Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR, 911 Turbo S and Boxster Spyder

A few days ago we wrote about how the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR could potentially position a replacement for the 911. The rear-engined 911 is the car that the German performance car maker is best known for, but it has a layout that is less than ideal for handling. When looking at Porsche’s latest models the GT4 and Boxster Spyder represent the biggest challenge to the king thanks to their 991 sourced flat-six engines.

While neither the Spyder or GT4 are the cheapest Porsches that you can currently buy new, they are both more affordable than the 911 – although not by much. Both also have potential to be better performers than the base 911 Carrera. But what if the folks in Stuttgart did decide to replace the rear-engined car that has been with us for over 50 years now? Would you purchase a 718 Boxster or Cayman that had the same specs and quality as the 911, but with a mid-engine layout and for a higher price?

In theory a 718 Cayman or Boxster with all the same power plant options, technology, interior quality and dedicated development would be amazing (and the current cars are already pretty good). It would essentially be as if Porsche decided to build a mass production mid-engined 911.

The base Cayman and Boxster would feature the same twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six engine as you get in the 991.2 generation models. Other technical advances such as torque vectoring and all-wheel drive would also be available. The interior would see a slight upgrade from the current models. Just think of it as if the 718 was a 911 with the rear seats removed and the engine moved toward the driver to sit in a mid-engine layout.

Of course the price would rise from $53,900 for the base 718 Cayman all the way up to 89,400. The starting price of a 718 Boxster would shoot up to $101,700 from $56,000.

To truly be in a place to replace the 911 the 718 would also need to offer all the higher performance variants. There would of course include the Boxster and Cayman GTS models – although with all the same upgrades as the 911. The bigger changes would come in the form of the Cayman and Boxster GT3 models. This would include a track ready GT3 RS. These naturally aspirated high performance machines would be the even more hardcore replacements to the Boxster Spyder and Cayman GT4.

Just like the 911 the Boxster and Cayman would also get ultra high performance Turbo variants in the form of a 718 Turbo and Turbo S. The Cayman and Boxster Turbo S would offer 560 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six. It would be able to launch from 0-60 mph in just 2.8 seconds and hit a top speed of 205 mph. Of course the Turbo S would start at a steep $188,100.

You get the idea. The question we have for you is if you could get a 718 Boxster or Cayman that was essentially a mid-engined 911, but it cost the same as the equivalent 911, which would you purchase? Would you get the car with the 50 year legacy and plenty of raving wins or the naturally more neutrally handling car?