Launch of the 718 Cayman GT4 RS got us thinking how crucial a sports car’s sound is to the vehicle’s appeal as whole. Sound is especially important for a Porsche, and though the GT4 RS shares its basic 718 structure with the earlier GT4 and uses the mighty 911 GT3’s engine, the mid-engined RS has a sound signature all of its own.
Porsche designed the GT4 RS for “maximum driving pleasure” from the outset, and while the model’s new exhaust system — dictated by altered orientation of the GT3’s engine — contributes hugely to the sound the car makes, so too do the new air intakes replacing the rearmost side glass. This is no happy coincidence — Porsche has been actively engineering how its cars sound for decades.
Remarkably, the process begins before a single component has been manufactured.
