Twin peaks
GT4 or GTS: would the greatest Cayman please stand up? By Ben Miller
The 718 Cayman GTS (the green car here) is a car many refer to as the sweet spot. It is neither tin shack nor palace, but certainly sits closer to the latter. It has the engine you seek (a naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six) and more purposeful chassis set-up than you’ll find in the four-cylinder turbocharged Caymans. The GTS is also more affordable than the GT4.
I was joined by Tim Pollard for some back-to-back comparisons between the GTS and my GT4. The GTS quickly established itself as his preferred Cayman. ‘These are both my kind of sports car. They’re the right size for UK roads, they’re practical – big front boot, plus space at the back – and their engines are gorgeous.
‘The GT4 is utterly wonderful, but the GTS is a more balanced machine. I prefer the way it looks. The 718’s silhouette is purer without the rear cage [optional] or the wing [standard]. The GTS’s adaptive dampers [not an option on the GT4] and less extreme seats [you can have your GT4 with sports seats, rather than buckets] also make it more usable, as do the absence of the GT4’s rollcage [optional] and fire extinguisher.’
I can’t disagree with anything Tim says. But neither can I convince myself I’d go GTS if given a straight choice. I adore the GT4’s focus. It’s absolutely a daily driver but it also comes alive on a proper road in a way that takes your breath away, so astoundingly sorted is the car and how tingly-special your every interaction with it.
Most road driving is undoubtedly more squarely within the GTS’s remit, just as it only laps at the lower reaches of the GT4’s. But put the effort in and the GT4 rewards with higher highs and more vivid moments of majesty. And is that not the point of cars such as these?