New Cayman GT4 RS Roars to Life in Nurburgring Lap
The first-ever ‘RS’ Cayman stuns its younger brother the standard GT4 with a massive 23.6-second improvement across the Green Hell.
Once upon a time Porsche led us to believe that the coveted ‘RS’ title would never find its onto the 911s little brother, the Cayman/Boxster. However, we are happy to report that the 718 Cayman GT4 RS is a real thing and soon to be ready for official debut in November.
Many of us know the longstanding hot take that the Cayman is secretly the best Porsche money can buy. Not just that, but that Porsche knowingly has hamstringed the Cayman time and time again (cue gear ratios) in order prevent rivaling the flagship 911.
However, it seems that finally the GT division at Porsche has finally decidedly made up their minds and given in into realizing the full range of the Cayman’s stunning mid-engine potential. The result is the first ever RS variant of a Cayman. So far it looks like everything we could have hoped for.
In a recent video, you can see Porsche development driver Jörg Bergmeister absolutely driving the wheels off the new GT4 RS around the iconic Nurburgring Nordschleife. The RS seen in the video is slightly modified with a fixed racing seat and optional Michelin Cup 2 Rs.
‘Some call it the green hell, for us it is rather the green heaven’
To say that this new high-strung variant is fast would be an understatement. To be exact, the RS model chops off a substantial 23.6 second difference from the standard GT4. This realistically puts the car into a new league of performance.
To emphasize that, we bring up this point. A figure Porsche might not like to admit is the GT4 RS was a full second faster than the 991.2 GT3 RS around the world’s longest and most grueling race track. Yes, a $100k Cayman has surpassed the performance of the quarter-million dollar 911 from just a generation ago.
The althetic flagship Cayman manages these stunning figures by sticking to the already known successful RS recipe: less weight, more downforce, more power, and more driver feedback. The result may be one of the greatest driver’s cars Porsche has ever designed.
Andreas Preuninger, director of the Porsche GT program, would be inclined to agree. Although the car’s performance is second to none in the Cayman lineup, he ensures that this special model will be about still be about driving pleasure first and last, making “a thrilling driving experience an absolute priority.”
‘The sound is just breathtaking, it screams at you in the car, it’s just wonderful’
Although RS may stand for Rennsport, Preuninger states that just as easily, it could be Rennspaß (which more directly translates to racing fun). Bergmeister calls it “as nimble as a go-kart on mountain roads, yet is impressively stable and well-balanced on the racetrack.”
The decorated racing driver spent over 500 hours testing and tuning the GT4 RS during the development process. As you see him effortlessly fly wide open throttle through some of most committing corners in motorsport, you can tell he is truly in sync with the car.
He decisively states that the most notable upgrade is the pure engine performance. In his lap, we can see Bergmeister constantly bouncing off of the seemingly 9,000 RPM redline, which is simply intoxicating at the limit.
We don’t have guaranteed details on the powerplant yet, but expect the sweet sounding flat-six to make somewhere around 500 HP, dangerously close to the current 992 GT3’s output.
‘What is fast and fun to drive here, definitely works everywhere else’
So if you have ever wondered what a mini GT3 RS would look like, you’re seeing it right now. Bred from motorsport and crafted for sheer driving pleasure, the GT4 RS will be sure to shake up the sports car world.
Preuninger confirms that “you get in and you don’t want to get out. That’s what we enjoy so much about the car.” Others across the internet are already speculating that lap was intentionally slow and that Bergmeister may have held back to prevent further embarrassment to the 911 lap times.
All we can say for certain is that the GT4 RS is set to be a hell of a car and we can’t wait to for the official reveal coming this November. Stay tuned!