The 2014 911 GT3 engine fire debacle was a black eye for Porsche. As the smoke clears, though, there are a couple things we know. Porsche's commitment to the GT3 philosophy of keeping revs and driver involvement at a slow boil is intact, and it's being downsized. You see, the GT3's chief engineer, Andreas Preuniger, likes mid-engined platforms. This is the result: the Cayman GT3. Or possibly the Cayman GT4—both names are swirling around in the ether.
A spy shooter in Germany caught this Cayman mule out on the road, and in a glance we can see that this isn't any Cayman we've seen before. Unlike the GTS, which is the newest official Cayman variant, the front splitter wraps around all the way to the wheels, there's a vent on the top of the front bumper cap, and there's the massive rear wing whose shape loosely resembles that of a 911 GT3. Underneath that, there's a revised ducktail spoiler. It's lower than a normal Cayman, and it has larger brakes.
According to Porsche's GT model tradition, it should be a higher-performance model that combines excellent trackday abilities with acceptable comfort and refinement levels to make it useable as an everyday car.
What we can see from these pictures is the new styling and aerodynamics package with an extended front lip spoiler, an additional air inlet in front of the hood, a fixed rear wing, a rear bumper with a diffuser and twin pipes similar to that used on the GTS, plus different wheels and huge brakes on all corners.
We can't see what's hiding under the sheetmetal, but rumor has it that the Cayman GT4 will sport a flat-six with a larger displacement than the GTS at 3.6-liters and an output of around 360-horses that would place it just about the base 911 Carrera. Suspension tweaks are to be expected as well. Whether it will be offered exclusively with a seven-speed dual clutch transmission or if Porsche will give the option of a manual gearbox, remains unknown at this point.
