IN BRIEF
Most extreme version
6 cylinders – 500 hp
€144,485
€28,107. Here is the minimum amount of the French malus 2022 of a Porsche 718 Cayman of 300 hp equipped with the manual gearbox, offered from € 59,692 without the slightest option. Which of course discourages you a bit from falling for the “small” Porschethis descendant of first Boxster from 1996 which will soon give way to a fully electric model. Even if that means paying that much tax in a sports Porsche, you might as well do it by the excellent 911 which continues to dominate the exceptional GT market thanks to its exciting handling and remarkable versatility.
This little Porsche, which some in the past easily taxed as a “hairdresser’s car” in the same way as the Mercedes-Benz or theAudi TT, has nevertheless stepped up its game in recent years with the advent of increasingly radical versions. After the first Cayman GT4 and other Boxster Spyder appeared in 2015, equipped with a powerful 385 hp naturally aspirated flat-six, the current Cayman is now available in an even faster and more efficient 718 GT4 version for €103,267: with 420 hp. a block without turbos extrapolated from that of the 911 Carrera S, it embodies the track racer par excellence thanks to very high performance, a manual gearbox, a singing engine and a colossal endurance on the track. A model par excellence for the regular track day, which is nevertheless not as memorable to drive as the 911s of the GT3 and GT3 RS series: on the scale of Porsche pleasure, nothing can beat these strong versions of an engine that only 9,000 rpm, the revs of which will mark you forever when you hear it sweep the last part of the rev counter. The engine is currently under the hood of the 911 GT3 type 992, a machine that, despite its limited power (510 hp), is still capable of breaking track time records compared to the most heavily armed supercars on the market.
The most beautiful engine from Porsche in the smallest model
On paper, however, the small Porsche Cayman has a technical advantage over the 911: its better weight distribution thanks to the engine installed centrally in the rear, unlike its big sister which keeps its flat-six door-to-door. † That’s why fans of the Zuffenhausen brand jumped for joy just before Christmas when Porsche unveiled the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, the only Cayman with a true 911 GT3 flat-six. Because installing the most beautiful engine in the range in the best-calibrated car for sporty driving can lead to the perfect Porsche. Especially since this new 718 GT4 RS goes much further than the other Caymans in extremism: next to a block strictly identical to that of the 911 GT3, which, due to its different positioning, loses just 10 hp due to a longer exhaust. is equipped with a 911 GT3 RS PDK 991 Phase 2 gearbox with shorter ratios, wider tracks, suspensions with solid linkages, a brake cooling circuit worthy of a competition car and more generous downforce aerodynamics.
As an option, it can even go up to the most radical 911 in terms of lighting: the Weissach package for € 15,948 adds a bonnet and rear wing made of carbon in addition to a titanium inner ring. Those obsessed with chasing pounds can even opt for magnesium rims for €15,000 and carbon brakes for €7,980. What to add, in addition to an additional cost of €40,000 compared to the 718 Cayman GT4 “very short”, about €40,000 in dynamic options and dangerously flirting with the price of a 911 GT3. Anything to finally beat his big sister on the clock after decades of being in the shadows? Not even. The 718 Cayman GT4 RS propels itself in a straight line with the same aggressiveness (0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds), but officially gives 9 seconds to the GT3 on the Nordschleife with similar semi-slick tires. Why ? Mainly because of the lower width of the rubbers and the aerodynamic support to the rear (100 kg at 200 km/h against 385 for the 911 GT3), we hear from Porsche. Damn, the little Porsche just failed in its attempted coup. But what’s the point of putting so much money into an overpriced Cayman made to look like a race car?
