Porsche had never explored the 718’s ultimate potential before the Cayman GT4 RS came along, which, equipped with the 911 GT3 RS’s flat-six in the back, performs like a true supercar. It can do zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and continue on to 196 mph, all while reportedly lapping the Nürburgring quicker than a 911 Turbo S. The GT4 RS’s upgrades seem natural to carry over to the Cayman’s soft-top sister, the Boxster, which Porsche officials have admitted could get something similar to the GT4 RS treatment.
This confirmation comes directly from Porsche executives to make such a car happen: Andreas Preuninger, director of Porsche GT cars, and Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, vice president for the 911 and 718 programs. Both told Drive (unaffiliated) that a Boxster Spyder RS (as it has been speculatively named) is possible, and outlined how it’d differ from the track-focused GT4 RS, but emphasized that such a car isn’t at all guaranteed.
“I could imagine something like that,” Preuninger said of a GT4 RS-equivalent Boxster. “I think it’s manageable and feasible and interesting, but it’s not confirmed.”
“Technically speaking, this is possible,” added Dr. Walliser. “If we do it, I don’t know. The question is where to position it. As an open-top, it’s not a track-orientated car, so it must be something different. As always, we have a lot of ideas on the table and we have to make decisions. If you consider it as a wonderful extension of the RS idea to the Boxster platform… Would I love to see such a car? Yes.”
The GT4 RS is seen as something of a last hurrah for the combustion-only 718, whose next generation will be available as an electric vehicle and has been prototyped as a hybrid. As outlined above, its hypothetical, more road-oriented Boxster sibling would have to be optimized for road use rather than track, though it seems safe to assume the drivetrain would remain identical.
That’d mean a 4.0-liter, naturally aspirated flat six revving to 9,000 rpm, and producing 493 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque. Shortened gearing in its seven-speed dual-clutch transmission enhances acceleration, as does modest weight reduction through the use of composites. As it wouldn’t be a track car, it could ditch the GT4 RS’s rear wing (not that it’d do much), and it probably wouldn’t have much use for the Cayman’s 20-inch single-lug wheels either. Again, the Boxster Spyder RS is far from confirmed, but given the ease with which Porsche could build it—and thus extract big bucks from a limited-production model—it seems like a shoo-in.
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