New Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport is a GT3 Cup car-powered racer

The 2022 Porsche Cayman GT4 RS may already seem like a race car for the road, but the real race car is actually the new Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Revealed alongside the road car at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the GT4 RS Clubsport is the homologated racer that anybody can buy and use in SRO racing series without any modifications.

Porsche has put together a Clubsport version of its Cayman for a long time now, and this one improves even further upon the last. Just like the road car, its engine is dramatically improved. Porsche says it’s taken the 911 GT3 Cup car engine and simply plopped it into the GT4. It delivers 500 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque from its naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six in the GT4, which we'll note is 10 ponies and 4 pounds of twist down on the GT3 Cup car, because even in racing, 911 superiority wins. Redline is 800 rpm higher than before, as it now sits at a screaming 9,000 rpm. The torque curve is wider, too, thanks to the extra 0.2-liter of displacement. You can choose between two exhaust systems, one being quieter than the other, in case the tracks you’re racing at have noise restrictions. All shifting is done via a seven-speed PDK transmission with shorter ratios than the previous six-speed version.

Handling is improved over the outgoing Clubsport via new damper technology that Porsche says offers better body control than before. It also gets new anti-roll bars, and adjustability is king. You can modify the ride height, camber, toe and spring rates both in front and rear. The stability control system is also updated this year.

Another area Porsche attended to with the new Clubsport is aero. New front dive planes and a bigger front lip spoiler bring added frontal downforce. GT3 R-inspired front fender vents with unique air curtains calm airflow around the wheels. Meanwhile in back, the wing has been fitted with a new 20 mm gurney flap and gains two more stages of adjustability. The body itself is made of many parts using natural fiber composites. Instead of carbon fiber, it’s a flax-based composite that Porsche is testing for use in future road cars. Parts made of this material include the doors, rear wing, front lid, fenders, front aero components and the steering wheel.

On the interior, you’ll find a welded-in roll cage, adjustable Recaro racing seat, six-point harnesses, fire extinguisher system and an air jack system with three jacks.

If you want a new GT4 RS Clubsport, it’ll run you $229,000 in North America.

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