Yahoo Autos 9 thoughts as we say goodbye to the ultimate Porsche 718 Cayman GT4
MALIBU, Calif. -- Ahead of driving the upcoming Porsche 718 Spyder RS later this month, I wanted to get myself reacquainted with the hardcore wing of the 718 family. Until the RS came along to effectively replace it, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 was the most serious version you could get (with its Boxster Spyder sibling a close second). I’ve been lucky to drive the GT4 twice before: once at a track in Scotland and a second time early in the pandemic driving from Portland to Detroit (Oregon) through beautiful forest that would soon thereafter be burnt to a crisp. In other words, vigorously driving the GT4 through the Santa Monica Mountains would somehow be the least interesting drive I’ve had in this magnificent sports car. Life is hard.
To briefly reacquaint you with the GT4, it effectively comes with a naturally aspirated version of the turbocharged 4.0-liter flat-six found in the 911. It produces 414 horsepower and 309 pound-feet, and screams to a redline of 8,000 rpm. The 0-60 time is 4.2 seconds, but that’s so not the point of this car. It’s about the noise from that flat-six and the suspension wizardry that results in one of the finest handling cars on the planet. Up front is the same setup as the 2018 GT3 RS, which also donates certain elements (subframe, control arms, shocks) to an otherwise unique suspension design. The ride height is also reduced by 1.8 inches, and the PASM adaptive dampers were specially tuned for the GT4. The brakes also come over from the last GT3 and there’s an extensive aerodynamic regimen, including a wing.
For a more complete take on the GT4, I’d suggest reading my Scotland track drive and my Get Action! road test from 2020. For some lasting impressions from this latest go, however, here are nine thoughts about the 718 GT4.
1. The engine sends chills up your spine
Is there a better combination of engine, placement and lack of sound deadening out there? Outside of a race car? Unless it’s some some classic or modern exotica, I haven’t driven it. The naturally aspirated flat-six is the biggest part of it, as you rev it out to 8,000 glorious rpm. You actually have to tell yourself to keep going past 5,000 or 6,000 rpm … but then you remember you can, since the engine is perfectly capable of keeping things rapid without wringing the boxer’s neck, and it’s delightful.
Of course, the placement of the engine just behind your right hip puts your ears even closer to the action than in a 911, while the GT4’s stripped-out sound deadening ensures that this won’t be the best environment for enjoying your music collection. The car is the main treat for the ears, here.
And that’s without even mentioning the dual-mode exhaust that has always seemed to be loud regardless of whether you press the little exhaust button on the center console.
2. And the nominees for best gearbox are …
If you were to ask, “What is the best manual transmission?” my answer would involve three nominees: the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the Civic Type R/Integra Type S and the Porsche 718. The shifter itself is a bit shorter in the GT4, but the peerless precision and mechanical weighting are comparable. If this was strictly my track car (and it would be quite a good choice, too), I’d probably opt for PDK since I don’t need to think about a clutch or even shifting in general when negotiating a track. PDK’s Sport+ setting is just that good. On the other hand, the Auto Blip rev-matched downshifting is excellent enough that I might reconsider that position. And if this was more a road-going car, there’s no doubt which I’d choose.
3. The suspension difference is more obvious in normal driving
While slicing along Mulholland Highway, I was surprisingly able to keep the GT4 in its firmest suspension setting. Usually such settings are a recipe for getting the chassis out of whack (not to mention punishing you), when hitting an inevitable bump, but the adaptive dampers lived up to their adjective in the real world. You can absolutely tell the difference in normal driving, though, so the ability to have a more forgiving option is definitely appreciated.
