The Cayman concept. A sports car that seeks out the curve like no other and then takes full advantage. A concept so intimate with the road that it can hardly be improved. But it can be intensified thanks to three letters: GTS. Three letters that we adopted for the first time in 1963 with the 904 GTS, a sports car equipped with a mid-mounted engine. Three letters that have since caused a stir among motorsport enthusiasts both on and off the track.
Today, they stand for even greater power and an even sportier specification. Revisited and intensified, from the styling to the flat engine.
As is typical for Porsche, these models feature more powerful engines and additional standard performance equipment. The new Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS models are visually defined by more than just a badge: they offer as standard equipment unique front and rear fascias, blacked out Bi-XenonTM headlights with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS), 20-inch Carrera S wheels and a sport exhaust system with black tailpipes as standard. The Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS are built specifically for maximum driving pleasure.
The 3.4-liter 6-cylinder boxer engine of the Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS models delivers an additional 15 hp compared to their “S” model counterparts. This means that the Boxster GTS has 330 hp and the Cayman GTS has 340 hp. Torque has been increased by 7 lb.-ft. in each model: 273 lb.-ft. in the Boxster GTS and 280 lb.-ft. in the Cayman GTS. The Sport Chrono package is now a standard feature with either the 6-speed manual or the optional 7-speed Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) transmission. This means with the optional PDK transmission and Sport Plus button activated, the Boxster GTS reaches 60 mph from a standstill in 4.4 seconds and 4.3 seconds in the Cayman GTS. Top track speed for the Boxster GTS is 174 mph with a manual transmission and 177 mph for a Cayman GTS equipped with a manual transmission.
The Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS feature Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) as standard, which offers the choice of sportier or more comfortable ride settings at the press of a button. The 235/35 front and 265/35 rear tires on 20-inch Carrera S wheels provide the perfect setup for a balanced driving experience. Like other Porsche GTS models, the interior of the Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS feature an Alcantara wrapped steering wheel, headliner, center console, and inserts on the standard Sport Seats Plus. Additional visual elements include GTS nomenclature embroidered into the headrests and printed on the tachometer face.
International press on the Boxster and Cayman GTS
Auto Express UK:
We thought the S was as good as sports cars get, yet this model feels better still. The short-throw gearbox is so accurate that it just seems to fall into gear as soon as you push the clutch. Meanwhile, the steering is so nicely weighted and responsive that you feel comfortable with this car’s limits as soon as you jump in.
And not many competitors seem so approachable on the ragged edge, either. The feel through the brake pedal, steering wheel and even the seats lets you know how much grip there is, if the front is unstable or if the rear tyres are about to slip.
Capping it all off is the excellent 3.4-litre flat-six, which not only sounds incredible, but builds gradually to its 335bhp peak at 7,400rpm. It’s fast, but it’s also seriously smooth – you won’t get caught out by a big hit of torque.
Top Gear UK on the Boxster GTS:
The Boxster GTS, the fastest iteration of Porsche’s ‘baby’ two-seat roadster ever. Fastest, yes, but the GTS isn’t the Boxster equivalent of the 911’s GT3, GT2 or Turbo. No, this is a far more subtle hotting-up of the Boxster S, with that car’s 3.4-litre flat-six bumped up by 
a gentle 15bhp, and a handful of torques, to 325bhp and 273lb ft. The GTS’s chassis has been dropped 10mm and treated to most of Porsche’s usually optional tools of traction trickery, there’s also much none-more-black 
GTS jewellery and a new set of 20-inch wheels borrowed from big brother 911. And that’s it: 
no vast turbocharger or massive weight loss 
or bonnet-mounted weaponry.Even so, the Boxster GTS is about much more than big shouty numbers. It’s the best 
real-world roadster out there, made just a little better. A Boxster with a bit more: what’s not to like? World domination assured.
Road and Track
If the current generation of Boxster/Cayman finally shed the femininity of their predecessors’ body lines, then the GTS models are the mean older brothers—the ones the base and S cars look up to but are slightly afraid of. Because the Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS look pissed.
They get their own big-nostril front fascia, a unique rear treatment, plus black trim and badges. They’re 10 mm lower than standard by way of the PASM setup. And they lord that extra power over the rest of the lineup. Those numbers again: 330 hp for the Boxster, 340 for the Cayman. It’s human nature to want to be able to say yours is faster, even if it isn’t by much.
It sure will sound faster, even compared to an S with the Sport exhaust. That’s because the GTS is the only Boxster/Cayman to get what Porsche calls a sound symposer along with the tailpipe butterfly valves. The symposer routes sound from the engine’s intake to a vent-like grate behind your seat. Yeah, it’s a sound tube, but it’s the best sound tube I’ve ever heard. And I was already sold on the basic Sport exhaust before this improvement.