718 Cayman GT4
Now with 4.0L, 414 hp flat six. Speaking of Porsche killing resale values, this should take the piss out of some of those people selling prior gen GT4s for 100 large. Yes, and not surprising. 100k. Unhappily, it was a six month distraction, made me miss the perfect 981S Cayman (I got the dealer call for an allocation on the same day I was on the phone with the rennlist seller). Another six months and I ended up with a great Boxster. I still think the 3.4 (either as S or GTS) is sufficient for the street. The grip and handling are a bit more fun as well. 245/295 with Pilot Cups mean I'm nowhere near the edge of traction in good conditions when the tires are warm. In all other conditions, they are more surprising and have less warning. That and the super low front meant that the car was less fun to drive in real world conditions than regular non-GT porsches despite the increased the torque. Do the 3.4's feel all that fast? Not terribly. Tempting to try some tunes and upgrades, but I'm not willing to drop cats and swap headers. Just like I'm guessing most everything feels mortal and slow when you're coming from powerful, instant EV's. Same is true coming from the Ducati 150hp that does a sub 3 second 0 to 60, or 10 second quarter mile. In the real world, if I give it a good dollop not even WOT for a few seconds, I'm in triple digits.
2017 entry level 718 Porsches. Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox with single disc clutch and dual-mass flywheel. Drive Train: Mid engine / Rear-wheel drive. Suspension: Front - Lightweight spring-strut - MacPherson type. Rear - Lightweight MacPherson strut. Brakes: Four-wheel discs vented and perforated front and rear with four-piston aluminum monoblack fixed calipers front and rear, with ABS, Porsche Stability Management (PSM) and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) with extended brake functions. Tires: Pirelli P-Zero 235/55 ZR20 x 8.5 front / 265/55 ZR20 x 10.5? Curb Weight: 2,944 lbs. Turning Circle: 36.0 ft. 0 - 60 mph: 4.2 seconds ? 4.0 seconds w/ Sport Chrono ? Arv Voss is a Northern California based freelance motoring Journalist and member and past officer of several noted Automotive Journalist organizations who contributes regularly to a number of national and international media outlets. He reviews not only cars, trucks and SUVs, but motorcycles and unusual wheeled vehicles as well.
I really thought I had missed the boat and regretting not buying one when I had the chance. It pushed me to bite the bullet and I bought a 2016, 981 Cayman S less than 2 years ago. And I'm SO glad I did. The car is just phenomenal. When I had the Cayman at the dealer last fall for an oil change and radio software update, I asked about the 718 GT4. The (981) GT4 is the car I really wanted but it was too far out of the price range and they were all already spoken for by the time I was getting serious. Nothing was firm last October but it was widely suspected that the 718 GT4 would come out sometime in late 2019 or early 2020 and with a return to the flat-6 engine. And the dealer was taking deposits already back then, although I guess it was all unofficial. I spoke to the salesman for a while before he would even confirm that such a list even existed.
20K deposit and they seemed reluctant to really discuss it further since I'm not one of their marquis customers. In a fit of pure madness, I asked him, if I were to put down a deposit today, how long it would be before my number came up. He seemed reluctant to talk specifics but he told me, already back then, that it would probably be 2 years or more before I got my hands on one. 90K and was doing the mental arithmetic at how much I could get for my car and if it was feasible. 20K on top of that in options, prep, taxes, etc. I'm glad Porsche is returning to the Flat-6. But I'm a bit dismayed at how far up-market they're climbing. 100K for a Cayman seems like madness. Still, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of people lining up to order one. 85K in 2019 dollars.