Porsche hints that hotter Cayman GT4 RS is coming

WE’RE a greedy bunch, aren’t we? Porsche has only just given us the new 982 Cayman GT4 (our review is here), but already our minds are pondering “what if it had more performance…”

And we aren’t the only ones. Andreas Preuninger, who heads Porsche’s coveted GT division, has hinted that an even hotter GT4 RS could be on its way.

Speaking to Wheels at the GT4’s international launch, Preuninger revealed that the increasing popularity of Porsche’s GT cars means he sees room for a GT4 RS to join the Cayman range.

“There’s always room, if you create the room,” he said. “There’s lot of ideas that we have at the moment, and the good point is we have a lot more ideas than we can really carry out and realise. But I would say yes, sure. Stay tuned on this channel.”

3

Wheels understands any potential GT4 RS is well over 12 months away, though Preuninger did shed some light on how its additional performance could be achieved.

“There’s meat in this engine construction,” Preuninger added, referring to the GT4’s all-new, naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six. “We concentrated on getting the regular GT4’s 420hp (309kW) so it’s right on the longevity side and on the emissions side, but I think that with this engine, if we weren’t strangled by [emissions] laws, it could produce more power quite easily.”

The man in charge of developing Porsche’s boxer engines, Markus Baumann, added some further detail, explaining that more performance could easily be extracted by fitting the new 4.0-litre with the GT3’s titanium internals, rigid valvetrain and rear-mounted dry sump.

3

“There’s a lot of room,” said Baumann, when asked how much additional power the 4.0-litre can make. “You can add technologies and then you enable this engine for more power and more revs.”

On top of the customary chassis improvements (improved aero, wider tracks, stickier rubber, and rose-jointed suspension), it’s likely the GT4 RS would be offered solely as a seven-speed dual-clutch to keep it in line with the rest of Porsche’s auto-only RS range.

The biggest hurdle facing the GT4 RS is cost. “To give this engine [the GT4’s 4.0-litre] more RPMs you give it more components that become really costly,” said Preuninger. “That’s why the GT3 engine was not an option for the GT4. In the GT3 we might have one of the most expensive engines in the automotive market for a street-legal car.”

Ensuring any potential GT4 RS doesn’t cannibalise the 911 range by offering similar performance to a GT3 is also a valid concern. So there are roadblocks to navigate, but as Preuninger says, stay tuned to this channel.