The year is 2015. Chris Harris drops a bombshell via YouTube in the form of the Porsche 981 Cayman GT4. The internet forums go wild; Porsche has finally given the Cayman the GT treatment.
I’ve just taken delivery of my new VW Golf “R”, and am suddenly smitten with the aforementioned unobtanium. Of course, at that time, I didn’t fully understand the ‘Porsche game’ and naively went to three different Porsche dealers only to be less than gently laughed out the door.
On a work trip to Atlanta in 2016, I finally came butt to seat with my dream car. I am about to do a session at PEC ATL and of course I’ve chosen the GT4. I will forever remember the spec, the smell, and experience. It was a highlight day for me and should be on the bucket list of all Porsche owners.
When I finally felt ready to make the jump to our mutually beloved namesake brand, I searched daily for the right used Cayman. Just prior to Christmas, I came across a 2019 718 GTS with a 6-speed manual transmission, in Black over Black with Red stitching, sitting unloved at Lauzon Porsche in Montreal. The newly released 4-liter displacement cars were beginning to arrive and the 2.5-liter Turbo cars were languishing unsold. I struck a deal quickly, shipped my trade-in up to them, and the transport driver arrived the next evening with my shiny new Cayman onboard! It was snowing, and it was cold, but I got to take it out of the enclosed trailer and back it into my garage. The pride was overflowing.
I kept that first Cayman GTS for a year, and then traded it toward a 2021 718 Spyder in GT Silver over a Bourdeaux Red interior. Just before I received the Spyder, I ordered the car pictured here – a 2023 Mint Green 718 Cayman GT4, via Porsche Centre London. My paint to sample allocation was granted in April 2022. Colour is a huge part of my enjoyment of Porsche, and I immediately set to work building a spreadsheet and a bracket of my 16 top Paint-To-Sample (PTS) colours and corresponding specs. My wife and I narrowed it down over a matter of 5-6 weeks and landed on Mint Green.
It had to be a 6-speed manual, it had to have silver wheels, and it had to have the carbon buckets that I so enjoyed in both my GTS and my Spyder. A major change for this car was the addition of Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes (PCCB), which I opted to paint black for an additional charge – typical Porsche! The ethos for our spec was to keep any additional colours to a minimum, so we wouldn’t distract from the brilliant exterior. The interior is black with GT silver stitching, and it has all the leather they’d let me spec minus the kick plates and fuse panel covers.
I was lucky to be at the dealership when the car arrived, and I got to watch nervously as it rolled off the truck! It was a moment I won’t soon forget. Somehow my spreadsheet and nerdy specs had become a real, tangible item. What a privilege!
My love for colour and meeting other PTS enthusiasts bubbled over in 2022 when Will Lee from PTSRS fame https://www.porsche.com/stories/dreams/ig-channel-inspired-by-paint-to-sample-will-lee/ and 000 Magazine hosted their Rare Shades event here in Toronto. I was inspired by their display, and began workshopping my own event, with the endorsement of Will Lee.
Kaleidoscope* was born in October 2022, and our first show took place in London ON in June 2023. As of this writing, we’ve just completed our second event and had an overwhelmingly positive response from the community. I wanted Kaleidoscope to land somewhere between a typical ‘Cars and Coffee’ and a concours level show. I think we have achieved that and more. This year I’m proud to say we raised over $12,000 for the local Humane Society.
My wife and I adore our car and the Porsche community. Both have brought us so many wonderful friends and experiences. While Porsche recently announced they would discontinue the 718 internal-combustion platform in 2025, we still love the ICE powered Cayman and Boxster, and will only grip tighter onto our beloved ‘Chip’.
If you’re interested in learning more about Kaleidoscope, you can follow us on Instagram. </>
Story by Ryan Oatman
Photography by Elliot Bulger [Instagram: @yourcarbyelliot]
Porschephile Editor: Stephen Oakley
