LA Motor Show: Porsche reveals Cayman GT4 Clubsport

Living in a stable like Porsche’s, the latest Cayman was always going to be called up for racing duty.

And overnight in Los Angeles, Porsche unveiled its new Cayman GT4 Clubsport: a beast designed for one thing… motorsport.

Revealed in yellow and grey livery, the Clubsport is heavily based on the GT4 road-going model, a car more than handy on a circuit, and splices on a few new bits to shore up its arsenal.

First, the bad news. Although it features the road car’s 3.8-litre 911 Carrera S engine, outputs remain untouched at 283kW and 450Nm.

However, Porsche has ditched the GT4’s manual transmission and lowered in a six-speed dual-clutch unit, which will not only improve acceleration but prevent any expensive mistakes when downshifting.

Along with the upgraded drivetrain, braking and suspension systems ascend to racing specification, with Stuttgart pinching the 911 GT3 Cup car’s front strut setup for the Clubsport.

Braking hardware, with 380mm discs all round and fixed six-piston grabbers up front, is as per road-going GT4, except that its ABS is adjustable over 12 settings should drivers lock up the 18-inch Michelin slicks too often.

The interior follows the same formula as most race cars, where the driver will snuggle in to a racing bucket seat, surrounded by a roll-cage and stripped interior. And weight has dropped by 40kg.

Should you option the available 100-litre fuel tank, which adds 30-litres to the standard capacity cell, we suspect that might cancel out the new diet.

Porsche is expecting the car to be homologated for events in Europe like the VLN Long Distance Championship Nurburgring, and Porsche one-make events in America, with a price tag of US$165,000 for American customers.

Sadly, though, Porsche Australia tells us it will not be bringing the GT4 Clubsport down under.