New Porsche 718 Boxster And Cayman GTS Have N/A Flat-Six Power

Try to act surprised: the 4.0-litre ‘9A2 Evo’ engine developed for the Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder and 718 Cayman GT4 has made its way to other models. Yep, you can - once again - order a Boxster or Cayman with a naturally-aspirated flat-six. Praise be to the gods of internal combustion.

The models in question are the 718 Boxster GTS and 718 Cayman GTS. Both 718 siblings have been given the GTS treatment before, but that involved a slightly hopped-up version of the 2.5-litre flat-four from the Boxster/Cayman S. This is a little more like it.

The 9A2 engine here has been turned down ever so slightly, making 395bhp, compared to 414bhp in the Weissach 718s. That’s sent through a six-speed manual gearbox - there’s no mention of an automatic GTS just yet. 0-62mph happens in 4.2 seconds, while the top speed is 182mph.

You don’t get any of the Boxster Spyder/Cayman GT4 chassis improvements, but you do get the same exhaust system - including the gasoline particulate filters - so the cars won’t sound any different.

Speaking of the underpinnings, the GTS 718s have been given many acronyms as standard that aid dynamics. The 20mm lower Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) setup, Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), Porsche Active Drivetrain Mounts (PADM) and the Sport Chrono Pack all feature.

To distinguish it from its four-pot relatives, the 718 GTS cars get 20-inch black wheels wrapped in 235/35 rubber at the front and 265/35 boots at the back, behind which you can spec ceramic brakes. Darkened trim pieces including the spoiler lip, air intakes and the rear light cluster lenses help differentiate the cars further, as does the new lower rear bumper design.

Moving inside, you’ll find dark Alcantara liberally festooned around the cabin, and the ‘Sport Seat Plus’ chairs. If you’d like you can add either Carmine Red or Crayon as a contrast colour.

We’re guessing you probably want one. That’s understandable, but you should know the premium over the 718 Boxster S and 718 Cayman S is much bigger this time than it was with the last GTS cars. For the 4.0-litre models, you’re looking at £64,088 for the Cayman and £65,949 for the Boxster. That makes the Cayman GTS £10,000 more than an S, and near enough the same price as the original Cayman GT4.

Both are on sale now.