Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 – LAST DANCE, LAST CHANCE…FOR LOVE

Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0

LAST DANCE, LAST CHANCE…FOR LOVE

We have, in the early days of 2026, an automotive moment. The buzz regarding electrification may not be dead, but is – at the very least – muted. And for those paying attention, the manual trans might as well be dead; the number of stick shifts available in the U.S. is but a handful – and yeah, the pun is intentional. Nowhere are these moments more evident than in the Porsche showroom, where the German OEM has – by necessity – formulated a new path, given the cooling of EV demand and the potential impact of tariffs. Into this marketing maelstrom come Dr. and Mrs. John Baeke, looking for the very last of Porsche’s Cayman GTS 4.0. It is, in Porsche-speak, a whale-of-a-tale…

Those Porsche enthusiasts with a preference for internalizing their combustion wanted to get moving while the gettin’ was good, and with the impending demise of Porsche’s gas-powered Cayman elected to act. John and Suzanne Baeke were among those seeking what is assumed to be an end-of-an-era, with the last Caymans of the current crop phased out and an electrified platform phased in. Their eventual goal: The last Cayman GTS 4.0 produced by Porsche and sold stateside.

In learning from a Porsche dealer this past summer than 2025 was the final year of Porsche Cayman production (‘final’ references the current generation), the Baekes launched an all-out search to find a Cayman GTS 4.0 in a spec meeting Suzanne’s wants, needs and desires. Ultimately that search led them to Park Place Porsche in Dallas and a build number referencing the final GTS 4.0 available. That build number left them just enough time to spec the GTS 4.0 with their preferences. 

John’s description – with an assist from Suzanne – of the search and build process is below. DB

As a bachelor, I heavily spec’d out a new ’97 Boxster.  At the time it was the most expensive Boxster ordered.  And I still have it wrapped in plastic.

I married Suzanne in 2000 and she has heard the story of my Porsche…repeatedly!  I wanted her to make her own dream car.  She loved the Cayman and wanted the fun of spec’ing it out exactly as she wanted, just as I did.

Last June we stopped at Porsche West Hills (in California), just to kick tires.  That was when we were told we were a “few months too late to order a Cayman.  They are discontinued until the EVs are ready.”  That was the first we knew.  My wife was so disappointed – and an EV was NOT an option for her. 

Suzanne knew exactly what she wanted.  “My dream Porsche…” she told the salesman, “would be a Cayman to match my lipstick and nails.  I would want the bad-boy GTS 4.0.  Don’t waste my time convincing me about paddle blah-blah-blah, mine’s gotta’ have a manual transmission so I can slam those gears.  And it’s gotta’ have loads of carbon, leather and contrasting stitching.”   

I actually felt kinda sorry for the salesman – good luck finding that in existing inventory! But I refused to accept “No, ma’am, you are way too late”.  Thus began my challenge…

When we returned to our home in San Antonio I started calling Porsche dealerships in an ever-expanding radius, looking for an available 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 allocation-build order.  I first called all 13 dealerships in Texas, and all said “You are out of luck”.  Any number of times a salesman would say, “I am sure I have the perfect Cayman S for your wife.” Well, they didn’t know my wife!

I next called Aristocrat Porsche in KC.  They said they had only one Cayman GTS 4.0 allocation left and I could have it.  Yippee! I sent them Suzanne’s configuration.  Amazingly, no deposit was needed until August 8th; Suzanne had about 5 weeks to tweak her specs.

On August 5th I called the salesman, asking when the dealer would want a deposit. It was then I was told, “Oops, another salesman sold that allocation.  We’re sorry, but I’m certain your wife would be just as happy with a Cayman S we have here.”  Wow. Wow. Wow!  I so wanted to make my wife’s dream come true; Instead, I had a very disappointed wife.

That began my nationwide search for a Cayman GTS 4.0 allocation.  My first call was to Porsche Cars North America, thinking they would have been eager to help.  Not so much, insisting they know nothing about allocations. 

So, I started randomly calling Porsche dealerships large and small, over 50 in all.  Everybody was singing the same song.  “You are months too late to this party.  There are no allocations out there.”  However, when I was told this by the salesman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Porsche-Autohaus) I pushed. “How do you know this to be true?”  And then I learned about the Porsche Dealer Portal.  This sneaky portal allows all Porsche dealers to see what allocations are still out there; sort of like a peak at your opponent’s cards.  And while I wasn’t (yet) a customer, the salesman offered to take a look. After several minutes, “Well, the portal does show one final 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 allocation… and it is at Porsche Park Place in Dallas.  You should not delay in calling them.”  After which I said, “No, I have spoken with them and they have nothing.”  But the Lancaster salesman insisted; “The Portal does not lie”.

With that, I called the Park Place salesman (Rutger) back and apologized, asking if he was certain Park Place didn’t have an allocation.  “I wish we did, as I would love to sell you one – that is how I make a living. But we sold our final allocation weeks ago.”

So, believing the Porsche portal can be wrong, I kept calling dealerships… always getting the same reply, “Sorry, you’re not going to find one.”

Then I called back the Porsche store in West Hills, where this journey began in June and spoke with the general manager; the GM agreed to check the Porsche portal. (Great. Here we go again!)  “Dr. Baeke, you are in luck. There is only one GTS 4.0 allocation left in all of North America, and it is not far from you – Park Place Porsche in Dallas.”   To which I replied: “No, No, No! You and Porsche-Lancaster are looking at the same thing, but obviously the portal is not up-to-date.  I’ve called Park Place twice and they have nothing.”  I asked him if there was some number identifying that exact allocation…I can’t just call back a third time.  That is when I learned about Allocation Numbers.  This is the unique alpha-numeric number which identifies a specific allocation given to a Porsche dealer. And the West Hills GM said, “Tell Park Place the number is J33745 and you have access to the Porsche portal showing it has not been sold.”

OK!  So, I called Rutger back a third time and profusely apologized.  I told him about my conversations with Lancaster and West Hills and gave him the allocation number.  He was impressed I had that, saying, “Well, let me go ask my GM what he knows.”  Ten minutes later he calls telling me I was correct. No one could explain how this allocation had somehow fallen through the cracks, but Park Place did indeed have one final Cayman GTS 4.0 allocated.  But he hesitated to say I could buy it, asking “Please tell me you and your wife live in the Dallas area”.  “We live in Boerne, near San Antonio. Why?”  “Well, with an allocation this special, it will be easier to get his approval to sell if I could tell him you or your wife were prior customers.”

This is where the story get’s fun.  I am a plastic surgeon and (coincidentally) my practice name is Park Place Plastic Surgery.  Back in 1997 when I first purchased my Boxster, I lived in Kansas City.  I thought it would be cool to have a custom license plate frame saying Park Place.  Never having even been to Park Place Porsche, I called their parts department and purchased two.  My wife remembered this, and she immediately told Rutger, “Yes. Yes. Yes. We are prior customers of Park Place Porsche,” and told Rutger about the license place frames.

That’s all it took.  The Park Place general manager approved selling us that build.  We immediately placed a deposit and were the proud owners of Allocation J33745.

Now, I will tell you…in 1996 when I was spec’ing out my Boxster, there was nothing as cool as today’s Porsche Configurator.  At that time all I had were a stack of crudely typed pages describing Boxster options. Almost 30 years later, Suzanne now spent nights up in bed configuring her Dream Car.  She went to the local Porsche dealership comparing fabric, stitching and paint combinations.  Every piece of that car was going to be a reflection of its owner.  Even the carbon-fiber door sill plates she specified, with ‘Suzanne’ illuminated.  I would describe my lovely wife as a free spirit in all ways.  And this car is truly a reflection of her personality.

Once the order had been received by Porsche AG its commission number was assigned and this car’s place in history was guaranteed.  Thanks to Porsche’s TrackYourDream app, Suzanne tracked her baby’s entire gestation, leaving the Osnabruck factory October 20, 2025.

On December 20^th Suzanne took delivery of her fab Cayman at Park Place Porsche in Dallas.  We celebrated like proud parents that weekend before driving her home.  Suzanne allowed me to drive ‘Sabrina’ for 10 minutes.

Is this the final Cayman GTS 4.0?  I am attempting to clarify this with Porsche AG.  Oddly, they are being coy.  

This much I do know: Once a Porsche dealer has sold an allocation it’s build date (i.e. slot in the production sequence) is secured and cannot be arbitrarily delayed.  Suzanne and I began this search for a 718 GTS 4.0 in June, 2025, calling fifty dealerships across North America. And all said the last allocations had been sold weeks earlier.  Then seven weeks later we finally found buried treasure, a single allocation for the final year production of the gas-engined Cayman GTS 4.0.  How did this allocation get so overlooked?  As upset as I was that one dealership did an end-around play dealing us out of their allocation, it was certainly a blessing in disguise. 

Absolutely this car is very close to the final example of any model 718 (aka 982 platform).  None have been manufactured for the EU market since model year 2024, and production for the rest of the world ceased in October, 2025.  There is no reason to believe any other Cayman GTS 4.0 (bound for the North American market) could have been produced later… and who knows, it may be the final GTS 4.0 anywhere.