As the long-awaited Cayman GT4 has been an absolute peach, it’s natural then that Porsche went ahead and started building turn-key racers with the Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Lighter, inherently nimble and outputting nearly 400 horsepower, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport is no hopped-up beach cruiser. In fact, the $165,000 Clubsport is eligible for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge as well as Pirelli World Challenge — and both series have already signed a few of these for this upcoming season.

The GT4 CS and it’s benign configuration will fit it perfectly into production car racing.

That appeal comes from a focused, balanced setup that, in race car money, isn’t going to break the bank. Of course, racing is not an inexpensive endeavor, but compared to a GT3 Cup Car, the Cayman is roughly $80,000 less and ought to be cheaper to maintain.

With a fire suppression system, a cage and a halo-style seat, this car is ready for competition as soon as the check is signed.

The drivetrain features the PDK gearbox, a 3.8-liter and a dry-sumped engine that makes 385 horsepower and 310 lb/ft of torque, all sent to the rear through a locking differential. Pushing along only 2,866 pounds, the car isn’t exactly a featherweight, but it’s certainly light enough to get going around the track quickly. Power-to-weight ratios be damned, this car is about so much more than that — as this onboard footage demonstrates.

Crashing over the curbs at an abridged Hockenheim, the Porsche shows incredible stability, even with the throttle matted and the car bouncing around wildly. Predictably, the car is immensely stable under hard braking, and it almost seems to invite the thrashing it’s given by Sport Auto test driver Christian Gebhardt. Though the sounds and interior are reminiscent of a GT3 Cup, the balance is demonstrably better — with excellent traction and no sudden snaps. Though 911 owners might deny it, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport has a chance of outperforming the esteemed 911 GT3 — as long as Porsche allows it to.