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Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Hits Nurburgring, Sounds More Muted?

The Porshephile community is going through a bit of an anxiety era at the moment and I'm referring to the future of naturally aspirated sportscars. With most of the 911 and 718 lineups now relying on turbocharging to meet the ever-stricter emission standards, purists are left with models such as the almost-out-of-the-oven 992 GT3 and 718 Cayman GT4 (let's not forget the 718 Boxster Spyder).
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Hits Nurburgring 5 photos
Photo: cvdzijden/Instagram
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Hits NurburgringPorsche 718 Cayman GT4 Hits NurburgringPorsche 718 Cayman GT4 Hits NurburgringPorsche 718 Cayman GT4 Hits Nurburgring
And with the aural side of a naturally aspirated driving experience being just as important as the instant throttle response and linear power delivery, certain Zuffenhausen lovers are worried about the voices of the newcomers.

I'll focus on the 718 Cayman GT4 for now, with this being featured in the Nurburgring testing video below. However, I need to mention that, as stated, the concerns cover the entire range of N/A models.

The clip below allows us get a decent sample of the atmospheric flat-six that occupies the middle section of the sportscar. And while some aficioandos claim this sounds less effervescent than the retired Cayman GT4, I really can't tell until listening to the two together, in the real world.

Speaking of which, the now-old GT4 is animated by at atmospheric 3.8-liter boxer borrowed from the 991.1 Carrera S. Now, the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, which has already debuted, has kept that engine going, thanks to the race teams already being familiar to the unit.

Nevertheless, the street car is expected to welcome the 4.0-liter flat-six we've seen on the 911 GT3, GT3 RS and, of course, the $275,000 911 Speedster that just landed. Nevertheless, you should expect the unit to be downtuned, which means its output will probably sit around 425 horsepower. Then again, we always have to take such rumors with a grain of salt...

Now, while the manual tranny will obviously be on the list, the rumor mill talks about Porsche leaving 911 cannibalization fears behind and offering an optional PDK. So here's to hoping this sort of forum chat is true.

 

Ripping 🏁🎥 @cvdzijden

A post shared by Todd Schleicher (@t_schleicher) on Apr 20, 2019 at 10:43am PDT

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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