Since first rolling off the assembly line in 1964, the Porsche 911 is by far the most famous car Porsche has ever produced, and quite possibly one of the most popular sports cars of all time. Even now, Porsche offers a string of 911 versions. Porsche even dressed the car up like a Jeep Wrangler with the off-road-focused 911 Dakar. The brand has produced more than a million examples, and it’s unlikely any other Porsche will be in the limelight anytime soon.
But the Porsche brand is more than just one car: It has an electric Taycan, a massive Panamera, and even a 670-horsepower hybrid version of the Cayenne. Aside from the 911’s sheer popularity among car enthusiasts, the German automaker has continued to experiment with a variety of different models, pushing the envelope without ever straying from its core design ethos of being sleek and fast.
There’s a lot to like about the Porsche brand, including the 911’s coupe cousin: the Porsche 718.
Porsche 911 junior
Porsche 718 yes A very capable car. It’s nimble, quick off the assembly line and, depending on how it’s selected from the factory, has more in common with a 911 than just the badge on the hood. But just how fast is the 718?
Like every other Porsche, there seem to be dozens of versions of the 718: there’s the hardcore 718 Cayman, the convertible 718 Boxster, and many others. But if speed and track performance are all you care about, the 718 Cayman GT4 RS is the car for you. Because without a few consonants and numbers after the model name, it’s not a track-worthy Porsche.
The secret of the 718 GT4 RS is its powerplant. It has the same flat-six engine (also called a “flat-six”) as the 911 GT3, making 493 horsepower and 331 foot-pounds of torque. It also comes with a 7-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission that allows for very quick gear changes. According to Porsche, the 718 GT4 RS can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 196 mph.
These figures are actually higher for the 718 GT4 RS than for the base model 911 Carrera, which hits the 182 mph limit and 0-60 mph in under four seconds. In the same price range, the 911 Carrera 4 GTS only marginally betters its 0-60 time by a tenth of a second, at 3.2 seconds. But it still loses just 4 mph when it reaches top speed.
