Is the Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 with Its Flat-Six Just as Good as a GT4?

Porsche's GT models grew out of one idea: pack as much race-car technology as possible into a street-legal car. The innovations from the race cars - the Porsche 911 RSR, for example - flow into the next generation of the GT4, GT3 or GT2. So the street-legal GT variants carry real motorsport genes. That's what sets them so far apart from their respective base models, even though they wear essentially the same bodywork.

On the engine side, too, Porsche's GT models get a powerplant developed specifically for them. For the most part that's still a free-breathing naturally aspirated engine - much to our delight. But for the first time, Porsche is taking that unique selling point, at least the one of the Cayman GT4, the spearhead of the 718 lineup, and putting the 4.0-liter naturally aspirated engine into the Cayman GTS 4.0 as well. You can rent a Porsche Cayman from us, which is why we asked ourselves whether the GTS variant might already get you the full-blown GT experience.

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First up: what the Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 looks like from the outside

For the layman, it's not at all easy to tell the 718 Cayman GTS apart from its base version. A slightly modified front bumper, a few black accents and the twin-pipe sport exhaust in the center are what turn a Cayman into a GTS. Most of it you can now order as an option on a regular Cayman anyway. So if there were no "GTS" lettering on the car, you could barely tell the difference.

The car we got for testing was black. That makes the small details disappear even more. Still, the overall look is mean in a typically GTS way.

Inside the Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0

Inside, you find exactly what you know from the GTS sport models: sporty Alcantara, carbon trim and contrast-color stitching. On top of that, the - thankfully still analog - tachometer with a real needle is finished in the contrast color as well, red in our case.

I have to be honest, I'd spec a GTS interior in any base Porsche. It's very sporty and absolutely high-end at the same time.

The infotainment system isn't quite state of the art and the screen is comparatively small. But honestly, at least in a sports car, I couldn't care less anymore. I figure you've got a much better-working smartphone with Google Maps on you anyway!

Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 specs: horsepower, 0 to 60 time, top speed and price

According to the spec sheet, the GTS gives up 20 hp to the GT4, so it has to make do with 394 hp (400 PS in Euro spec). Supposedly it does 0 to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds. Despite some very good attempts, we didn't manage to get under 4.9 seconds. This is where you feel the missing dual-clutch transmission, which would make the sprint noticeably quicker. Top speed is quoted at 182 mph. By the way: the base price of the Cayman GTS is €80,703 in Germany, including the currently reduced German VAT.

Overall, the numbers are fine. Still, the previous model with its turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder remains quicker.

So with the facelifted GTS, Porsche hasn't just broken with the downsizing convention, it has also delivered a new model that is slower than its old counterpart by comparison.

Now for the part that matters: how the Porsche Cayman GTS drives compared to the GT4

On paper, the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS is already a proper driver's machine: mid-engine, a manual gearbox & a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six. Any sports car fan knows this car was built for back roads. Within the first few quick yards, the gearbox gets to prove itself. As is typical for Porsche, the throws are short and the shifter glides from one gear into the next as if guided by magic.

It's a joy to shift down two gears before the next corner and, helped by the automatic rev-matching in Sport Plus mode, be right in the correct rev range to power out of it. In that respect, the gearbox works exactly as well as in the GT4 and is probably completely identical, too.

Engine-wise, a 62-124 mph (100-200 km/h) test between GTS & GT4 didn't show a big difference. Still, the GT4 feels more direct when you stab the throttle, which makes it feel a little quicker.

The big differences, however, are in the cornering. Thanks to the optimized body and the GT4's massive downforce, it feels noticeably more stable, especially in long, fast corners. And the front axle borrowed from the GT3 really lets the driver feel that this car means business.

The Cayman GTS is clearly better in every area than its usual competition, think BMW M2 and Audi TT RS, and it's an incredible amount of fun, but once you jump behind the wheel of the GT4, you don't want to go back.

Which means: even if the two in-house Porsche rivals look fairly similar on paper and feel similar from behind the wheel, the GT4, because it's a touch better in every discipline, is a different world altogether. Sounds odd, but that's how it is.

Verdict: Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0

The car is once again more emotional and more driver-focused than its downsized predecessor. With that, it follows much more closely in its big brother's footsteps. Still, the GT4 - which at €96,000 in Germany costs only around €16,000 more - is the noticeably sharper version and always the thing the GTS just isn't yet.

So if I could, I'd still throw in a few extra bucks. And if you'd like to rent a Porsche Cayman yourself sometime, you've come to the right place.