The Malaysian launch of the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 and Porsche 718 Spyder will be happening very soon at 8pm, and you can watch the unveiling of these two very special sports cars here, live.
These two performance flagships of the 718 Cayman and Boxster range need no hyping up – these mid-engined GT babies are truly special. If you’re a car enthusiast (no need to be a Porsche fanboy even), here’s the yummy-sounding recipe – how bout a big NA engine paired to a manual gearbox?
Both Cayman GT4 and 718 Spyder are powered by a 4.0 litre naturally-aspirated flat-six producing 420 PS and 420 Nm of torque from 5,000 to 6,800 rpm. That’s just a few horses away from the Cayman GT4 Clubsport track car. Max engine speed is 8,000 rpm. As a concession to the times we live in, there’s stop-start and cylinder deactivation.
The six-speed manual transmission comes with a dual-mass flywheel and throttle-blip function. Both the coupe and roadster are good for 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds. Top speed for the Cayman GT4 is 304 km/h, while the “Boxster Spyder” does 301 km/h.
Aero revisions on the Cayman GT4 see increases in downforce of up to 50% without adversely affecting drag, says Porsche. Both models benefit from a newly-designed single-chamber arch rear exhaust silencer, which creates space for a functional diffuser – this accounts for 30% of the rear axle downforce on the GT4.
Meanwhile, the coupe’s prominent rear wing produces 20% more downforce than its predecessor, translating to an extra 12 kg of downforce at 200 km/h. This is balanced at the front end with a front spoiler lip, while airflow along the front wheels is controlled by air curtains.
As for the 718 Spyder, its rear spoiler is a movable item which deploys at 120 km/h; together with the new diffuser, it’s the first Boxster to generate downforce at the rear axle, Porsche says. The Spyder also comes with a manual roof mechanism for weight saving purposes. Yup, you’ve got to get out of the car and stow away the roof yourself – no push button stuff. Inside door pulls instead of handles, too.
We’ll find out more about the pricing later. These GT cars won’t be cheap that’s for sure, but as possibly the last of their kind (big NA engine, manual, today’s climate), it’s really a case of now or never. Stay tuned and join us at the digital launch, starting 8pm here. Remember to turn up the volume!
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