With some of you warming to the thought that Porsche may have already started work on an even hotter version of the Cayman GT4, I find it is my duty to inform you that a GT4 RS may be a long time coming. Andreas Preuninger, the head of GT cars at Porsche,->ke1 delivered the bad news.
Speaking with Car and Driver at the Cayman GT4 international press launch, Preuninger didn't exactly deny the viability of an even more hardcore version for the fastest Cayman,->ke5 but didn't acknowledge it either. "Look back to 1999 when we had the first GT3, and we didn’t think of an RS back then either," he said. "So I wouldn’t rule it out 100 percent. Never say never. But it’s not at the point where we have even discussed such a thing, and we have a huge number of other projects that we are considering. We have to give the right attention for every project, we can’t just say ‘let’s do it’ without considering the people we have, the resources we have. We can’t do everything, even when people tell us to."
A lighter and more powerful Cayman GT4 RS would make the car more track-focused, to the point that it would probably eat a more expensive 911 GT3 for breakfast on a circuit. Then again, this wouldn't be the first time Porsche has built cars that cannibalize each other in sales.
Continue reading to learn more about the Porsche Cayman GT4.
Why it matters
While I don't buy the whole "it hasn't even been discussed" hogwash, I believe there are other reasons behind Preuninger's decision to dismiss talk about a GT4 RS at this point. Just think about it, the man was asked about a hotter version of the Cayman GT4 at the GT4's launch -- not a good time for him to answer questions about an upgrade model. The best time to talk about a GT4 RS will be after all GT4 units have been sold, not now.
Let's just wait for the 991 mid-cycle refresh at the end of 2015, since it is said that it'll bring turbocharged engines across the range. After that happens, a naturally aspirated Cayman GT4 RS will no longer sound like a better proposition against the 911 GTS – for example – but simply a more analog choice in the "more than 400 horsepower" Porsche range. In other words, I think the GT4 RS has a more than 50 percent chance of happening, but likely at the end of the current Cayman generation.