01 PORSCHE CAYMAN GT4 RS
Rating 4.5
ENGINE 3996cc flat-six, DOHC, 24v
POWER 368kW @8400rpm
TORQUE 450Nm @6750rpm
0-100KM/H 3.4sec (claimed)
WEIGHT 1415kg ● PRICE $300,800
LIKE: Epic noise, shorter gear ratios; lively character; Porsche finally built it
DISLIKE: Compromised on-road manners; we had to wait so long for it to arrive
ENTHUSIASTS LOVE TO describe the more track-orientated vehicles from various manufacturers as ‘race cars for the road’. The actual reality is even for the most hardcore track day toys, that is rarely anywhere near the truth. That’s because race cars are savage, and even in their milder forms patently unlike anything you can drive off a showroom floor wearing a number plate.
Case in point is this Cayman GT4 RS, a new flagship for the 718 platform, with the screaming 4.0-litre atmo flat-six of the current 911 GT3 shoehorned between the cabin and rear axle, lighter bodywork, more aggressive aero and gumball tyres.
Being an RS, the new Cayman halo is unashamedly track-focused in its design, character, and purpose. And while there will be people who proclaim it to be, the Cayman GT4 RS is not a race car for the road. It is a road car that has been tuned, tweaked, reworked and finessed into the ultimate expression of sports car capability, in turn, giving it astonishing abilities on a circuit, in this instance the iconic Autodromo do Estoril grand prix circuit in Portugal.
It’s no spoiler to say the Cayman GT4 RS is mightily impressive
