These flat-six Porsche mid-ships are made for drivers
718 Cayman GT4
718 Spyder
Local Porsche guardians Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP) had a big night last night when they virtually launched two of their latest additions. Making their local debuts were the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 and the 718 Spyder models.
Much like the 911 Speedster the firm introduced last month, both the 718 Cayman GT4 and 718 Spyder have a specific consumer group in mind – High Nett-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) with a penchant for Porsche’s signature pure performance driving.
At the core of both is Stuttgart’s signature naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six heart. Boasting 420PS (414bhp) and 420Nm, drive goes to the rear wheels exclusively through a 6-speed manual transmission – yep, no PDK here.
Shift fast enough and both will sprint from nought to 100kph in 4.4 seconds. As for V-Max, the hard-top 718 Cayman GT4 claims a 304kph figure whilst its topless twin sees its claim at 301kph instead.
Not only quick in the straights, both are equally swift around the bends too as they underpin Porsche’s high-performance GT chassis setups. It sees the priming of race-derived bits like lightweight spring-strut axles with adjustable toe, camber and ride height; stronger anti-roll bars, uprated Porsche Stability Management and Porsche Torque Vectoring suites, not forgetting sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres shod on each tasty 20-inch lightweight alloy wheel.
Other racy hardware include aluminium monobloc brake calipers grabbing racecar-like ventilated and drilled rotors. Should you be the type to hit trackdays more often, the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB) package is available as an option.
If you’re already considering that, then you might be keen on several other track-focused bits from the Clubsport Package option. This adds an additional steel roll bar, six-point driver seat harness, and the all-important fire extinguisher as well.
Aptly, if you find the 911 Speedster to be slightly out of reach, these two mid-ships are the next best things. The only question remaining is which flavour would you prefer.
Fancy some open-top, wind-in-hair magic? The good news is that the Boxster-based 718 Spyder is the more ‘affordable’ choice of the two with its RM970,000 base price tag. The 718 Cayman GT4, on the other hand, commands RM999,000 base sticker price instead.
