When the Cayman made its debut in 2006, Porsche was clear about its role in the company’s official motorsports program: There wouldn’t be any. At that time, racing was the sole province of the 911. But wait, what’s this? A Cayman with a roll cage. And a gutted interior with set of Schroth six-point racing seat belts, a serious racing seat, even a big fire bottle. Looks like the Cayman is going racing after all.There’s more to the first-ever Cayman GT4 Clubsport. It’s 3.8-liter dry-sump flat six sends its 385 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque to the locking rear differential via a six-speed Porsche PDK transmission. (The standard GT4 gearbox is a six-speed manual.) The Clubsport retains the street GT4’s rear axle and suspension, but substitutes 911 GT3 struts up front. It rolls on 18-inch forged alloy wheels wearing fat, Michelin racing slicks. The brakes are 15-inch vented steel rotors all around, squeezed by six-piston calipers up front, four-piston units at the rear. The setup retains the Cayman’s stock 18.5-gallon fuel tank, but Porsche offers the option of a 26.5-gallon tank, should you contemplate endurance racing.
The sum of all that prep is a race-ready weight of 2866 pounds, which is 84 pounds lighter than our recent test of a stock GT4. Porsche pegs the top speed as 183 mph.
Clearly, the Clubsport—which is not street-legal—is a track toy. However, if you want to tackle more than track days—i.e., wheel-to-wheel competition, the car meets current FIA safety standards, and Porsche expects it to be eligible for a number of racing series, including the Pirelli World Challenge, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (driving on Michelins?), and of course, Porsche Club of America events.
Racing is never cheap, and neither are Porsches, so with that preamble, it’s time to talk money. The regular Cayman GT4 stickers for $85,595; the Clubsport? It’s $165,000.
If those numbers don’t give you pause, and if, as Porsche puts it, you’re one of those people “who have always longed to rip open the door to motor racing,” then now’s the time to get in touch with Porsche Motorsports North America. Betriber stehen bereit. (Operators are standing by.)
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