Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 2018 UK first drive

This GTS is the most hardcore version of the Porsche 718 Cayman money can buy – at least until a GT4-badged variant arrives from Porsche Motorsport, probably at some point later this year, with six howling atmospheric cylinders taken from the 911 GT3.

True to GTS form – this, remember, is a nameplate also established on the 911, Cayenne, Macan and Panamera model lines – it’ll set you back a little more than the mid-range Cayman S but comes with the full complement of optional equipment you might consider signing for anyway.

This includes the Sport Chrono Package, the Sports exhaust, PASM dampers and a mechanical limited-slip differential. There’s also a brilliantly unfussy steering wheel of just 360mm in diameter and, in the case of our test car, a gearlever that denotes the presence of a manual transmission. A PDK dual-clutch automatic with an additional seventh forward ratio is optional. Either way, you get that differential in the driven rear axle.

Features you can’t get on lesser Cayman models no matter how much you’re prepared to spend come in the form of reprofiled front and rear aprons, which respectively tout blacked-out intake blades and a subtlety larger diffuser, and further dark accents dotted around – notably within the LED headlights and tail-lights. If Porsche’s intention was to present this as some sort of baby supercar, consider it a job well done.

Before we discuss the process of driving this unusually tactile mid-engined coupé, you need to establish how you feel about a four-cylinder sports car that costs £76,000.

Granted, our test car's figure is some way in excess of the GTS's £59,886 base price and is chiefly down to its superbly crisp composite brakes (£5117), the perhaps overly firm embrace of its optional bucket seats (£2316), a fashionably ordinary exterior hue known as Crayon (£1658) and crystal-clear LED headlights that adapt their gaze for oncoming traffic (£1397). Nevertheless, for many that kind of money should still bequeath at least half a dozen pistons.

Not that this 2.5-litre boxer engine has ever wanted for raw performance, and for this application a new intake duct and ‘optimised’ turbocharger raise its output to 361bhp – 14bhp over the £51,850 Cayman S. For manual cars, the 0-62mph time remains at 4.6sec, although top speed is nudged up to 180mph – not bad for the baby of Porsche’s sports car line-up. PDK models have an identical top speed, but such an absurdly quick ’box shaves 0.3sec from the sprint to 62mph.