Porsche’s decision to switch the 718 generation of the Boxster and Cayman to a turbocharged flat-four engine—in place of the old Boxman’s naturally aspirated flat-six—had many people wondering how the company’s Motorsport division would create the next bonkers Cayman GT4 around this new motor. (The previous GT4 is pictured here.)
The answer is that it won’t. Instead it seems certain the next GT4, which may wear the supplemental RS branding the division reserves for its hardest-core variants, won’t be turbocharged at all and will stick with a naturally aspirated six.
The reason is as much ideological as it to do with performance, with GT development boss Andreas Preuninger telling us the belief is that natural aspiration is simply better suited to the division’s road cars. While he refused to divulge the technical details of any future model when we spoke to him at the launch of the new 911 GT3, it’s fair to say he dropped as many clues as an episode of Columbo.
“Natural aspiration is one of our main selling propositions,” Preuninger said. “We offer a car for people who want to feel something special, who want to have as much emotion as possible, as much throttle response and immediacy from a sports-car engine. And at Motorsport we think that can be achieved a little bit better with a [naturally aspirated] high-revving engine than any kind of turbo.”
Which raises the interesting question of what will power the next GT4, which on Porsche’s carefully timetabled model plan should be coming next year. The last car used the same 3.8-liter flat-six that was fitted to the pre-facelift 991.1 911 Carrera, but the 911’s switch to turbocharged powertrains would seem to rule that out. The most obvious candidate is the same 4.0-liter unit from the new GT3, although likely in a lower state of tune than the 500 horsepower it packs in the 911. Adding fuel to this fire is a since-deleted Instagram post from an Australian Porsche dealer that mentioned a 4.0-liter six.
The next question is whether Motorsport will indeed create a modern version of the 911 GT2, previous iterations of which have used turbocharged engines. Despite spy shots apparently suggesting that such a model is under development, Preuninger hints it may not pack a turbo.
“GT has got a naturally aspirated engine religion almost, and we don’t think it would be a wise move to shy away from that and turn around at the pinnacle of success of these cars and try something else without any necessity to do it,” he said. “Why not have the Motorsports cars NA and the standard Carreras turbocharged? I don’t see a problem with that, everyone can choose what he wants to have.”
More good news: the next GT4 seems certain to stick with a manual gearbox, although it possibly will add the option of a PDK dual-clutch automatic. Preuninger is adamant he wants every GT to come with both unless there are overriding cost reasons to prevent it: “That’s the aim, to always have the choice. Now we’ve started with that strategy [in the GT3] and it pays off. I think it’s the right thing to do—who are we to tell people what’s best for them? Depending what you want to do with the car it can be perfectly understandable to go for a manual if you’re not chasing times on the track. Giving the choice is definitely our intention for the future.”
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