Porsche’s undisputed icon is the 911. But many car folks who aren’t entirely besotted by that history believe the cheaper 718 Cayman may be the best pure sports car in the Porsche lineup — or perhaps of any car lineup. According to Car and Driver, Porsche will give the Cayman a new top-of-the-line performance version: the Cayman GT4 RS.

The Cayman GT4 RS will use the same 911-derived 4.0-liter flat-six engine as the Cayman GT4, but it will be tuned up to around 500 horsepower — about 100 hp more than the new Cayman GTS models that also share the same engine. The Cayman GT4 RS will be lighter than the GT4, and have the suspension lowered and sharpened for even greater performance. Porsche lists a 4.2-second 0-60 mph time for the Cayman GT4; expect the Cayman GT4 RS to be even quicker. It’s perhaps a strong testament to Porsche’s confidence in how great the new 911 is that the company would produce a six-figure Cayman with around 120 hp more than the base 911 Carrera.

Car and Driver did not mention the new Cayman’s transmission. Super-high-end, performance-oriented 911 models have dropped the manual as an option and gone with Porsche’s spectacular PDK, so an RS Cayman seems likely to do the same. That said, the Cayman GT4 only offers a stick shift, so there’s a chance the Cayman GT4 RS will follow suit as well.

Pricing, as you’d expect with Porsche, won’t be cheap. Car and Driver expects the Cayman GT4 RS to start around $130,000, about $30,000 more than the GT4 and more than double the base Cayman price.

So when can we see this super-Cayman? Well, C/D reports that Porsche’s original plan was to launch the Cayman GT4 RS in late 2021 or early 2022.  That said, product timelines at Porsche (and everywhere else right now) may be delayed due the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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