2019 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 May Get A Touring Version
A curious Porsche 718 Cayman prototype has been snapped during testing and according to some, it may be an early tester for a Cayman GT4 Touring. First, an explainer. If you鈥檙e an avid reader of Carscoops, you may recognize these spy shots. The Cayman and Boxster T models premiered back in December but were mysteriously missing some of the features of this prototype. This could be because the prototype isn鈥檛 a Cayman T at all but instead a previously unseen version. The most striking thing about the Cayman prototype in the gallery below is that it has the same exhaust layout as the incoming Cayman GT4 which is allegedly bound for the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. As the exhausts are the same, there鈥檚 a chance that the engine may be the same. If that鈥檚 the case, the prototype we鈥檙e looking at is outfitted with a naturally-aspirated 3.8-liter flat-six engine pumping out approximately 420 hp. The 鈥榬egular鈥?Cayman GT4 has been spied with aggressive bodywork and a large wing and there鈥檚 a chance Porsche is developing this new 718 as a slightly softer version of the GT4 dubbed the 鈥楾ouring鈥? Porsche decided to go down this route not too long ago with the launch of the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring. This model features largely identical mechanical parts to the normal GT3 but has a more restrained appearance. If Porsche is doing the same with the Cayman GT4, it will want to replicate the sales success of the GT3 Touring. One other theory about this Porsche 718 Cayman test car is that it could be a future six-cylinder version designed to slot between the GTS and GT4. A Spyder variant would likely be sold as well.
Finally, it was out to the open road to test the car in its true environment. Spanish roads are generally excellent. I figure they鈥檝e played the European Union card better than anybody. They get all this money from the richer countries, use it to build these fabulous roads, and all the German and Dutch tourists come here for their holidays. Our route took us clockwise in a two-hour loop to the west of Valencia. Frankly, it was a bit scary in places, because the road wound through a series of hills-bordering-on-mountains, and at times it was barely wide enough for one Porsche, let alone a Porsche and a truck. But we all made it, and again, the new 911 was in its true element. Twisty bits to test the car鈥檚 agility; a few straight stretches to let it hang out a little; a few badly paved sections which showed off the newfound comfort mentioned earlier. In Hollywood, they say it鈥檚 easier to make a sequel to a stinker movie than to a good one, because people have lower expectations. Probably true in the car business too. Following a success is always harder because expectations are higher. No one has higher expectations than Porsche buyers. The company hasn鈥檛 built a stinker 911 yet. True, some generations may be more revered in the collectible market than others. But a 911 in good shape is pretty much always a decent investment. The 911 also has long had the distinction of being the sports car you don鈥檛 have to put away for the winter. With the aluminum body, its civilized behaviour when you just want to putter along and now with the WET mode, it is the year-round supercar.
The e-tron is Audi鈥檚 first all-electric production car. GT concept. Our first drive takes place in the Middle East, seemingly an odd choice of location given the region鈥檚 plentiful oil reserves and rock-bottom fuel prices. In fact it鈥檚 rather appropriate, with places such as Abu Dhabi investing heavily in solar energy. Soon, electricity will be as cheap as petrol here. On paper, the e-tron looks competitive. It claims more than 400km (249 miles) from a charge; even in the desert with the air-con on full blast, it still manages 220 miles. Connected to a fast charger, the e-tron will go from zero to 80 per cent in 30 minutes. Audi has also promised customers access to more than 70,000 charge stations across Europe. The tech is known as e-roaming, and drivers will need only a single contract and a single card. Unfortunately, e-roaming hasn鈥檛 been confirmed for UK buyers yet. Even our early test car puts the Model X in the shade when it comes to interior fit and finish.
True, the Tesla鈥檚 huge screen is fascinating, but quality could be better. In photos the Audi doesn鈥檛 seem quite modern enough, but here in Abu Dhabi - among all the AMGs, Rolls-Royces and Ferraris - it looks seriously futuristic. It uses the dual-screen set-up seen in the A6, A7 and A8, with the same haptic feedback and a near-identical menu layout. Of course, connectivity is top notch, offering Audi鈥檚 own intuitive system alongside Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It is up there with other EVs (and ahead of many) on dynamics, even if it鈥檚 slightly slower than a Tesla. The drive system, with an electric motor on the front axle and another on the rear, produces 402bhp and automatically controls power distribution in a fraction of a second. But even in Dynamic mode, it lacks the Model X鈥檚 explosive acceleration. However, the Audi really scores with its superb balance. Also, the aerodynamics and sound insulation have been fine-tuned to eliminate nearly all wind and road noise; we can鈥檛 think of any other car that鈥檚 as smooth or quiet as the e-tron. A glance at the speedo shows how good this is. The cabin is so incredibly hushed, and imposes such an unprecedented feeling of calm, that you don鈥檛 notice your speed creeping up on the motorway. It鈥檚 comfortable, too, and although the e-tron is based on a heavily modified Q5 platform, it鈥檚 far more spacious than that car. Elsewhere, the e-tron is the first production model to come with the option of cameras instead of conventional door mirrors. These improve the car鈥檚 aerodynamics, and relay images on high-resolution seven-inch OLED displays in the door panels. The rest of the e-tron is everything you鈥檇 expect from Audi: a high-class finish combined with digital instruments. It features extras synonymous with this type of luxury car, too, including an ioniser and a fragrancing system.
If you have ever driven a vintage Porsche 911, you can easily feel how light it is. Through the years, safety and entertainment systems have added incredible weight. Models like the Turbo S have to deal with 600 horsepower and All Wheel Drive, so it takes incredible strength to hold the car together. But the new 8th generation car was an opportunity for a diet. In a press release this morning, we see the 2020 Porsche 911 has less steel and more composites. Starting with the A-pillars, a complex blend of fiberglass and other materials replace the tubular steel. The plastics are surrounded by sheet metal made of Boron Steel for a weight savings of 6 lbs. That might not seem like much, but since it is the highest part of the body, it lowers the center of gravity by a nice percentage. Of course this is just one example. Our dealers have more information on the new 992 than we could ever type, so click the link below and stay with us for all your Porsche news.