Fang911

After an 8 month wait- the 4RS was delivered on Friday. Put on about 100 miles over the last 2 days- wanted to jot down some early thoughts. Background- I cycled through 3 991.2 GT3’s- 2
manuals and 1 PDK- between 2/19-10/21, and have some seat time in a buddy’s 3RS, all preceded by a 7 yr stint in a 997.1 GT3.

The adjective that best describes the 4RS is “serious”. Efficient, precise and a bit maniacal would apply as well. Has noticeably sharper turn-in and better steering feel / weighting than the GT3 / 3RS- not sure if this due to changes to the rack vs camber / alignment. PDK Sport is transformative as compared to the GT3’s PDK, and similar to the 3RS. Suspension is significantly stiffer than the GT3 and I think somewhat more than the 3RS- but certainly tolerable for suburban streets and highways. As with its bigger brothers, the engine is sensational…which brings us to its “voice”. Even under moderate load / throttle at 3-4K rpm with sports exhaust on- its pretty damn loud, with a bit of drone (to my ears); intake noise is quite prominent and adds a welcome layer of complexity. On the other hand- its fairly quiet with PSE off- wouldnt mind a setting somewhere in the middle.

The 4RS is an incredible machine- not necessarily “better” than the GT3 / 3RS- just different. The GT3 is the easiest to live with day to day and is probably the only one that can be daily driven. It also has the most classically beautiful bodywork sans vents and cuts of its RS brothers. The 3RS blends the 4RS’s personality with the 991.2 body and interior (which I prefer to the 718 design). The 4RS marries Porsche’s best engine to perhaps its best chassis. Tough call- all winners, no losers.

Will report back in a couple weeks after break-in, Chicago weather permitting-

Ksdaoski

Congrats! WP? Lift?
cold around here not sure if you'll get much time in, but hopefully it warms up?

TDT

Congrats!.. also non-WP?.. Double congrats, as that’s how I’d take it also.

Fang911

No WP- sorry, its purely an aesthetics issue for me- could not come around to the contrast front lid for the 991.2 3RS and again for the 4RS. Looked long and hard for a white 3RS with PCCB’s, LWB, full leather and no WP- gave up after several months. In retrospect, perhaps a brighter color would bettter suit the car- ie signal yellow 👍

Mr. Adair

Best part of this review is the fact that you felt the car can be made “quiet” enough in higher gears, lower revs and the exhaust in quiet. Do you feel like you could stay in the car for 3 hours with a passenger and carry on normal conversation? How about NVH or road noise?

MEM82

Looks so clean, I love it!

TDT

I love it. Excellent work.

Warwick Morris

Thanks. Good thoughts. I agree it's pretty firm on the suspension front but still liveable; especially as speed increases and settles into it own form of "comfort". I too find it loud in the cabin and now wear my air pod pros for any longer trips; perfect then plus they seamlessly integrate with Car Play. Rip them out for the any driving on the twisties.

Fang911

Thanks all. I feel the exhaust / intake volume is quite reasonable with the sports exhaust off- no issues having conversations with passengers or by phone via bluetooth (no one asked what the hell was going on in the background - but then again this is at no more than 50% throttle and < 4K rpm. Sports exhaust on is a different matter altogether and seemingly doubles the volume and lowers the pitch which sounds great at certain loads / rpms but can drone as well. Otherwise overall NVH (tire / road / wind) is fine- similar to a 3RS.

Porsche’s “settings” for both the pdk and sport exhaust is interesting in that there is such a chasm between the “normal”, default setting vs sport. PDK shifts are smooth and at low rpms (similar to the cayenne 8 spd torque converter) until you switch to pdk sport when all hell breaks loose. The same applies to the exhaust. Imo, an intermediate setting would be ideal for both as i feel the current sport settings should be called “Sport ++”

BlazinPond

Props to you for going non WP.

I'm locked in w/ WP currently, but the exposed carbon hood bothers me a bit.
I didn't want the headache of trying CXX or hood stripe options.... but now second guess myself.

Fang911

I understand the allure of the WP with all the carbon fiber bits- wished Porsche offered a painted WP like they did for the 3RS; otherwise i’d have to order the 4RS in black or wrap the hood

Odin

The CXX hood is really the piece de resistance! Do it if you can!

Thinker23

How much did it cost?

welikethetrack

Love the no WP, honestly looks way better.

Dr.Bill

Just the carbon fiber air intakes and engine cover are worth the WP price. It's spectacular!
The cf hood and side scoops are just a bonus. Plus the full alcantara dash - a first ever.