Some Porsches are heady, brutal machines straight from the factory. Cars like the 911 GT2, or the 930 need to be taken by the scruff of the neck and shown who is boss. The Cayman, even track-focused variants like the GTS and GT4, tend to be much more benign. Thanks to their mid-engined layout and more modest powerplants the Cayman tends to be a more docile car than its big brothers. Like many of us, however, Road Scholars saw this gifted platform and thought “what if we turned it to eleven?”
Virtually every panel on Road Scholars’ Cayman GTR has been cut, widened, channeled, massaged, or custom-made. Based on a 2008 Cayman sourced from Farnbacher Loles Racing, this Porsche has been fitted with a GT3 RS front clip paired with custom-widened rear wheel arches.
The rear wheel arches were widened by cutting a channel down the center of the factory quarter panel, and extending the panel with new steel. A custom one-off rear bumper was made to match the widened bodywork, and even the doors were stretched and massaged to flow smoothly into the new bodywork.
The custom bodywork allowed Road Scholars to fit custom 19″ Rotiform HUR wheels with very wide Nitto Invo tires. Why so much tire? Watch the video below and pay close attention to what resides under the glass engine cover.
Eagle-eyed viewers have probably noticed that the original 2.7l flat-six is no longer under the engine cover. To ensure that this Cayman wasn’t all show and no go, Road Scholars fitted a 4.2l 911 engine with uprated injectors and X51 heads. Road Scholars has not quoted a power figure for this car, but rest assured its substantially more than the original 245 horsepower. The full build list is below, along with a selection of photos from the build:
- Body-
- Custom mixed BASF paint in “Burgundy” color – inspired by our 1949 Porsche 356 Gmund restoration
- 911 GT3RS front clip conversion
- Hand fabricated all metal “Wide Body” treatment to doors and quarter panels
- Custom made 1 of 1 rear bumper to fit widened quarter panels
- Shaved roof rails
- 2016 GT4 wing in carbon fiber
- GT3RS Cup Car front lip, hand-made in carbon fiber
- Carbon fiber side mirrors and quarter panel vents
- Shaved rear hatch
- CNC machined custom Cayman GTR sill plates and floor panels
- Color matched front headlamps with LED update
- Smoked taillights and marker lenses
- Wheels and Suspension-
- Custom built 19″ Rotiform HUR wheels wrapped in Nitto Invo Tire
- Complete Porsche Cup-Car suspension package
- Bilstien Coil over struts
- GT3RS 6 piston brake calipers and ceramic 2 piece rotors (custom color matched)
- Air lift front suspension
- Drivetrain-
- 4.2 liter 911 engine with X51 heads and larger fuel injectors
- Clear interior engine house for aesthetic purposes
- Upgraded performance axles by Driveshaft
- Custom header and exhaust
- CAE Ultra Short Shifter
- Upgraded performance clutch
- Interior-
- “Napa brown” and “Natural Beige” custom upholstery with Burgundy stitching throughout
- Custom fabricated flat bottom steering wheel with matching upholstery
- Red gauge cluster with matching upholstery
- Body color seat buckets with a matte finish
- Custom trim around clear engine house
- Striped headliner in body color matched leather
- Unique “hot stamped” textured leather accents throughout
View Comments (6)
Looks awesome - wish the grinder guy would wear his safety glasses, though!
Very cool to see the progress. What was the total cost?
Hey, Juan,
The info wasn't disclosed. We'll see if we can find out, but My guess is that it probably wasn't even tracked as this was a labor of love vs. anything else.
2008 Cayman (not running): $15,000
Cost of the build: $135,000
Total: $150,000.00
Who built the 4.2l engine??
Vision Motorsports, Inc.