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Soooo....a limited edition Ferrari costing double (way more when we extrapolate its cost to present value) they feel is better than the GT4RS???
If you ask me, by their own comments, the GT4RS is a great car at its present cost. Porsche has been able to build what Ferrari no longer builds and made it "affordable" to a much larger market.
Never mind maintenance costs and the usual Ferrari quirks...The Speciale it's a different car in a different game altogether, that the 4RS gets so close to the Speciale level is just a win for Porsche.
I completely agree..this is another example the author wrote ****s based on cars he never had owned or just driven more than 30 minutes allowed by the car manufacturer. I was just surprised that he did not compare the 4RS to a Pagani. On the side note, when a car is compared to one double its price, that in itself is a compliment, imo.
Useless article based on the apple to orange comparison argument and its lack of validity.
I completely agree..this is another example the author wrote ****s based on cars he never had owned or just driven more than 30 minutes allowed by the car manufacturer. I was just surprised that he did not compare the 4RS to a Pagani. On the side note, when a car is compared to one double its price, that in itself is a compliment, imo.
Useless article based on the apple to orange comparison argument and its lack of validity.
The article states they had two days with the cars. Maybe not long enough to fully appreciate the car, but definitely more than 30 minutes.
I completely agree..this is another example the author wrote ****s based on cars he never had owned or just driven more than 30 minutes allowed by the car manufacturer. I was just surprised that he did not compare the 4RS to a Pagani. On the side note, when a car is compared to one double its price, that in itself is a compliment, imo.
Useless article based on the apple to orange comparison argument and its lack of validity.
I guess car journalism should be outlawed then. If they are not actual owners of the car they are reviewing. Haha.
It’s just one qualified persons opinion. Jeez.
If you read the entire article and UNDERSTOOD WHY they were being compared.. it would have been clear to see they are comparing eras of cars with a similar ethos…. subjectively and ‘aside of costs’
I guess car journalism should be outlawed then. If they are not actual owners of the car they are reviewing. Haha.
It’s just one qualified persons opinion. Jeez.
If you read the entire article and UNDERSTOOD WHY they were being compared.. it would have been clear to see they are comparing eras of cars with a similar ethos…. subjectively and ‘aside of costs’
Price ≠ Greatness
In all honesty, I actually don't need to read this article to see how GT4RS drives in comparison to 458S. Do you think I would put down my incoming 4RS to the 458 and STO in my garage? Of course, the car can be measured by how much car it delivers at its own cost in relative to others at similar cost. If it delivers more car than those double its cost, yes I would mention that and consider it as compliment. If it delivers less, then it is no brainer and considered a given.
Just because it is the last of its kind for the engine, mid engine layout, RWS. Well the author should actually compare the 4RS to STO, as both from this era.
For avoidance of doubt… I’m not denigrating 4RS. Far from it. I been in a few now, and have driven, and that drivetrain in this platform is near perfection. So congrats on getting yours.
But as I said… should read the article, before just calling the authors (Jethro Bovingdon) opinion trash.…. STO is also in the comparison feature…. The full line up is NSX-R, 4RS, Speciale and STO.
It’s quite interesting because it also mentions the exact traits, which are carryovers from GT4 and other GT car calibration, that some people on RL have highlighted.
Again… not a knock just an observation….
I'd really like to hear your impression of the Manthey kit. I wish I would have gone that route instead of DeMan for my last GT4, and am considering it for my RS.
@sdillon can read my experience and impression of MR kit on 718 GT4 here if interested…(I also had it on 981 GT4)
The Porsche carries so much of what's precious about these cars. The intensity of the performance, the rev-hungry and exotic feel of the engine, the sheer bite of the chassis which, remarkably, isn't at the expense of fluidity. The GT4 RS really does tick so many boxes. I love the sharpness on the way into turns and the way it can be thrown in hard on the brakes and immediately snap into controllable oversteer. It has attitude and ability in abundance. We've waited a long time for a Cayman like this and in so many ways it's been worth it.
Yet, in truth, it never quite has us bubbling with wonder in the way we do about the Honda and Ferrari. Nor does it have the sheer laugh-out-loud intensity of the Lamborghini.
Perhaps on track this would all swing wildly in the other direction. In fact, I'm almost sure it would. But on some of the best roads we know, in perfect weather and over two glorious days, the GT4 RS doesn't quite get under our skin.
The noise is more than an annoyance: its relentlessness eats away at your enjoyment. There are other areas to nitpick, too. The PDK 'box is fantastic but, in the company of the Lamborghini and Ferrari systems, it lacks a sense of connection. It's more digital. It's telling that in the two Italian cars you never, ever want for a manual, but in the GT4 RS you crave it within ten minutes. It needs that extra layer of involvement. We leave deeply impressed but without those perfect memories served up so readily by one car in particular.
'It's head and shoulders above the rest,' enthuses John.
That's quite some statement in this company, but I think he's probably right. The Ferrari 458 Speciale is sublime, magnificent, outrageous, unbelievable. To deliver this level of demonic performance and sharpness with such control and grace is remarkable. "Totally rounded in its abilities,' explains John. 'Everything fits together beautifully.
The steering, the ride, the handling, the performance, the gearshift... it is a masterpiece of a car. That word - masterpiece - nails it completely. The Speciale feels like a moment in time, a project for the ages and a tribute to all the naturally aspirated V8s that have gone before. The Speciale is the very myth and legend of Ferrari incarnate in metal and carbonfibre. We came here to discover if the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS was one of the true greats. By the time we come to leave, there's another question hanging in the air.
Will it ever get better than the Ferrari 458 Speciale?
Just drove a gt4rs for 100 miles, and had a Speciale, AND an STO...in no planet in any universe would I EVER pick the Speciale over the GT4rs. I think it's the other way around, Im not sure there's a car that beats the 4RS at the end of the day for the road...I feel like it's the new 997 4.0. The suspension is totally relaxed when you want it to be, the engine and trans are pretty much perfect, the induction noise in your ears is out of this world good, and when I'm in it, I feel like Im in a diet 918, just more immediately agile given the weight difference. FWIW, STO is pretty epic, but it's just too stiff to be much fun if you want the car in Corsa which is the only mode that shuts off cylinder deactivation which otherwise drives me nuts. If they had an EGO mode where you could dial the suspension and the engine settings separately, I'd like it a who lot more.
Just drove a gt4rs for 100 miles, and had a Speciale, AND an STO...in no planet in any universe would I EVER pick the Speciale over the GT4rs. I think it's the other way around, Im not sure there's a car that beats the 4RS at the end of the day for the road...I feel like it's the new 997 4.0. The suspension is totally relaxed when you want it to be, the engine and trans are pretty much perfect, the induction noise in your ears is out of this world good, and when I'm in it, I feel like Im in a diet 918, just more immediately agile given the weight difference. FWIW, STO is pretty epic, but it's just too stiff to be much fun if you want the car in Corsa which is the only mode that shuts off cylinder deactivation which otherwise drives me nuts. If they had an EGO mode where you could dial the suspension and the engine settings separately, I'd like it a who lot more.
Great stuff.
Glad you got a chance to drive one and post your initial feedback.
I found that my 981/718 GT4 liked earlier braking and then throttle steering through turns versus late trail braking.
Mid-engine car, very responsive to throttle input for change of directions.
After getting the initial turn in done under maybe the end of braking my foot is on the throttle adjusting the car when I am in my GT4CS. Very different than when I am in a Cup car where I'm trialing it almost all the way to apex and then basically stomp on the throttle for the exit.
It's not 2005 or worse 1969 ! , After owning a GT4 and a modern 991.2 with RWS with modern engines now miles more forward, the driving styles are not too far off really. Look at the weight % on a 992 vs a 488 and you will see they are about the same now days. ALso most drivers add more rake to a 991/992 when having a geo done over oem making them even closer.
I did not really drive them much different, you get slighty more apex speed in the GT4 so you are not braking as much anyway, but you can get the power on earlier in the 911 from the Apex and imo have a bit more control over the limit. I used to trail them both into the bend any way. I also think a good GT4 driver can drive modern 911's faster than old school 911 owners, As old school 911 owners still think the engine out back will kill them and cannot seem to adapt !
I think if you can drive pretty well the modern 911 is easier to drive than the GT4, It has better front and rear sus layouts, and more precictible and less snap than a GT4 on the limits. They do drive very much the same now days imo just with their own trates, As I said it's not 1969 !! or even the 2010 Era. Hence again avergage old school 911 drivers of old do struggle driving a modern 911 as fast they should be going.
You actually hit it on the nail with your post.
Porsche's mid engine cars rewards drivers who is able to drive. While they had to dumb down their 911s so idiots won't kill themselves everytime they went out the front door.
F/R weight % only tell part of a story, where exactly is the majority of mass is located still plays a major role. Doesn't matter modern or old 911s, one still need to trail it deep into a corner to get it properly rotated, and once at the apex the throttle can be mashed for the exit. The mid engine cars only need slight help on initial turn-ins, like turning in at the very end of the braking phase, the engine in the middle will naturally rotate the car more to finish up. Once past the initial turn-in only the throttle is used to adjust the nose for the trajectory.
12-02-2022, 06:13 PM
