Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder 2019: RS rumours, plus offical images, specs, prices and release

Porsche took the covers off its new Cayman GT4 coupe and drop-top Boxster Spyder just over a month ago. The hardcore models are based on the German firm’s 718-generation sports cars - and it’s rumoured that a track-honed RS version is in the works.

Designed with a focus on driving thrills over comfort, the new models will feature a manual gearbox, with no mention of any automatic option in the pipeline.

And driving fans may be pleased to learn that a flat-six motor will replace the turbocharged flat-four engines found in the standard 718 Cayman and Boxster, which were criticised for their lacklustre sound.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Here’s the lowdown on the two new cars:

Will there be an RS version?

Perhaps, according to the head of Porsche’s GT division, Andreas Preuninger.

In an interview with Australian motoring magazine Wheels, Preuninger said that the increasing demand of Porsche GT cars means the company could build an even faster version of the Cayman GT4 - badged RS.

“There’s always room, if you create the room”, he said. “There’s lot of ideas that we have at the moment, and the good point is we have a lot more ideas than we can really carry out and realise.”

Preuninger added that there’s “meat” in the Cayman GT4’s 4.0-litre flat-six engine, suggesting that Porsche engineers could unlock more power from the motor.

“We concentrated on getting the regular GT4’s 420hp so it’s right on the longevity side and on the emissions side, but I think that with this engine, if we weren’t strangled by [emissions] laws, it could produce more power quite easily”, he told Wheels.

If Porsche does make an RS version, it’ll be based on the hardtop Cayman GT4 as opposed to the Boxster Spyder. The German carmaker has never released drop-top RS model - and there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.

Price

Prices for the Boxster Spyder kick off at £73,405, while the Cayman GT4 is slightly more expensive at £75,348, PistonHeads reports. Porsche is known for offering buyers an extensive options list, so expect both of those figures to rise once a few extras have been added.

Release

Both models are available to order now. Porsche will offer a Clubsport package - adding a rear roll bar, a fire extinguisher and a six-point seatbelt for the driver - at a later date, says Auto Express.

Design

The performance-focused newcomers look similar to the entry-level sports cars on which they’re based, but are set apart by a few key design tweaks.

The Cayman GT4 gets a more aggressive front and rear bumper design than that of the previous-generation model. There’s also a small wing above the boot lid and a pair of exhausts that emerge from the diffuser at the bottom of the rear bumper.

The Boxster Spyder gets a similar treatment, including the addition of more angular bumpers and a twin-exit exhaust system.

However, as a drop-top, the Boxster Spyder’s engine cover extends from the back of the cabin to the small ducktail-esque wing. The roof is fastened in place manually and can be stored under the front bonnet when not in use.

Engine and performance

Both models are powered by a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six engine, as opposed to the turbocharged 2.0-litre flat-four motors that feature in the base-spec Cayman and Boxster.

On paper, the engine looks identical to the motor that powers the hardcore 991-generation 911 GT3 RS.

However, Porsche GT division boss Andreas Preuninger told Car magazine that as one of the most expensive production car motors in the world, the GT3 RS’s engine would have been too expensive to carry over to the new Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder.

Instead, the engine that powers the track-honed 718 cars is a larger, naturally aspirated version of the turbo flat-six found in standard 911 Carrera models.

The engine in the new models produces 414bhp and 310lb ft of torque, revving all the way to 8,000rpm, notes Autocar.

Power is sent to the rear-wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox, to achieve a zero to 62mph time of 4.4 seconds in both models. Top speed comes in at 188mph on the Cayman GT4, and 187mph on the Boxster Spyder.