the 718 Cayman GT4 “too short”, around €40,000 in dynamic options and the price of a 911 GT3 to flirt precariously? All that finally beats her older sister after all these years in her shadow? Not even. The 718 Cayman GT4 RS drives in a straight line with the same aggressiveness (0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds), but officially gives the GT3 9 seconds on the Nordschleife with its equally semi-slick tires. Why ? Mainly due to the smaller width of the tires and the retraction of aerodynamic support (100kg at 200km/h versus 385 for the 911 GT3), we were told at Porsche. Damn, the little Porsche failed the coup attempt. But then, what’s the point of putting so much money into an expensive Cayman built like a race car?