T HAS A brand-new, bespoke engine,” says
Andreas Preuninger, Porsche’s GT road-car boss.
Most significantly, he adds, and to a collective
sigh of relief to all enthusiasts globally: “It’s
a four-litre, naturally aspirated, flat-six.”
Immediately, the GT boss confirms all the
rumoursthatthe Cayman GT4 and its Boxster Spyder relation
would retain a flat-six instead of the more common 718’s
turbocharged four-cylinder unit. Finally, a new Cayman that
will sound like a proper Porsche, then.
We’re in a studio near Weissach, a month or so before the GT
department’s latest cars are revealed, for an early, exclusive
walk-around with Preuninger and his team. “We tried not to
change too much, because these cars, especially the GT4, they
had this inherent rightness to them,” he says.
While that sounds simple, Porsche had to adhere to stricter
emissions and noise standards globally, and the GT department
is hard-wired to constantly enhance and improve.
While the GT3 and GT4 might both feature 4.0-litre flat-
sixes, the latter is not simply a detuned version of the former.
Preuninger describes the new engine as: “a clean-sheet
design,” even if it is based on the 992 Carrera S’s 9A2 Evo
3.0-litre turbo flat-six.
He admits it’s got roughly the same outline as the GT3
engine, with an 81.5 stroke and 102mm bore, and it’s dry-
sumped, too, but it’s a bespoke unit. It has piezo injection
and active cylinder control, all helping with emissions and,
crucially, it can be built alongside the standard Carrera
engines on the line, so it’s significantly cheaper to make.
Even so, the GT department engineers say around 80
percent of the engine is unique, and necessary. Putting a
GT3 engine in the 718 just wasn’t an option, as it’s one of the
most expensive powerplants in a production car today, and
specifically designed for a rear-engined layout. Even if it could
be turned around, it would push the Cayman GT4 and Boxster
Spyder into a price point that simply wouldn’t work.
Not that the new engine looks in any way to be lacking. Its
output is rated at 309kW at 7600rpm, and revs to 8000rpm
according to Preuninger. Peak torque of 420Nm is produced
between 5000rpm and 6800rpm, driving the rear wheels
through a six-speed manual transmission (the previous GT4’s
3.8-litre six made 283kW and exactly the same 420Nm.)
It comes with a switchable Auto Blip button for rev-
matching of the downshifts, like the recent 911 Speedster. As
with their GT4 and Spyder predecessors, there’ll be no dual-
clutch option. Preuninger says it was discussed, but such was
the GT4 and Boxster Spyder’s approval as a manual, the idea
was quickly dismissed.
While both are positioned as entry-level GT cars, Preuninger
says he was astonished at the clamour among supercar owners
to buy the previous model. The goal is usable, accessible
performance, a “sweet spot” of a driver’s car; one that’s
exploitable on both road and track and, crucially, fun.
Of course, “if you’re looking for pure track capability, it’s
at least 10 seconds quicker than its predecessor,” Preuninger
says, referring, of course, to the industry-standard Nurburgring.
Against the stopwatch the Cayman GT4 reaches 100km/h in 4.4
seconds, the same as the old one, with a top speed of 304km/h.
Preuninger says it’ll reach 200km/h about a second quicker
from standstill than before, so around 13.5sec. Its substantially
quicker ’Ring time is a result of the combination of revisions
made to every area of the car, including the latest damperNot a huge visual jump, but it’s
what lies beneath that makes new
Cayman GT4 such a stand-outAluminium struts mean huge rear
wing is adjustable, so downforce
can be dialled up or down“
I