Porsche 911 GT3 996–992.2 vs Porsche Cayman GT4 RS 982
“The 911 GT3 is the more rounded car, with a double-wishbone front end, a cleaner-sounding flat-six and a ride you can use on the street, while the Cayman GT4 RS puts that same engine's intake next to your head in a lighter, more neutral, more playful chassis.
Pace doesn't separate them. JayEmm has the RS about ten horsepower down, because the exhaust takes a longer path, and "not quite as quick around a track," and Automoto's lap gives the GT3 a tenth. EVO's leaderboard lap went the other way: the RS beat their 992 GT3 PDK "due purely to the fact that the GT4 RS is that much smaller and more agile."
Character does. The RS wins the fun argument by a wide margin: EverydayDriver calls it "playful on a level the GT3 isn't," Zygrene finds it sharper on a canyon road, and JayEmm rates it "better than a 992 GT3." The GT3 answers at the front axle, where Savagegeese says the RS "does suffer in terms of front end feel," and on the drive home: Jubbal traded his GT4 RS for a manual 992.1 GT3 and found it "much more streetable."
Pick the GT3 for the front end and the road; pick the GT4 RS for the noise and the balance.
You want the better front end and a car that works on the road as well as the circuit: more compliant, more spacious, cleaner in the way it revs, and available with a manual. It is Jubbal's pick for the street.
You want the flat-six as loud and as close as it gets, in the lighter, more neutral car that reviewers keep calling the more playful one. You'll accept a firmer ride and a tighter cabin for it, and on track it's the one Jubbal was surprised to prefer.
Where will it be driven, and how much noise do you want? Jubbal, who has run both on track and traded one for the other, lands somewhere unexpected: GT3 with the six-speed manual for the street, GT4 RS for the track. If the car has to work on ordinary roads and you care most about front-end feel, GT3. If you want the most playful chassis and the engine in the cabin with you, GT4 RS.
Three things stay unsettled. Steering: Jubbal and Savagegeese prefer the GT3's double-wishbone front, while TheStraightPipes finds the new GT3 overly responsive and PistonHeads calls the RS's front end much calmer. Daily use: Zygrene and Jubbal call the GT3 the easier car to live with; TopherDrives says the opposite, finding the 992 GT3 too large and low to be usable. Lap time: Automoto has the GT3 a tenth up, EVO has the RS ahead. Harry's Garage, on the road, still found the RS a little less appealing than the GT3. Value doesn't separate them on this evidence. Four of the 22 videos are Jubbal's, and the GT3s compared range from 991.1 to 992.
Performance
“It's a lot more clean and symphonic and more classical in terms of the way that it revs up versus the GT4 RS where you have so much induction note front and center.”
“911 gets rear axis steering in the front double wishbone axle and also brings more power to the ground because of the rear engine concept”
“it's all the same noises but just cranked up to 11 t in this car”
“It makes about 10 horsepower less than in the gt3 however andreas pringer... has said this is not deliberate it is simply a result of the fact that the exhaust in the cayman has to take a different and longer path”
Handling
“the steering is perfect like wow so responsive but not overly responsive like the new gt3... i prefer this even though that is really good”
“it is a much calmer front end than the gt3... it feels more like the older gt3 the 991.2”
Fun to drive
“whereas with that GT3 I felt like it was a little bit more willing to to dance with me”
“if I was going to be using the car on Street more then I would actually lean more 991.2 GT3 and with a sixspeed manual transmission and if it was on track I'm actually surprised to say that I would actually lean GT4 RS more so”
“but the big thing here this has over the 991.1 GT3 is it's really the engine noise”
“no other mid-enine car has the engine in the cabin with you. Usually there's a window, a wall, something isolating you. Now with this, you and the engine are one.”
Daily drivability
“it does actually feel like a dailyable car it's manageable it doesn't feel like as ridiculous as the 992 GT3 in the way that it's large low it's got more power it's just it's it's unusable”
“it doesn't quite appeal as much as the car [GT3]”
Value
“it really is only worth spending that kind of cash if you're truly obsessed with making your GT4 RS a standout on the track and the street”
“you don't really need multi-million dollar cars because most people are not capable of making this car do what it's capable of”
