Porsche Cayman GT4 RS 2024 review | Goodwood Test

It’s not long now until the electric replacement for the Porsche 718 Cayman arrives in 2025, signalling the end of production for the most affordable gateway to Porsche’s 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six.

The 718’s position as Porsche’s entry level sportscar has always been its major selling point. You can pick up a brilliantly engineered machine for around half the price of a 911, and for many people that makes both the Cayman and the Boxster the best Porsches on the market. Heading to the more affordable end of the range does of course mean missing out on the flat-six, but Porsche had an answer for that as well.

By sticking its most potent and most electrifying 4.0-litre engine into the back of the Cayman, Porsche created an absolute gem. The Porsche Cayman GT4 RS has been among the very best cars to come out of Stuttgart over the past few years; that it will soon be consigned to history is sad to comprehend.

We’ve spent some time with the car to remind ourselves of just how good it is, and enjoy a little fond farewell with what will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest ever Porsches.

In every sense, the Cayman GT4 RS is an alarming bit of kit. It’s worth touching on the looks of this thing, because they pre-empt what happens when you start the engine.

Honestly, if you don’t make the most of Porsche’s imaginative palette of colours then you’re doing it wrong. The Shark Blue model we’ve been driving looked absolutely stunning, and drew more than a couple of compliments while we were out and about. It pops all the more when accompanied by the bonnet’s carbon-fibre finish.

The styling follows the usual track-orientated extravagance of Porsche’s RS line, with several intakes cut into the front wings generating plenty of downforce and optimising cooling, and two gulping intakes on the rear haunches sucking air into the engine bay.

The rear wing is of course the obvious addition compared to a standard Cayman, and overall the additional design features produce 25 per cent more downforce than the Cayman GT4.

Before we get to what all that extra downforce means for performance, let’s talk about the best part of the Cayman GT4 RS: that engine. As mentioned, it’s the most potent motor Porsche currently makes, the 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six, de-rated slightly so as not to outdo the GT3, but still producing 500PS (368kW).

The results are difficult to quantify, mainly because you very rarely get anywhere near fulfilling the full potential of this remarkable engine. The acceleration, the noise and the response from the throttle pedal are astonishing, more impressive than the speed itself is the experience you get from unleashing it.

There will never be an alternative for the sound of a proper naturally-aspirated petrol engine. Porsche’s flat-six becomes an entirely different beast when it breathes all by itself, the results are utterly addictive and readily available whenever your whim requests it, all the way to a 9,000rpm redline.

In terms of performance, 0-62mph takes 3.4 seconds with relentless acceleration thereafter on the way to a 196mph top speed. The power delivery is wonderfully linear and truly impressive as the revs rise smoothly demanding a good deal of concentration to keep up with the gear changes.

Switching into manual mode is the only way to make the most of all this capability. The automatic transmission is great in most circumstances, but if you’re seeking that instantaneous injection of revs then you’re going to want to take matters into your own hands to avoid what can be a slovenly response.

The engine is matched only by the way the Cayman GT4 RS handles, suffices to say that a car engineered to dominate a race track has a fairly well put together chassis. It’s the most extreme version of the Cayman, and that comes across in the way you can hassle this car. You have to push it an awful long way before you start feeling the limits of what’s possible.

With the faintest touch of the pedal you get a wonderful sense of the braking capabilities, the stopping power from those 408mm (front) and 380mm (rear) aluminium discs is phenomenal and exquisitely balanced. The weight transfer is then translated directly into your internal gyros by a suspension system that belongs on a far more expensive car.

It’s very stiff, a bit too stiff really, for getting comfortable on any kind of road here in Britain, but the performance when you reach a corner is suitably breathtaking. It is so well sorted that it feels incredibly close to infallible, the way it manages the balance on turn in and then allows you to power out with the help of torque vectoring produces epic results time and time again. You’d have to do something very wrong to send this car into the weeds.

Even with the electronic aids switched on, you’re afforded a decent feeling that you’re still in control of the car’s behaviour. The ABS and traction control don’t dampen the experience particularly, instead just provide a reassuring safety net should you feel the need.

If the exterior styling wasn’t enough evidence, climbing inside the Cayman GT4 RS confirms the car’s track focus. It’s almost a little odd to consider it was only introduced in 2022, because there are elements that feel like they’re taken from 2013.

There’s no doubting the quality though, the cabin is upholstered in a mix of leather and Porsche’s Alcantara-like Race-Tex material. The overwhelming feel is that of a racing car, disposing of any extraneous comforts, even offering the option of removing the sound system, to ensure the focus is on the driving.

Cosseting bucket seats are standard equipment, as is the Race-Tex steering wheel and lightweight strap door handles that confused 90 per cent of my passengers. It’s a comfortable and salient place to be, it conveys a sense that the car you're driving is truly special.

Despite the Cayman GT4 RS’s status as a simplified track car, it’s still packing a serious list of technology. All the Porsche acronyms are here, PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management), PTV (Porsche Torque Vectoring) and PSM (Porsche Stability Management) take care of the chassis dynamics, orchestrating suspension and differential settings on the fly.

All the clever stuff has been limited to boosting performance, though. There isn’t an awful lot left to talk about after that. The infotainment screen is basic and set into a plastic surround that reminds me of my 11-year-old Mazda 6 Tourer. It’s a usable system, with Apple CarPlay connectivity, and better yet, it’s complemented with physical controls for the air-conditioning, volume and menu navigation. Your speed and rev counters are displayed on a similarly retro-feeling secondary 4.6-inch screen. It gives the impression of an early-2000s race car, which we approve of greatly.

We’ll finish with possibly the most useless feature in the GT4 RS, that being the optional BOSE Surround Sound System that costs £917. The system itself is good, although the cabin acoustics are not the most conducive to producing decent sound. As soon as you turn the engine on, though, you might as well turn the sound system off. Surely you just want to listen to that flat-six howling anyway?

Two years after we first drove the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS, this car is still one of the very best we’ve ever experienced. Porsche’s proficiency in building expertly engineered machines is second to none, and there is absolutely no shame in opting for the cheapest of the marque’s RS models, because in many ways it is the very best.

As an all-round experience, especially when you take into consideration the £75,000 difference in price between this and the 911 GT3 RS, the Cayman hits the sweet spot like nothing else can. It’s slightly less powerful than the 911, and 0.2 seconds slower from 0-62mph, but these are subtleties that pale significantly when you get out on the road and revel in the brilliance of that engine coupled with that chassis.

It’s going to be a very solemn day when this car is replaced with a new electric model in 2025, but we can all take solace in the fact that the Cayman GT4 RS will live on for a little while yet, and trust that whatever comes next will reach the peak of what’s possible in terms of performance and engineering.