Porsche Cayman GT4 RS 2024 review

If there was a club of die-hard gearheads that believes Porsche’s 911 is motoring’s most evolved species, your reviewer would be a lifelong member.

My personal apex is specifically 2010’s 997.2 GT3 RS, a 3.8-litre naturally aspirated monster I’ve memorably experienced on road and track back in its heyday. It remains my favourite and most lust-worthy car. Ever. Period.

A year later, Porsche added a 4.0L option that, with 368kW when spun beyond 8000rpm, was the world’s most powerful naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine. It’s a fair-dinkum racecar engine.

Entry gen-three (981) Cayman in 2012, the ‘junior’ 911 in some eyes if a platform with a longer track, lower centre of gravity and, unlike 911, its engine mounted rear midship ahead of the axle rather than behind it.

By 2015, Porsche’s RennSport skunkworks had shoehorned a 911 Carrera S midship – spun 180-degrees – to create the first Cayman GT4. Some called it performance coupe perfection.

Who honestly couldn’t see the inevitable? Sure enough, in 2022, Porsche finally transplanted the wild atmo 4.0L 911 GT3 engine into the now wonderfully evolved gen-four mid-engine 718 Cayman platform…and call it a very exciting day indeed.

Porsche aficionados continue to argue long and loudly as to whether, in spirit, the Cayman 718 GT4 RS is a racecar for the road or a roadcar pushed and pulled to the high-performance, track-focussed extremes. But, in execution, it’s no Frankenstein.

Much like its 911 GT3 brethren, it’s easy to marvel at the sheer purpose of the GT4 RS, parked up and engine off. It drips with a sense of fury and is honed for battle right down to the finest details, built to be legal if not necessarily new nor nice.

In many ways – in-cabin tech, for one – it’s thoroughly old-school. And very much by design, it’s a vehicle that defies critical appraisal by traditional measures such as comfort, practicality, livability, frugality and fundamental value for money.

Instead, it’s a real motoring fringe dweller that sits far enough beyond like-it-or-lump-it conjecture that some curious observers simply won’t understand it.

The GT4 RS replaces windows with carbon fiber air intake ducts, places its engine behind your ears without a hard barrier, requires seat adjustment with a toolkit and fits a fire extinguisher in the passenger footwell.

At $335,300 list, it’s two and half times the price of a base manual Cayman, albeit significantly more affordable than the big brother 911 GT3 RS (from $537,600) that it shares much of its formula and technical DNA with.

It’s a very specific car for a particular type of petrolhead, one that might seriously challenge you outside its comfort zone yet thrill and intoxicate you when it hits its thrilling stride. And these things ought to be front of mind when viewing the GT4 RS through the review lens.

“Perfectly irrational,” is Porsche’s marketing catchphrase for the GT4 RS. You and I have been warned…

To test both sides of the coin, deputy editor Curt Dupriez took to the brutal insanity of Sydney roads while contributor Iain Curry made his would to an a closed off Targa stage to thoroughly explore the other end of the 9000rpm tachometer.

What are the Cayman GT4 RS’s features and options for the price?

The 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six engine is derived from 911 GT3 R and RSR technical lineage. It produces 368kW and 450Nm, its extremely low-rotating-mass, low-inertia dry sump design features six throttle bodies and spins to 9000rpm.

Its airbox sits behind the occupants in cabin underneath the GT4’s integral roll cage and mates to a seven-speed dry-clutch dual-clutch transmission with either paddle-shifter or sequential gear lever cog-swapping. There’s no conventional manual option.

The GT4 fits a lockable mechanical rear differential with Porsche’s PTV torque vectoring smarts.

The coil-over strut-style suspension, with extensive use of ball joints, is derived from 997.2 911 GT3 RS. It fits adaptive damping and allows user-adjustability of height, camber, toe angle and anti-bar stiffness.

Brakes are six-piston 408mm front and four-piston 380mm rear iron discs with monobloc calipers as tested, while rolling stock is 20-inch forged alloy with centre-lock attachment shod with 245mm front and 295mm rear N-rated (Porsche specific) Michelin rubber.

The GT4 RS bonnet, front guards, side air intakes, ‘swan neck’ rear wing and one-piece bucket seats are made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), with the rear screen made from lightweight glass. The kerb weight is just 1415kg.

Other standard GT4 RS equipment includes:

• Bi-model exhaust
• LED dynamic lighting headlights
• Powered and heated mirrors
• Race-tex faux suede interior trim
• One-piece CFRP bucket seats
• Analogue instrumentation with digital speedo
• Reversing camera
• Cruise control
• Two-zone climate control
• Touchscreen media with DAB+ and sat-nav
• Wired Apple CarPlay

Optional 18-way electric Adaptive sports seats are available at no additional cost, which 3D-printed ‘bodyform’ Exclusive Manufaktur pews can be ordered for $5060. A Club Sport Package that includes a bolt-in roll cage, drivers’ six-point racing harness and a fire extinguisher is a no-cost option.

Other options include Weissach interior trim with extended Race-Tex package ($3320), a 30mm front lift kit ($4900), carbon-ceramic brakes ($14,960), Chrono package ($520), coloured seats belts ($520), six-point passenger harness ($790) and a long list of appearance and textural upgrades.

The big-dollar upgrade is the ($29,890) Weissach package that adds carbon-weave bonnet, air intakes, rear wing and exterior highlights as well as the ‘935-look’ titanium exhaust outside. Inside, the Weissach addenda extends to a carbon-weave engine airbox, a titanium roll cage, extended Race-Tex trim on the dash and specific Weissach branding.

The Weissach package unlocks the availability of the 10kg-lighter (total) forged magnesium wheel option.

How does the Cayman GT4 RS drive on road?

I’ve lucked into driving numerous Porsche GT-somethings at racetracks, but today it’s just my highly-strung Guards red steed and the twisty and open Australian public roads. And the lofty potential of the vehicle is clearly hamstrung by responsibility across the venue.

From the first key twist – yes, that’s right – the GT4 RS experience is extra sensory and hard-wired. The engine braps into life and thrums (literally) behind my ears with signature flat-six metallic zing. It’s a pure motorsport soundtrack, fat free and frisky, the hard-moutned engine rippling vibration throughout all cabin surfaces.

There’s a meaty heft to the transmission selector – back for upshifts, forward for downshifts, as it should be – and the steering is weighty yet fluid as I slip the GT4 RS into Sydney suburbia. The front lift kit, raising the low-slung nose an extra 30mm higher off the deck, prevents the front splitter front nudging speed bumps.

There’s absolutely no squishiness or rubbery give in this tightly honed ride, the rose jointed suspension jiggling across every tiny road imperfection up through the Porsche’s carbon-fibre seat and the suede-like Race-Tex wheel.

Damper choices are sporty/comfort or sporty firm and around town it’s difficult to discern much compliance difference between them.

The engine sound bouncing around the cabin is bold if tempered at a light throttle. Activating the ‘loud’ exhaust mode adds a bit of bass and presence, if nothing unruly. That is, until you sink the right boot…

The sudden aural attack on the ears, bold and instant, takes you by surprise. Start flexing the 4.0L’s muscles and this would have to be the loudest cabin outside of a bona-fide racecar. Unlike so many of today’s sensory-smothered fast cars, this Porsche leaves no questions about exactly what the engine and transmission are doing at any moment.

The lightswitch drama is of flat-six breathtaking. It nips up the rev-range during kickdown in a flash, and bellows with enthusiasm and intent. Thrust is immediate and telepathic. No pausing, no transmission shuffling – just bang and you’re off like a rocketship.

There’s no plump force-induced torque to launch from either. The more rpm you add, the surlier the thrust, with the close-ratio PDK – seven forward ratios, no overdrive – picking the sweetest spot in the engine rev-range, sniper like, of a dead straight power curve that soars to a screaming 9000rpm redline…if you’re not so shy to back out of it.

The rev-matching on downshifts, too, is lightning quick.

This really is an engine for connoisseurs. It’s so alert, zipping up and down the rev range, and so crisp and linear on the throttle. Nothing force-induced feels quite like, short of exotic Italian or British super sportscar engines.

The dual-clutch is perfect. This particular PDK design is utterly seamless, responsive and intelligent that it seemingly defies any possible improvement your reviewer can fathom.

The world offers some very fine, very slick self-shifting transmissions these days, but Porsche’s at its most honed and evolved is still a noticeably superior execution.

Together, this engine and gearbox creates one of motoring’s finest powertrain marriages, bar none. It’s so responsive and intuitive to the driver’s whims you’d think it’s hard-wired to your brain, while the extra-sensory fanfare gives your soul a squeeze.

Regardless of sheer acceleration – Porsche claims an unconfirmed 3.5sec 0-100km/h time – it’s really how cooperative and accomplished the GT4 RS is on a roll where it really comes together sweetly and ferociously.

It’s so much car for on-road consumption – perhaps too much. Apparently its bewinged and aero-massaged form offers 25 percent more downforce than the regular Cayman GT4, and on road you just can’t get quick enough (legally) for it to pay any dynamic dividend.

Instead, when chasing backroad twisties, the GT4 RS is sharp, grippy and precise, if somewhat benign and clearly well within its handling abilities. Almost to the point where it’s not as much fun – and not nearly as playful – as a well-regarded hot hatch…or a more ‘regular’ Cayman variant.

Thing is, it’s a fatiguing adrenaline hit: noisy, taut in ride that approached punishing, and unrelenting in its character delivery. It can be polite on road, if in very particular situations.

But on track? Or across the closed on-road targa-style forum where you really let the GT4 RS off its chain? That’s what it’s made for. – Curt Dupriez

How does the Cayman GT4 RS drive on track/closed road?

You’re wasting your time driving on public roads. Truly. The GT4 RS murders your spine over road bumps, and when cruising, that 4.0-litre firecracker is on perma-drone behind your ear.

The flexibility of a gymnast is needed to enter and exit with any sort of grace, and good luck not flexing your right toe and unleashing 9000rpm, where the world knows about it and your licence is on borrowed time.

You absolutely need a track, ideally a long, Grand Prix type one like Germany’s Nürburgring or The Bend in South Australia.

I managed probably the next best thing: the Porsche Tour at Targa High Country, where you enjoy playtime along the same closed roads as Full Competition Class Targa racers. That means no oncoming traffic, racing lines through corners, and the ability to properly explore the GT4 RS’s limits.

The champagne stage is Mt Buller’s 16km twisting delight, where you attack almost 1000 vertical metres of climbing. In the face of the draconian speed restrictions imposed on the stages (100km/h capped), at least the organisers ensured Mt Buller is on the menu at least once each day during the event.

No helmets or harnesses required, but as I sit bolt upright in the carbon seat, Alcantara steering wheel in hands, roll cage in the mirror and let-me-play Porsche flat-six idling at the start line, it feels nailed-on race car.

Our Porsche group leader rolls out at a serious pace. Forget about warming this thing up… let’s scream to nine grand straight out of the traps. Mash the throttle and the responsive, relentless acceleration you only get from a naturally aspirated race engine is boisterous, surging perfection.

I’ve selected PDK Sport and manual mode to ensure there’s no upshift until I’m at that 9000rpm limiter. The sound in Sport – the way it travels through every part of you – is thrilling in the mid-range, but in the upper redline naughty zone it’s shatteringly emotional. It’s downright glorious.

Mt Buller has proper hairpin bends with short spells of straight in between. We’re at three figures all too quickly (need to reign it in), but it feels like our cornering speed never need go much below this. There’s insane grip and belief-defying balance. Turn-in happens as rapidly as a hunted fish changes direction, with heavy, communication-rich steering feedback.

I’ve driven a handful of race cars in my time, and this GT4 RS with rego plates attached feels every inch the match of those. Not least because of the unmuffled, extraordinary air intake noise over my shoulder that makes it hard to think and impossible to talk.

Mt Buller has a few rock walls to bounce this sound off of and, trust me, that noise gets tattooed on the brain for life.

Last time I did Targa High Country was in an Alpine A110: lighter and with half the power of the GT4 RS, the svelte Frenchie was more balletic through Mt Buller’s corners than the 300kg-heavier Porsche. But the German has far less body roll and mega grip to guarantee it’s the speed king. Trade off is it needs laser-like concentration, such are the numbers involved.

This hot Cayman is no blunt instrument. The inside of some corners are seriously bumpy and chopped, yet when the GT4 RS hits them it just brushes them aside. Instead of unsettling it before spinning and spearing you off into oblivion, the Porsche’s stability and traction remind it’s the truly talented one in the car/driver pairing.

When you do need to shake off speed, dart board-sized rotors drop anchor with magnificent feel and assuredness. While diving under braking, part of me would love to hero-up and be down-shifting and heel-toeing a manual, but I must bow down to this PDK.

It’s a close-ratio gearbox masterclass telepathically drops into the correct, high-revving gear, neatly blipping automatically so you can focus fully on nailing corner entry.

Right now I love the uber-firm suspension. I love how low I’m sitting, and the simple analogue dash dials with old-school Porsche font. I get braver, get earlier on the throttle in turns and let the rear slide a bit. That really takes some pushing, but my gawd it’s a tail-happy hoot when it goes. When you give the GT4 RS a little tickle, it delights in showing off its fun side.

So I dearly hope all owners will find a track or Targa to enjoy playtime. It’s an earth-shattering machine, and being able to properly exercise that engine to its euphoric, intoxicating limits is a non-negotiable. – Iain Curry

What is the Cayman GT4 RS’s interior and tech like?

Thirsty minutes into my Cayman GT4 RS experience, my back is hurting. And of no real fault of the car’s nor mine.

The Porsche’s standard-fit CFRP one-piece race buckets are bolted to their rails.

You can slide the seat mechanically and you can tune the height/tilt to minor degrees via some electric adjustment. But for such a focussed machine demanding precision at the helm, you need a toolkit and the grace of time to tailor fit the Cayman seating for ergonomic perfection.

And for our on-road review, at least, one of your two reviewers had no opportunity to hone in the steed’s seating.

Adjusted for someone else, the race seat offers no lower back support. If this was my car, I’d tweak it to taste. But, more likely, I’d have ticked the box for the more ‘normal’ no-cost 18-way electric two-piece buckets.

It would’ve also done away with the six-point race harness clasp that you’re forced to sit during times when you’re not properly strapping in for track and targas.

Otherwise, this is typically fine Cayman fare: you sit low and hunkered, all of the crucial wheel/shifters/pedals perfectly positioned (wrench tweaked seating notwithstanding). Porsche’s favoured suede-like Race-Tex-trimmed control surfaces mightn’t be to all tastes, but in the sweat-induced heat of battle it’s a grippy and tactile ally.

Of course, few carmakers have constantly evolved the (serious) driver interface as much as Porsche has over the decades, with particularly thorough thought invested into RennSport machinery. And so much of the Cayman GT4 RS user interface is faultless.

Take transmission control. Long gone was the hiccup that was the ‘thumb-shifter’ malarky, the wonderful wheel’s snickety paddle-shifters primed for business, the sequential console short-shifter action oriented as Porsche – the originator of dual-clutch transmissions in race cars – first decided, back for upshifting, forward for downshifting. As it should be.

Bar some finer details – the wheel’s yellow 12 o’clock centre mark – the cabin is a sea of satin black and carbon fiber, punctuated by a fit-out of modest and largely old-school displays and controls. No panoramic-sized digital display eye candy here, and fittingly so.

The central analogue tacho roundel and Sportchrono dash-top dial remain, classic and effective as ever, and the console maintains an array of physical buttons for basics such as air-con fan speed and audio volume.

The media system is modest in size but packs Apple CarPlay, LTE telephony/wifi hotspot functionality, DAB+ and sat-nav, with USB outlets located in the passenger footwell. The optional Chrono Package adds a nifty Track Precision app that logs trackday telemetry and data logging through your smartphone.

Cupholders sprout from the dash fascia, but storage is at an absolute premium and I found the best place for keys, wallets and phones was on the passenger seat base. There’s also a fire extinguisher in the passenger footwell just in case your fairweather punt takes a dramatic turn for the worse.

This is a serious cockpit that’s utterly fit for the wildest kinds of purpose. Seats adjusted to taste, the GT4 RS – and any Boxster/Cayman for that matter – is actually very comfortable for long-hauling due to the wonderfully form-fitted nature.

If there was a type of car excused for a lack of sheer space and outright practicality, it’s a proper sportscar such as this in its very off-street-oriented state of enhancement.

Is the Cayman GT4 RS a safe car?

No Porsche is currently rated by ANCAP: in fact, the brand has no presence whatsoever on the safety program’s public website.

Fundamentally, it could be viewed that new cars offer two layers of safety. The first is fundamental safety, or the car’s ability to interact with the driver through primary means of promoting grip, stopping power and, ultimately, communication and control.

The second are back-up systems, such as active assistance and, indeed, the general crashworthiness via ‘safety nets’, in the event that there’s failure in the interaction between the car and driver.

Arguably, the Cayman GT4 RS offers nigh on impeachable primary safety: it’s among one of the finest driver-honed tools. That’s why it’s an incredible track car. But by its very nature, this particular model doesn’t offer much in the way of assistance.

Indeed, many of today’s advanced active safety assists are extremely detrimental to track and circuit work – in some cases, banned if they cannot be switched off.

The Cayman GT4 RS brings the Porsche Stability Management system. Essentially, it combines anti-lock braking, stability control and traction control. Very basic stuff. And all bar the ABS can be either reduced in effectiveness or switched off, in two successive stages.

Aiding the credentials of the abovementioned primary safety are:

• 408mm front/six-piston front and 380mm/four-piston forged monobloc brakes
• NACA brake cooling ducts 
• Positive downforce aerodynamics
• 245mm and 295mm R-spec tyres
• Tyre pressure monitoring with Track mode

Passive safety includes:

• Steel roll cage (Club Sport pack)
• Six-point driver and passenger harness (Club Sport pack)
• Fire extinguisher (Club Sport pack)
• Titanium roll cage (Weissach pack)

What are the Cayman GT4 RS’s ownership costs?

The Cayman comes with Porsche’s slim three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Basic service intervals are every 12 months/20,000km, with pricing dealer dependent. However, the big caveat here is that off-street/track/club competitive event use naturally brings with it ongoing and use-dependent maintenance.

Further, servicing will likely be highly discretionary if the Porsche is only rolled out occasionally for off-street use.

Frankly, if you’re going to go racing, it’s going to cost you some serious dough. Using the GT4 RS as its maker intended in not a situation for penny pinchers. You will consume fuel, fluids, tyres and brakes exploring this car’s lofty performance and dynamic potential.

And as many Porsche owners – or any smart car enthusiast for that matter – will tell you, it’s better to spend the money upfront on additional maintenance, rather than risk the heartache and potential hassle that comes from waiting too long between pit stops.

Further, Porsche’s indicative combined consumption claim of 13.2L/100km (WLTP) should be used as a rough guide at best.

It also goes without saying that the GT4 RS’s finely tuned, 9000rpm, 500-horsepower naturally aspirated flat six requires the highest quality pump fuel available and you’d be crazy to not apply a strict 98-octane diet.

The honest verdict on the Cayman GT4 RS

Purists will protest but, by its maker’s own view, the latest generation of Cayman (and Boxster) crystalised the ‘718’ as Porsche’s purest driver’s car, despite the prolific greatness that is the iconic 911. And despite the controversial shift from flat-six to turbo-four power in lower-rung versions.

In fine Porsche tradition, a dizzying array of 718 variants were and are offered that target specific buyer tastes – its part of the brand mantra – and you have to scale up through myriad permutations to arrive at the GT4 RS (with Weissach package) summit.

The notion that any Cayman, sat in a range that only recently kicked off at just $120K (prior to mid-2023 price hike to a $132K entry), could scale as high as $370K might seem ludicrous. Such a budget buys a lot of 911…or, perhaps, a two-car combination of an electric Taycan for every day and a low-rung Cayman for sunny Sunday morning punts.

But that’s not the point. The GT4 RS is for a very specific ‘driver’ and it delivers 11 out of ten for the niche it hopes to fill. Porsche’s only other alternative in this niche corner of the garage is the 911 GT3 RS, a trip that starts at half-a-mil and skyrockets the moment you blink at options.

It’s because of this that even if you’re considering the tamer ‘regular’ Cayman GT4, it’s a track weapon first and a road car second. If you’re after a daily driver, you’re looking at the wrong 718…

The polar opposite take is that the world needs special cars – just a handful – with enough headroom in their go-fast capabilities that it will be more than a discerning, hard-charging owner will ever need. Some are hyper-exotic with matching price tags, others such as the Cayman GT4 RS are available at more attainable outlays.

Such cars are gateways to realms well beyond our test car’s mere acceleration (3.4-second 0-100km/h) and top speed (315km/h) prowess.

Instead, it’s purpose fit for those who’d ever dreamt of lapping Germany’s famed 20.6-kilometre Nurburgring Nordschleife in the low-seven-minute mark – Porsche has nailed 7:04 in private testing. For such motoring adventure, the Cayman GT4 RS is about the cheapest method you can choose driven straight off the showroom floor.