DeerHunter

No one seems to be spec'ing European Delivery (especially the Leipzig option, which gives you a day at the track in a car just like yours). I'm seriously considering this option.

olmy

Oh I am definitely doing Euro Delivery. I picked up my BMW in Munich. It was a great experience and highly, highly recommended.

Thanks for the Leipzip info, was planning on Zuffenhausen. Something else to figure out ...

CAlexio

Oh don't you worry, everyone's got to buy the farm sometime.

Joking aside, does a larger tank reduce the size of the Frunk?

switchface

I thought I heard they weren't doing European delivery on these due to limited allocations (?). That never made sense to me, especially considering its an option in the configurator. Can you elaborate more on the Leipzig track option? I'm interested!

DeerHunter

My sales guy offered it to me, although he might just be going off the configurator options. No-one's told him not to offer it, so there's that.

If you take delivery in Leipzig, you get an instructed session at the Porsche test track (the cool one that replicates famous corners from circuits around the world, like the Corkscrew). You get to drive a car like yours, but isn't yours (thus negating issues surrounding pounding on a green engine and wearing out your own tires). Worth the price of admission right there, I would think.

500

I've been through the configurator a bunch of times, playing out what-if scenarios. However, I find that the only "cost" option I really want is the bucket seats. I would also select a few of the no-cost options:

Larger tank
Passenger footwell net
Smooth finish leather for steering wheel

And that's it. Absolutely perfect for me and I would have no regrets with that spec.

My personal opinion is that the best approach is to aim for the model with the base price closest to your budget and add very few options. For example, I can take a base Cayman, put full leather interior package (red), 19" wheels painted black, Sport suspension, LSD, PCCB's and pretty much nothing else, and be near the price level of a GTS... That would be a really nice base Cayman, but it just does not make sense. Just like a heavily loaded GT4 approaching GT3 price...

Crazy Eddie

Hard to argue with any of your logic ....
Not having a radio &(with the PCM which sadly requires Nav) would be weird for a car costing 90K ... I am an old fart who doesn't even use Nav, but am being told that for a car like this (one that isn't a track dedicated car ) that would be a mistake. As much as it pains me to pay 4K for a crappy radio and Nav ...
regards
Ed

CAlexio

Interesting, I thought that the overpriced cdr+ was honestly enough in today's smartphone world. That nav system is outrageous, as is the sport chrono. My build still comes out to approx $103k with leather and pccb and LWB.. And I'm concerned that this would be high end of the market for resale. However, I believe those options are more valued than not having leather for example and selecting the nav or sport chrono.

hf1

IMO, any option apart from LWBs will not see a good return on investment come re-sale of this car. The $15k value diff between a loaded GT4 and a $90k LWB stripper when new will shrink to $5k (tops) in two years. If the loaded one has no LWBs, it may even be valued less than a stripped GT4 with LWBs. Or at least that's how I would value them if/when I look for one couple of years down the road -- assuming I don't crack under PAG's relentless marketing pressure and just order one new.

Crazy Eddie

I have to agree with both of you. But in my case ... I highly doubt that would be something I have to worry about as much, as my last Porsche, which I bought 26+yrs ago, is still sitting in my garage, running and looking good ..
I am a bit torn on these options
My config was 90+ w/o LWB, so 95K with ... The only thing I would forgo would be the Nav, but that would leave me with 2 options. The CDR + 1700 (saving 1200 from the full nav)or not ... Which, I assume, leaves you with a transistor radio and a low res screen ? I was honestly considered buying a used Boxster Spyder, before this car came out, and decided to pass on one that was a bit over priced w/o nav ...
If it had Nav I might have considered it ... In fairness, it was priced too high)Then it was the GTS, but I couldn't find a manual anywhere (So I had to order it) I was days away from doing just that, and then this announcement was made on the GT4
I think, if you are considering selling the car in a few yrs, I would guess you will be lucky to get the 1/2 the value of those options (and honestly, I think for the non track buyer, those LWB may be a deal killer, especially if the buyer is getting on in years ...50+ .. ask me how I know
I am the furthest thing from a car salesman, so I am just shooting from the hip here ...
Regards
Ed
ps I didn't care for the 1/2 leather look in the 911 I saw at the dealer so I decided to upgrade to leather .. but that was only a grand

pfbz

While I agree the lightweight race buckets are cool and likely a highly desirable option on resale, it seems contradictory to the desire for audio upgrades, nav, radar cruise, etc.

Their key advantages are 1) They HOLD you in the seat during high G driving, like on the track, 2) they shed weight from the car (about 20 lbs vs. sport+ seats?), 3) they are compatible with roll bar / 4pt. harness, and 4) they look very cool...

The problem for daily driving is the same design that holds you in the seat makes them a tight fit for many (most?) people and significantly harder to get in/out of. And minimally adjustable. Manual fore/aft, 50mm of height, no recline/lumber/other.

Seems like optimum config's for the GT4 would be 'Extremely track worthy, street drivable with some compromises' rather than 'Daily driver I can take to one track day a year'. For the latter, the GTS seems like a better choice.

Not sure buying it for optimum resale is the goal, but if it was, I would guess optimum resale as % of original purchase = base + race seats + extinguisher. I'd probably do radio delete, but it seems like a better choice to take the stock radio and buy the blanking slots separately/remove it myself rather than just letting Porsche leave it out for no credit.

Of course if you look at current 997 GT3 manual transmission pricing, it might be a super-hot resale car regardless of the config you come up with if availability is as tight as rumored...

switchface

IMO - most cars (of all makes) moving forward will continue to trend toward turbos/pdk, before eventually going hybrid/electric...so an analog/naturally aspirated/manual, will be a unicorn and a long-term keeper in my mind.

So, do you keep it minimal because its a GT car or spec everything you want knowing you'll have it a while? So far (warning: my mind may change) I'm going for lasting power. For example, while Sapphire Blue looks beautiful, I think white on a GT car is classic and I'll continue to love the color choice for many years. Another example, to me, all navigation looks completely outdated the minute it rolls off the line. I'd rather not spec it and just carry my iPhone 6+. Radio wise, sure I'd love a USB, but as long as I have an Aux port to plug in my iPhone, I think I can do without the fancy radio (besides, did you hear that exhaust note?!).

I am 100% speccing LWB and agree with the other posters that this is a must. Any Cayman R/Spyder that was for sale, the most commonly heard phrase was "ahh, its perfect, but if only it had sport buckets". I came close to buying one, but would only look for those with buckets. They are rare, desirable, surprisingly comfortable, and expensive to retrofit.

Interior leather related options are still what I need better clarification on. I don't want that half and half look either, and the stitched leather looks to cover most of the doors and dash. I really want better examples of what the 'extended' options actually cover to know whether this takes the interior up a discernible notch or is tacky overkill. This will be my only car/DD so I want the interior to be special without overdoing it.

Qwickrick

Does anyone know that if using the AUX port on the standard radio for a iPod, can you control it via the radio?

otisdog

A couple of points - My local dealer will not do euro delivery on this car…the $3k cost comes straight out of their pocket. They can easily sell al of the GT4's they can get…
The take rate on the lwb's will be the highest percentage of any model, I think.
You can't get the "Alcantara Delete" option with the full leather.

Crazy Eddie

Your correct there is this dichotomy... It would be a dual purpose car, so I want the creature comforts of a DD with the spirited feel of a track car
I want the comfort of a sports seat on the other I love the look and the support you get from a LWB... Its a trade off I want the car to be friendly to me when i get in and out ( it sucks getting old but its better than the alternative)Back issue are a concern for me .. I want to get back to the track and would with this car, but honestly I would do maybe 4 DE events a year or so ... I like having that lateral support .. I did upgrade my seat in the other Porsche long ago, but with a more mid range seat- Racaro I guess what would be called a speed seat today, and I was just barely enough at the track with the 5 point harness but its not as easy to sit in as a daily driver, so I guess I just might have to compromise ... Either get the LWB seat and suck it up and be somewhat uncomfortable when I take the car out to the store, or go with the regular sport seat, and curse myself for not getting the LWB when I am at the track ?
Frankly I would love to buy two sets