Porsche Cayman GT4 Or 911 Carrera 4 GTS - Which Is The Better Vehicle For The Purist?

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.

Read Article

TheSteve - 3/23/2015 4:14:03 PM

+3 Boost

"Purism" is rigid conformity to specific ideals.

BMW purists will tell you if it's not a normally-aspirated inline 6 with RWD, then it's not a "real BMW." Harley-Davidson purists will tell you if it's not an air-cooled V-twin with chain drive, then it's not a real motorcycle. It seems the whole "purism" thing isn't about immense joy and pleasure, but more a matter of a reference by which to bash non-conformists.

I say, if you like it, then freakin' awesome for you, and it really doesn't matter what I think about your choices. Right?

pcar4evr - 3/23/2015 4:26:12 PM

+3 Boost

If there is any "truism" here, it is that the Cayman is no longer a second class citizen to the 911. From the performance envelope to the same quality of the materials used, it is as close to a "bargain" as you can get from Porsche.

MDarringer - 3/23/2015 7:32:56 PM

-3 Boost

The Cayman

freeagent - 3/23/2015 8:36:05 PM

+1 Boost

Cayman

focal - 3/24/2015 10:17:24 AM

+1 Boost

in absolute terms and bragging rights, the numbers are always the defining difference. We aren't good enough drivers to drive the "Ring" at the times they post. We cannot tell the difference between the 15hp extra that a GTS may have over a S. In a year or two the 4 cylinder turbo Porsche engines will be faster and more efficient than the current 2.8L flat 6's. Even the future smaller 2.8-3.2L turbo 6 cylinders will be pushing way more power and torque than the 3.2-3.8L flat N.A. 6 cyl. All hell will break loose for performance when the 918 hybrid tech is filtered down also. It's bragging rights and numbers. Oh and PDK is faster, better, more efficient than a manual transmission.

Now drive back to back in one of these future Porsche cars and one of the older P-cars and tell me if the feeling you get afterwards isn't just better. You're rowing your own gears, you're hearing an engine sound and you're feeling the road. Purism has a point

quizz - 3/26/2015 6:46:46 PM

+1 Boost

GT4 with manual shift = purist.

Ironically, the PDK would probably make it better performing than the C4 GTS.