Porsche Drops Jaws in L.A. With 718 Cayman GT4 RS and Taycan GTS Sport Turismo

The crew from Stuttgart whipped the covers off new machines at this year’s Auto Show in Los Angeles. In particular, two of them caused necks to snap more quickly than if a famous Hollywood celebrity decided to doff their clothes and streak through the show floor.

We’re still waiting for that to happen, by the way.

As for cars, we’re partial to a new wagon-esque EV and a mid-engined hotshoe.

By the way, we should note that Porsche repeatedly said “Nein!” when asked in previous years about the possibility of stuffing the 911 GT3 engine into a Cayman, saying there simply wasn’t enough room to do so. Well, it would seem someone was reading the measuring tape wrong because that’s exactly what’s under the back hatch of the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS. And, best of all, a Clubsport model is being offered for use in various and sundry racing series.

The naturally aspirated flat-six revs up to 9,000 rpm. Power increases by 79 horsepower compared to the 718 Cayman GT4 to a total of 493 hp, resulting in a weight-to-power ratio of 6.55 pounds per hp. Maximum torque increases from 317 lb-ft to 331 lb-ft, to say nothing of the exhaust wail of which this thing is apparently capable. It’ll be offered only with the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch, a decision which may enrage some but is par for the course with modern RS variants. It features shorter gearing than a PDK-equipped GT4 which contributes to its fleet-of-foot acceleration estimates. Porsche says this machine will rocket from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, which is half a second quicker than the non-RS GT4 when equipped with a PDK. The top track speed is 196 mph (GT4 with PDK is 187 mph), and that Vmax is reached in seventh gear. Assisting this feat is a curb weight of 3,227 pounds, some 49lbs less than a 718 Cayman GT4 with PDK.

It’s an old trope that car journos like station wagons, but you’ve got to admit this new Taycan GTS Sport Turismo is a very attractive car by anyone’s measure. Like the equally new Taycan GTS sedan, it features a permanent magnet single-speed front motor, a larger permanent magnet rear motor with a diameter of 245 mm, and two-speed transmission. This setup provides a total power output of 590 hp, slotting the GTS models in between the Taycan 4S (462 hp) and Taycan Turbo (670 hp). Acceleration from 0-60 mph is pegged at 3.5 seconds for both the wagon and sedan. And, yes, launch control is part of the deal.

Since it’s an EV, we need to talk about battery size. Onboard is a 93.4 kWh pack linked to an 800-volt architecture, translating to high charging speeds of up to 270 kW. When connected to the right type of charger, it should be able to juice itself from 5 to 80 percent in just over 20 minutes. Suspension and performance gubbins are carried over from the top-model Taycan but Porsche is insistent that calibration and tuning are all bespoke to the GTS. Adaptive air suspension is standard, and the so-called Porsche Electric Sport Sound has been tuned to be deeper and louder (nullifying one of the points of driving an EV in the first place).

The 718 Cayman GT4 and Taycan GTS will appear next month and in early 2022, respectively.

[Images: Porsche, @ 2021 Tim Healey/TTAC]