2024 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Manthey

Recently we put to the test a Porsche 911 GT3 with a dealer installed upgrade engineered by the folks at Manthey racing. Their expertise harnessed the power of the wind to make that GT3 stick to a track like never before. Well thankfully, Porsche isn’t confining all of that aero goodness just to the 911, as a Manthey kit is now available for the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. Time for us to hit the track and get a grip.

You don’t have to drive this Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS with the Manthey Kit on a racetrack to enjoy it, but we highly recommend it. High speed track time is what it’s built for after all, as the Manthey Kit is all about doubling the amount of road-gripping downforce in a car that already felt glued to the track.

The added pieces for making all that downforce pressure are obvious, dive planes ahead of the front wheels, an extended splitter up front, and of course you can’t miss those big aero discs on the rear wheels.

The rear wing is 3.4-inches wider, has larger side blades, and more adjustability; the bodywork back here getting some structural enhancements to handle the additional down force pressure. Unlike the 911’s Manthey Kit, here in the 718, you also get a suspension upgrade. That includes a special inverted coilover setup with lots of adjustability.

Without doing a direct back-back comparison, it’s hard to say how much more proficient the Manthey Kit makes the already very impressive GT4 RS, but here around the 2-mile road course at Dominion Raceway it definitely felt stiffer than we remember the last GT4 RS being. But with this car, that’s a bit like comparing a razor blade that was used once, with a brand new one. Is the brand new one sharper? Yes. Are they both insanely sharp? Yes again. Fortunately, Porsche did just such a comparison and the Manthey Kit made GT4 RS 6 seconds quicker around the Nürburgring.

It felt so stiff at Dominion we found it best to stay off the apex curbs, as they tended to shoot us back onto the track rather than letting us shortcut. The Manthey Kit does not deliver any additional power, but the 493 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque coming out of this naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter boxer-six is more than adequate.

With many cars, you can debate whether they sound better inside or out, but there’s no contest here, inside is where it’s at, with the 4.0-liter nestled directly behind you blasting an endless rush of percussive sound that is music to our ears. Around the track, the PDK did it’s PDK thing, which is basically staying one step ahead of us by always being in the right gear; so, we just left it in auto.

And to give us the best possible performance platform, Porsche added the Manthey Kit to a GT4 RS equipped with the optional Weissach package which uses additional carbon fiber and titanium to reduce weight. Upgraded steel brake lines are also part of the Manthey Kit, and the brakes performed as admirably as we expected.

Fantastic amounts of feel, with no fade; but getting on them hard into corners really requires a firm grip on the wheel as those front tires are being shoved into the pavement so hard, they’re grabbing every track flaw with intensity. Track compound brake pads are an option if you plan on using your GT4 RS strictly for track days.

The Manthey Kit adds $53,946 onto the a GT4 RS’ $167,495 base price, meaning you’re in for at least $221,441 before installation fees, Weissach Package, or any other upgrades. So, 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 could spend a lot of time and effort turning your Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS into the ultimate track weapon, or just turn to the folks at Manthey Racing who’ve already put in the hard work and know a thing or two about creating race winning Porsches. You could say that’s taking the easy way, but we’d say it’s taking the best way.