What's the news?
An astonishing pair of debuts here, as we have two extremely special Porsche 718 new entries - and they are the 718 Cayman GT4 and the 718 Boxster Spyder.
With both having precedents in the Cayman and Boxster lineages, the return of these nameplates isn't so surprising. But what is a bigger shock is what's mounted in the middle of each: for the first time since they went '718' in 2016, these two variants are getting more-than-four-cylinder engines.
And what an engine. It's a 4.0-litre, naturally aspirated flat-six petrol unit coupled up to a six-speed manual gearbox. Porsche says this new powerplant is related to the 3.0-litre flat-six turbos found in the current '992' 911 Carreras, but there's a part of us that wonders if it's not a little more genealogically linked to the screamer found in the back end of the 991 GT3. Drool.
Anyway, wherever it has come from, rejoice. It delivers 420hp, which is 35hp more than the old Cayman GT4 and 45hp more than the old Boxster Spyder. This is backed up with 420Nm of torque from 5,000-6,800rpm, with a rev limiter at a giddy 8,000rpm. In the Spyder, you're looking at 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 301km/h; no equivalent figures for the GT4 have yet been revealed, although they'll be very, very similar. Fuel consumption is rated at 11.0 litres/100km (25.7mpg) and CO2 emissions are pegged at 249g/km, thanks in part to the fitment of Adaptive Cylinder Control, which can restrict fuel injection on one cylinder bank under part-throttle loads; that means the hottest 718s will run on three pistons when required.
For the 718 Cayman GT4, a full aerodynamic kit adds up to 50 per cent more downforce than the regular/S/T/GTS variants, without increasing drag. This is because a 'single-chamber arch rear silencer' creates space in the rear underbody for a functioning diffuser, generating up to 30 per cent of the rear downforce of the GT4. A fixed rear wing up top also generates an additional 12kg of downforce at 200km/h over the one on the previous Cayman GT4.
The Spyder, meanwhile, has a lightweight fabric roof that can cope with the car's high top speeds. Unlike the GT4, the Spyder's rear spoiler raises automatically at 120km/h, but it retains the rear diffuser. Both cars also have the same chassis set-up, developed by Porsche's fabled GT department. Items such as ball-joint suspension links, a 30mm-lower Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) damping system and Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with a mechanical rear limited-slip diff should make both sharp handlers, but the GT4 also can be had with an optional Clubsport package: this sees the addition of a rear steel roll cage, a hand-held fire extinguisher and a six-point seatbelt on the driver's side.
Both models also feature aluminium monobloc fixed-calliper brakes with the option to upgrade to Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB) if required. The 718 Spyder has ultra-high-performance tyres specially adapted for Porsche, while the Cayman GT4 is claimed to be ten seconds faster around the Nürburgring Nordschleife track in Germany than its predecessor - that means it'll scorch round the 'Green Hell' in 7m 32s. Crikey.
Anything else?
Both the 718 Spyder and Cayman GT4 are available to order today from Porsche Centre Dublin, with prices on the 'wrong' side of €130,000 expected.