After ten years of carefully keeping the Cayman at the border of the 911 performance realm, Porsche has finally allowed its mid-engined machine to enter Neunelfer land. We are here now to give you a taste of exactly how deep the Cayman GT4 bites the neck of its rear-engined big brother.
Since the Cayman GT4 borrows its 3.8-liter flat six from the 911 Carrera S, you might expect to see the two being thrown at each other. However, even with the downtuned engine the 385 hp Cayman would beat the 400 hp Carrera S.
If an equal power-to-weight ratio is what we're looking for, then the 430 hp 911 Carrera 4 GTS is the fitting rival. Well, Motorsport Magazine has pitted the manual GT4 and the PDK double-clutch GTS against each other in a drag race.
The footage below allows you to see an "instrument dial race" and we can tell you the two Zuffenhausen machines are extremely close in the 0 to 240 km/h (149 mph) sprint. For the record, Porsche quotes identical times for the 0 to 60 mph sprint of the two - 4.2 seconds. Mind you, the Germans have always been conservative about performance numbers.
Do take into account the fact that the GT4 starts at $84,000/EUR85,776, while the Carrera 4 GTS requires at least $121,895/EUR124,689. Oh and in case you're wondering why a four-wheel drive 911 was chosen, the answer is simple - the GTS doesn't come in RWD form.
Of course, this Usain Bolt stuff (no Nissan GT-R pun intended) only makes us want to see a track battle between the two. The GTS might have the "4" badge on its side, but the Cayman GT4 has the 911 GT3 suspension and the lower weight on its side.
Fret not 911 engine-at-the-back fans, the GT4 isn't able to put a serious dent in the 911's armor, at least not when Porsche only plans to produce up to 2,500 units.
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. Full profile
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