Porsche GT4 4.0 Manual

24 April 2022

Practically the best GT model Porsche has ever made.

And I'll tell you why I say "practically";

In 2015, Porsche finally gave the world the car we all wanted – A budget 911, and a mid-engined one. Not a car where you would have to learn the rear-engined driving dynamics stuff that only a 911 offers in this category, but a mid-engine package which is much more intuitive to drive in more situations.

The regular Cayman was an “exactly-in-the-middle” Porsche model, which most of you probably know. It was in the middle of the 2^nd generation Boxster and 997 in terms of power, performance, price, size, and even in terms of physical parts – kind of like the 1M or Z4M of the BMW world.

It did so well, and was such a success at tying in all of Porsche’s best essences in one car that its facelift and next generation (718) had an S and GTS versions which teased the true potential of the 718 chassis and drivetrain. From Tip-Tronic to PDK, the Cayman got even better and was such a perfect VFM Porsche product that its potential lead to this: The 718 4.0 GT4. The baby GT-Series Porsche.

The GT4 came with a manual option as well, such as this awesome Crayon one. And in typical Porsche fashion, they mastered the shifting experience. Just while maneuvering the car for the various shots, I had finally gotten a first taste of the perfect Foot-Hand relationship that the clutch and gear shifter allow you to discover. You can tell all the components were designed for each other, and you can tell the Porsche designers and engineers actually worked together to create it all for an engaging driver, while all of them were definitely communicating and cooperating with each other while designing this amazing toy.

Even 991 GT3 and GT2 owners bought and used their GT4 Porsches. Imagine an GTR Nismo owner buying a 370 Nismo to use, or a garage with an Audi R8 GT being grown with the addition of a TT RS.

The design is timeless, and you couldn’t have designed a better time to launch. And with 07:40 time at the Ring, it was immediately a benchmark car in its category. It looks so good, too, and was launched in Porsche's best year ever with 19% more sales than 2014, thanks to the Macan - Reminiscent of the 2000s era with the Boxster and Cayenne combination which financially and socially saved the company. Everyone's only complaint was the long (ish) gear ratios. That's it.

We have already been blessed with the RS version 8 years later, which has multiple 992 GT Series parts such as brake, suspension, engine, and drivetrain components. And as you also probably already know, the GT4 RS is such a good mix of all those things that prospective GT3 and GT4 RS buyers have been reconsidering their post-Covid Porsche GT purchase.