The 718 Cayman GTS Is Porsche's Best Kept Secret

On this episode of R&T's Three Lap Reviews, Travis Okulski and Sam Smith take the 2018 Porsche Cayman GTS out at Lime Rock Park to see just what makes it the sweet spot of Porsche's lineup.

[jtstar]

This 718 has a deep angry growl, very similar to any V8, like the C63 AMG, and Lexus LC500.
The 981 screams and wails like a bitch, and the 718 growls and grunts like a beast. Both are great in their ways! Peace.

[ravenstylea]

What happened to driving the car and showing us the athleticism? This was some kind of tea time review.

[dafrasier]

718 Boxster S, Leipzig Germany; European Delivery. June 2017 242 Laps on the Ring. No problems. PDK terrific. One set of brake pads, and new tires.
More power than I could use. 8:29 fastest lap. 23.07.2017 Sound on the Track does not matter; only around town trying to show off.
15 more horses ?? not needed. BMW M2 Competition June 2019, sunset orange, DCT. These sequential race transmission are great.

[denoex]

The GTS has more horsepower because of a redesigned intake manifold and different turbo, not because of more boost due to a tune. Also, the PDK-spec with carbon ceramics that you drove is nowhere near $80k. At least $93k without any other options, which I’m sure it had.

Look at dyno chart comparisons between the 981 and the 718. The new engine blows away the old flat 6, especially when you look at the low and mid RPM torque. It’s the first time a Cayman/Boxster has been properly fast, especially on the street where you want that low end power. Even the previous GT4 has the same Ring time as the GTS despite having far better tires and aero suited to track use.

Both engines sound decent, just different. Anyone who thinks a flat 6 sounds like some pinnacle of engine design clearly hasn’t heard any nice V8s or even inline 5s in person. Even an amazing car like a GT3RS has absolutely nothing on something like a 458 in terms of sound.

[JadRaouda]

The GTS with a manual and without torque vectoring would be perfect - Have to agree about the sound but not about the lag, perhaps on takeoff, but otherwise the VTG Turbo is very good at eliminating lag. But do i want a little more of that spine tingling high frequency note at high revs...yess i do - 2 more cylinders on that engine, keeping the VTG in place, would make this one of the best cars ever made...

[compaqedr]

Would rather a small displacement 6 with turbo instead. Like 2.5 turbo. Still get good economy and keep the sound

[StarAZ]

Wish I live in a place where the climate allows me to drive a car like this all year around. For now, I'm happy with having a motorcycle as my track toy.

[Malcom]

Stage 3 tune on these gives 500 whp, thats the fastest and best value Porsche has ever built! 3.2 sec car for sub 100k in a Porsche. Wow!

[joapps]

wrong. cayman gts is between its gt4 and its S models...not its base model

[Mexxx]

... exactly ... why it's not selling well .... next to no-one knows of it's existence ... as the last known existence was the flat six 981 model.

[stevecade]

Buy a used 981 gts instead. It doesn't matter that the 718 is that little bit better handling and that little bit faster. The old 3.4 boxer six will more than make up for those little shortcomings with genuine Porsche soul.

[Scorpio]

Cayman GTS is the same price as a 911 Carrera. Drive both back to back on the streets where these cars spend most their time, and the 911 has more personality. Now, if Porsche would put the base model 911 3.0 turbo engine in the 718 I'd gladly hand over my money.

[DontTellMeMore]

About 2:42, I open the door and toss you. Call daddy...

[andrewpatton]

Love the video guys but the post processing really makes the yellow of the Porsche look flat, gray and ugly!
Bump up that vibrance and contrast so it's not a dull banana yellow.

[SnakeEyes]

I'm 23 now, gonna get my first Porsche in a few years. I really, really like the GT4 though but this one sounds perfect for me. Any advice for someone looking to get their first Porsche?

[YachtReport]

There's two of these in my local dealer, nobody wants them. Bring back the flat six!

[jjaisli]

Porsche, like every other manufacturer worldwide, is under pressure to reduce emissions and and improve fuel economy. I doubt you'd find a single Porsche engineer who thought changing over to a forced induction 2.0 or 2.5 liter flat four was a great idea. And the declining sales numbers from the 981 to the 718 show that most people out there don't think so either. But Porsche is also keenly aware that in another 20-25 years, traditional gas combustion engines will be a thing of the past--at least on new cars. And change is coming whether we want it or not.

Despite this, for enthusiasts like us, the move over to the new turbo flat-4 is truly lamentable. That wonderful flat-6 is synonymous with Porsche and especially with the 911/Boxster/Cayman. I was lusting after a 981 for several years, but I couldn't quite swing it at the time. And when the 718 arrived, despite the increase in power and welcome chassis refinements, I was thoroughly turned off and was planning on buying a BMW M2 instead.

Luckily, I found a 2016, 981 Cayman S earlier this spring, coming off a one year lease, with only 3, 000 miles on the odometer, and miraculously, configured almost exactly how I would have configured the car myself--including the increasingly rare manual transmission. And I'm very happy-sad, that I now own one of the very last naturally aspirated Porsches (that isn't a GT car). And I'm torn between wanting to drive it all the time, and just keeping it locked away in my garage forever.

If I DO still own this car on the day when Porsche no longer produces gasoline powered cars, it will be a fun and ironic day to take it out for a drive.

[boywonderrr]

OK, yall need to watch Chris Harris or Matt from the smoking tire. This leisurely drive is not what we want to see.

[swanblake]

Love these two! Awesome job. Shame the Cayman still sounds poor sadly. Personally I would trade power for sound. I also drive manuals though so the Germans already hate my inefficiencies. Everything else is perfect on this car.

[bthvnyt]

It's not a bad car because it's a Porsche but I would not buy it. Maybe they will correct their mistakes next yr or so. Maybe Porsche is about to put the mid-engine design in their other more expensive models. They certainly don't want their base model to out-perform their more expensive models. Pathetic. But whatever.