Porsche is planning a range-topping high performance model to cap off their 718 Cayman range, and prior to the name change that title belonged to the Cayman GT4. As the transition took hold from a naturally-aspirated flat-six to turbocharged flat-four engines, the fate of the GT4 came into question.
Now, though, as confirmed by Andreas Preuninger in conversation with Autocar, head of the GT car division within Porsche, the upcoming 718 Cayman GT4 will not adopt the newer turbocharged flat-four engine but instead retain a larger capacity atmospheric flat-six that’s powerful enough to elevate it into territory worthy of the RS badge, a designation reserved for their most hardcore cars.
It’s a good thing, too, as there were questions as to how a manufacturer, even one as experienced and technically competent as Porsche, could engineer a smaller turbocharged engine to a point where it could match or exceed the power, response, and character of the original Cayman GT4’s 283kW/420Nm 3.8-litre motor.
Preuninger insisted that naturally aspirated engines remain a key ingredient of Porsche GT cars while also denying any immediate plans to introduce any upcoming GT models with four-cylinders, efficiency numbers be damned.
“At Motorsport, we think we can achieve throttle response and immediacy a little bit better with an atmospheric highrevving engine than any kind of turbo,” he added, “The aim is to always have the choice. Now we’ve started with that strategy with the GT3, let’s hope that it pays off.”
The Porsche GT boss was likely referring to the turbocharged versus natural aspiration argument when speaking about presenting the customer with ‘choice’. The Stuttgart automaker had recently converted most of its mainstream cars away from atmospheric motors, the most recent example being the 911 Carreras which now use a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged flat-six exclusively
However, those choice of words could also mean that the Cayman GT4’s successor will be offered with a PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission in addition to the 6-speed manual that it came with its predecessor as standard.
As for what specific engine will be mounted amidship in the upcoming 718 Cayman top dog, a detuned version of the 4.0-litre unit seen on the new 911 GT3 is the speculation frontrunner, possibly outputting over 298kW.
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