Tailored Product Planning: Porsche Needs to Build a 718 R

Over the weekend, a close friend phoned me up, informing me he’d picked up a 718 Cayman RS. He was on his way home from the dealership and was wondering if I wanted to sample it. Of course, I did. Of course, I romped on it as it was pre-owned and already broken in. And, of course I was impressed.

Having done so and parked it, we shared a walk around. It’s an amazing thing; rowdy, raw and spartan. It got me to thinking of just one thing though, just how I’d change it if I were ordering one or… better yet… a product manager, because what I’d do to it may not even be possible via Sonderwunsch.

It’s hard not to be inspired by the 911 S/T. That version of the 911 takes the very racy 911 GT3 RS and tones it down in a steerable way. It’s the Touring of the RS lineage, yes there are differences but more exclusive and more potent. Also, that hardware’s already baked and all those cars are already sold.

Back in 2011, Porsche produced the limited edition Cayman R. Pre-dating the 911R and all that car’s mystique, the Cayman R was effectively Peridot Metallic launch color paint on a Cayman body fitted with period Boxster Spyder hardware. This was in the pre-GT4 era, so that generation Boxster Spyder was fairly light on special hardware, but it had it and the Cayman R got it.

Brandy about the letter R nowadays and there’s a whole other level of mystique thanks to the 991-generation 911R. Consider the Cayman R in that context, and such a title fits decidedly higher in the lexicon of Porsche today.

So, let’s get back to the 718 Cayman RS. If I have beef with the car, you can probably guess them. Porsche already did with the 911 GT3 RS, and they built a corresponding 911 that would make those things more livable and steerable. It got the “S/T” badge because of heritage, though I’d argue it probably should have gotten the “Carrera RS” badge because the 964 Carrera RS speaks more directly to the age group buying 911 S/Ts, but that’s a soapbox for another time.

Whatever the name, what if you took all that S/T philosophy and positioning and added it to the 718 line? It only seems to make sense really. We all know the 718 is the better footprint, and most of the work has already been done.

I turned to Porsche’s configurator tool, running it through photoshop to add S/T correct wheels and cues like that front wheel well blade, gold letter script at the rear and a few other details. I’m kind of in love, so consider this my unrequested love letter to Andy Prueninger and company to consider bringing back the Cayman R. The time is right, and this may be our last chance before this model goes electric.

Behold, the 718 Cayman R. Spoiler Delete Alert: No such car exists. At least not yet.