Porsche 718 2023 review: Cayman GT4 RS

The Cayman has two boots, with one up front. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

Both 'boots' can easily fit a small suitcase. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

What we like

The noise The handling The 4.0-litre flat six front the 911 GT3

What we don’t

Ride too brutal for daily commuting Australian roads won’t unlock its full potential Almost the same price as a 911 GT3

What we like

The noise The handling The 4.0-litre flat six front the 911 GT3

What we don’t

Ride too brutal for daily commuting Australian roads won’t unlock its full potential Almost the same price as a 911 GT3

I never have trouble sleeping. I don’t even dream. But I couldn’t sleep the night before I test drove the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

I just laid in bed for six hours waiting to drive. The last time I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep was when I was seven and it was the night before we went to the snow for the first time.

Some things are worth losing sleep over. And like my first snow day, the GT4 RS day was a good one.

I’d driven plenty of Porsches before, from basic Boxsters and Caymans to meaty 911s and the king of them all the GT3. I’ve driven Porsche’s future, too, in the fully electric Taycan GTS.

But there’s something about the 718 Cayman GT4 RS that’s different. It’s a hot rod. A ‘Franken’ Cayman that was never supposed to be built but only came about because the head of Porsche’s R&D joked to his engineers about how good it’d be to take the company’s screaming 4.0-litre 500 horsepower engine out of a 911 GT3 and squish it into something little like a Cayman.

But they actually did it. And they loved it so much they convinced the company to put it into production, and this is it – the 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

If you’re looking for a sports car that’s comfortable and luxurious, with expansive digital screens and safety tech like AEB, then this isn’t the car for you.

The 718 Cayman GT4 RS is raw, loud, brutal and has never heard of a ‘sport mode’ before. It only has two modes – you turn the key and it’s on. You turn the key back and it’s off. This is a street legal race car.

What are the key stats for its engine and transmission?   10/10

The engine in the Cayman GT4 RS makes this car incredibly desirable and fast. It’s the 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six from the Porsche 911 GT3.

This isn’t a Cayman engine and it was never intended to be. Caymans come with turbo flat fours, and there is also a 4.0-litre flat six, but it’s not the same engine found in the 911 GT3 and the GT4 RS.

So, how did it find its way into the Cayman? The story goes that Porsche’s head of R&D Wolfgang Hatz joked to his engineers that they should take the engine from a 911 GT3 and stuff it into a Cayman just to see what it’d be like.

The thing is, once all the laughing stopped they actually attempted to do it. The job proved too difficult though, and Hatz told them to forget it.

As it turned out it was only Hatz that forgot about it because the engineers continued to work on Cayman and even finished the job.

They revealed the Franken-Cayman to Hatz on his birthday and he was so besotted with the thing he pitched the idea of putting the monster into production.

And now here I am reviewing the production version of the car – the 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

Unlike the 911 GT3 which has this engine at the rear of the car, the GT4, like all Caymans, is mid-engined. The driver and passenger are more or less leaning against the engine and the balance this creates is outstanding.

Making 368kW and 450Nm the six-cylinder produces 59kW more than the GT4’s engine and revs to 9000rpm.

The howl from that engine as it storms up to that redline is one of the loudest I’ve heard from any production car. After a day of driving it on some amazing roads I came home and walked through the front door with my ears still ringing and the world’s biggest smile on my face.

Drive the GT4 RS calmly around, however, and it’s quiet. This is not a wake-the-neighbours-up-vehicle-when-you-start-it car. But if you were to arrive home at 8000rpm they’ll be awake by the time you’ve switched it off.

Sending the drive to the rear wheels is a seven-speed ‘PDK’ dual-clutch automatic transmission. The ratios are super short, the shifts are lightning quick.

The GT4 RS doesn’t have a manual gearbox and there’s no plan by Porsche to offer one, either. Don’t let that put you off. PDKs can shift faster than you or me, and that’s what you want in a race car.

That quick transmission is also part of the reason why acceleration is phenomenal with a 0-100km/h time of 3.4 seconds. A top speed of 315km/h makes the GT4 RS slightly faster than the 911 GT3.

Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with?   8/10

The 718 Cayman GT4 RS lists for $311,900, which is $88,000 more than a Cayman GT4, and almost $77,000 less than a 911 GT3.

When it comes to the GT4 RS’s standard features, well, power windows, headlights and a steering wheel are pretty much it. No, seriously just about everything on this car is designed to improve performance so you can forget about luxuries and hi-tech touches.

Coming standard are LED headlights and tail-lights, 20-inch alloy wheels in ‘Dark Silver’ and so too was the paint colour of our car – ‘Guards Red’.

Inside, the carbon fibre bucket seats are standard, so is dual-zone climate control, RS steering wheel with ‘Race-Tex’ upholstery and carbon trim throughout.

There’s the small media display with sat nav and Apple CarPlay, and a Bose sound system is a no-cost option, too.

The carbon-fibre bonnet with air ducts and the enormous carbon-fibre rear wing are standard features, too.

If you look closely at the images you’ll see the bonnet and rear wing of my test car have a carbon weave finish – this comes courtesy of the ‘Weissach Pack’, which isn’t cheap at $33,210, but also adds a carbon finish to the air side air inlets, titanium exhaust tips, 20-inch forged magnesium wheels, leather and Race-Tex upholstery inside, along with a titanium roll cage and six-point harness for both seats.

If you want the roll cage, but you’re oaky with a heavier steel one, the ClubSport package is a no-cost option and also brings a six-point harness, plus a fire extinguisher mounted in the passenger footwell.

If you only tick one option box make sure it’s the front axle lift system. It costs $4900 but the system will probably save you a fortune in damage getting in and out of driveways.

Is there anything interesting about its design?   9/10

A Porsche with a fixed rear wing as big as an ironing board clamped in place by swan neck attachments should be enough to let people know they are in the presence of automotive greatness.

If not, the bonnet with its NACA duct nostrils, the louvres cut into the wheel arches and the funnel-like air inlets where the back windows should be are also obvious signs this is no ordinary Cayman.

You and I know none of these features are just for the look. The GT4 RS is a Cayman redesigned for monster performance.

For starters the GT4 RS is 30mm lower and 35kg lighter than a regular Cayman.

Downforce is increased by 25 per cent thanks to that enormous fixed rear wing and front diffuser.

The NACA ducts in the bonnet pipe air down to cool brakes the size of family pizzas. Actually, at 408mm in diameter they’re the same cast iron/aluminium discs you’ll find on a 911 GT3 and 28mm larger than the GT4’s. Also the same as a GT3’s are the rear 380mm discs.

Excess air pressure is released through the wheel arch louvres, while those giant ducts where back windows normally are feed the engine air like a baby prehistoric bird as it screams for more in your ear.

The GT4 RS only weighs 1415kg thanks to that carbon bonnet, a rear window made of light-weight glass, heavy insulation material has been taken out, the door handles inside are just fabric loops and even lightweight carpets have been used.

The optional Weissach package is pretty much there for the look and gives the bonnet, rear wing and side air inlets the carbon weave finish.

The pack also adds titanium exhaust tips styled to look like those from a 1970s Porsche 935 and inside it swaps the steel roll cage for a titanium version along with lots of leather and Race-Tex (synthetic suede) upholstery.

The titanium roll cage is 16kg lighter than the steel version but it’s not FIA-GT approved.

The 20-inch forged magnesium wheels come with the Weissach pack and along with looking stunning they’re also 10kg lighter than the standard alloys.

What’s it like to drive?   10/10

That sleepless night before the day I drove the GT4 RS was worth every hour awake.

I’d planned a route which would take me on a round trip from Sydney’s inner suburbs to (in and around) the Blue Mountains to the west.

The automotive gods had given me a cool, dry and sunny day.  The only thing I didn’t have was a racetrack where a car like this can be set free and its abilities truly unlocked.

But I can tell you what it’s like to drive on great roads… and terrible ones.

First, the GT4 RS would be tough to drive daily on our Aussie city streets. Ground clearance is 103mm and higher speed bumps reach up and touch the undercarriage.

This not only meant driving slowly over them, but at an angle. I was honked at for doing this.

Next, the ride is on the granite side of firm and the thin walls on the Pirelli P Zero tyres on our car (245/35 ZR 20 on the front and 295/30 ZR 20 on the rear) meant it fell hard into Sydney’s potholes.

I wouldn’t call driving the GT4 RS in the city painful, but even on the most comfortable adaptive suspension setting it’s not all that pleasurable.

Those race seats aren’t the plushest place in the world, either, but I spent from pretty much 7:00am until 7:00pm pretty in mine and found it supportive and genuinely comfortable, while the driving position is excellent.

This is a low car, too, and if like me you’re over 45 and the height of a baby giraffe then be prepared to crawl in and out.

But it’s all worth it when the right road appears in front of you away from the traffic of the city.

That’s where you’ll glimpse the 718 Cayman GT4 RS’s brilliance. It’s all here. Rapid acceleration accompanied by the sound of a tornado around you, but reined in by brutally effective brakes.

Superb handling, balance and stability defy winding roads, while the nose is light and easy to point with the turn-in to corners committed and accurate.

The 718 Cayman is not just one of the best Porsches I’ve driven in the past decade but one of the best cars I’ve piloted in that time.

How practical is its space and tech inside?   8/10

The 718 Cayman GT4 RS is a two seater sports car that’s probably more practical than you might think.

There’s a spacious cockpit with excellent legroom even for me at 191cm tall, plus good headroom. Those bucket seats were verging on snug for me at 90kg, but they weren’t at all uncomfortable.

Cabin storage is limited to a tiny centre console box only large enough for a wallet, while the door nets are good for phones. The glove box is large and lockable.

For luggage there are two boots: one in the front under the bonnet, and the other is in the back. Both will easily fit an airline carry-on sized suitcase.

The Cayman has two boots, with one up front. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

Both 'boots' can easily fit a small suitcase. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range?   8/10

Porsche says that after a combination of open and urban roads the 718 Cayman GT4 RS will use 12.7L/100km.

After leaving the city in peak hour traffic for flowing country roads, only to then join the commuters again on their way home, we measured 14.1L/100km at the fuel pump after 391km.

I’m not surprised by this mileage given I made no effort at all to conserve fuel, and compared to some of its supercar peers the fuel usage is darn good relative to what V8 and V10 sports cars tend to guzzle.

You’ll need 64 litres of 98 RON premium unleaded to fill the tank, which translates to a range of just over 500km using Porsche’s official consumption figure, and a tad more than 450km using our real-world number.

What safety equipment is fitted? What safety rating?   7/10

There’s almost no advanced safety tech on board the GT4 RS – that means no AEB, no lane keeping assistance no blind-spot warning – this truly is a race car.

You’ll be happy to know there are full-sized front airbags for the driver and co-pilot, they both also have thorax airbags and head airbags.

Unsurprisingly, the car has not been safety assessed by ANCAP.

What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs?   7/10

The Cayman GT4 RS is covered by a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and servicing is needed every 12 months or 20,000km.

With Porsche, final service costs are determined at the dealer level (in line with variable labour rates by state/territory).

We’d like to see the warranty coverage increased to five years/unlimited kilometres which will bring it in line with more mainstream brands.

A car like the GT4 RS is special, too, and likely to be owned for longer than just a few years and a longer warranty is good peace of mind.

Verdict

The 718 Cayman GT4 RS is a street legal race car that offers outstanding performance while staying easy to drive. That said, if you plan to drive the car daily, be prepared for a less than comfortable experience.

Really, the GT4 RS is a car you can drive to the track and then home again, or for a country road blast, not something you could commute in daily.

Is it as good as a 911 GT3? The answer is no, but it’s not far off.

Keyword: Porsche 718 2023 review: Cayman GT4 RS