For years, people have been complaining to Porsche, asking that they stop capping the Cayman just to preserve the 911's image. Finally, it seems they've listened and are building a true mid-engined compact sportscar, one fitted with every tool needed to take on its rear-engined bigger brother.
It's going to be called the Cayman GT4 and we've managed to find the very first video of the car, a glimpse of what it will look like going down the road in a year's time, when Porsche launches it. Wearing some mighty cool, the two-seater has some pretty big shoes to fill, ones which we're confident will be stuffed by plenty of race-derived technology.
The 981 generation Cayman is already a very capable car, especially after receiving the GTS version. But the GT4 takes things even further. As you can see from the video, a full roll cage has been fitted, just like in the 911 GT3. This adds stiffness, thus improving cornering.
The front bumper of the new Cayman is so low to the ground, it can probably be used to cut the grass on the Nurburgring, while a large fixed rear wing looks like it's been borrowed from a Le Mans racer.
The wing isn't there because the Cayman is unstable – even the S models have all the grip in the world. The wing is actually fitted to make the best use of a more powerful engine. How much more powerful? We think somewhere in the region of 350 to 380 hp, though where it's coming from has people up in arms.
If the 911 GT3 is anything to go by, a reworked version of the 3.4-liter boxer is on the table. Since Cayman GTS models put down 340 hp from a similar mill, we could be looking at 355 hp, give or take a fiver. Although never done before, the bigger 3.8-liter from a Carrera S mill could be used as well.
German custom car manufacturer Ruf has already done this with a car called the 3800 S, which they sell for 108,533.50 + VAT right now. If Porsche decided to do the same on an industrial level, that sticker could be slashed considerably.
Finally, there are next-gen engines. A rent report from a reputable American publication has suggested Porsche is working on hybrid versions of most of its cars which will act as flagship models, a bit like the 918 and the 919 Le Mans race car.
But developing a bespoke boxer hybrid just for this car would be extremely costly, not to mention risky. Would people actually pay €10,000 extra just for a hybrid engine, plus more for the chassis tuning? We think not.
The brakes of the GT4 prototype poke holes in the hybrid theory as well. The calipers are red and in Porsche talk, that means "normal". If this were a hybrid, they would have been painted green. Carbon ceramics are likely going to be an optional extra, costing just like with the Cayman GTS. Yes, they last much longer and have gold calipers, but some people don't like the feel of the pedal.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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