Porsche to Take Cayman GT4 Clubsport on German WRC Round

Spectators at the upcoming German World Rally Championship (WRC) round, the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, will be surprised at the start of the race stages as Porsche has fielded a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport as the course car for the entire round. The Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport course car isn't just for show though as the German carmaker is using the opportunity to run the car under real conditions as a test bed for a future entry into the FIA R-GT Cup. The FIA R-GT Cup has been contested since the 2015 season and features two-wheel drive, series production GT cars that are run on the tarmac rounds of the European Rally Championship and the WRC. Currently, Porsche is running the 997 GT3 in the series and has won it overall for three straight years.

As for the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, it is based on the near-production GT circuit race car and is powered by a 3.8-liter, mid-mounted flat-six engine that, paired to Porsche's PDK dual-clutch transmission, produces 385 hp. For rallying, the car has been fitted with full underbody protection while its doors also have the same energy-absorbing foam element used in WRC cars. Driving the Cayman GT4 Clubsport at the German WRC round is Porsche works driver Romain Dumas who, just over a month ago, broke the Pikes Peak Hill Climb record in a Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak electric vehicle. "We're looking forward to seeing how the rally world responds to our FIA R-GT concept study," said Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, vice president Motorsport and GT Cars. "I would like to invite every interested driver and team principal to visit the service park and take a close look at our rally concept car. Based on the feedback and the interest from potential customers, we will then decide by the end of the year whether we'll develop in the mid-term a competition car for near-standard rallying based on a future Porsche model."