Verinnal

So as we all know towards the end of the year we will start seeing all the magazines announce best drivers cars of years and best sports cars. Anybody want to guess which magazines are going to take the GT4 for their top pick? I say R&T for sure and maybe C&D?

ipse dixit

Neither.

It won't take too many top honors, if any, from any publications, US or ROW.

Better cars abound. GT3RS, Ford GT350, McLaren 675, Ferrari 488, just to name a few.

Verinnal

But Will they be available in time for all the testing and reviews?

Maverick1

If the GT4 wins any best drivers awards, I believe it will be in European magazines and not North American ones.
Mags like EVO, Top Gear, Car etc.

Chris from Cali

Agreed - it's a very "Evo" car.

ipse dixit

GT3RS and the 488 have already been tested by the press. The 675 has as wel but embargo still in place for a few more days.

GT350 will be available in a month, or less, if not sooner.

So, yes, they will.

acey81

488 won't win simply because faster isn't better and as a drivers car the speciale is probably the pick. McLarens never rated high on the emotional scale and however impressive they never seem to come first.

The GT4 ended up second (behind the speciale) in Top Gears test and I reckon it will score highly in most magazines. Not sure about how it looks in the U.S. as they tend to be a bit more U.S. oriented.

As a fun car on the road it should be quite unbeatable but if you judge it by pure performance numbers any supercar will obviously beat it.

jphughan

Not so sure about that. The 981 GTS matched the R8 V10 on the Top Gear test track, so who knows what the GT4 would have done. Granted tires will be a major edge since even many supercars don't come with rubber as aggressive as Cup 2s, but going stock for stock I think the GT4 will be in good company.

I'm surprised there aren't high hopes here for the award though. I guess a lot depends on whether "best" takes value into account, and yes even though there are other great cars at better bargains like the GT350R, I think the GT4 still has a shot. The 991S won C&D's award one year I believe, only to be supplanted by the GT3 the following year.

Whatever the case though, the fact that the GT4 can be this good and still not be a lock for this award just means it's a great time to be a car enthusiast.

csbear

If that's the case, the Porsche 918, McLaren P1, LaFerraris, and Regeras of the world should always win every year.

LeBron James doesn't always win MVP every year even though he is heads and shoulders the biggest athletic freak out there.

vantage

I think the 991 RS will win the awards year. Seems to improve on the standard GT3 with very little downside. The only thing will be if the GT4 is seen is more accessible and usable on public roads.

switchface

There have been many comparo's between the gt3 and 458 Speciale (I just caught the Tiff vs Monkey one yesterday), with many saying the 458 by a hair due to the power to weight ratio, but given the monumental price gap you can't go wrong either way. This makes me think the gt3rs would rate extremely well, especially considering the surprising comments about how docile it is through town.

With that being said, I can see a few magazines (evo and C&D to name a few) that might choose the gt4 as a 'return to purity', #SaveTheManuals type of statement. With so many cars getting uber-fast, removing elements of engagment, I can see some publications taking a stand to show they still have the passion for emotion.

hadokenny

I think the GT4 has a great chance of winning these types of driver's car awards. Depends on the magazine, one of the criteria they all look at the is the "enjoyment" of the car. That's where cars with 6spd manual transmission like GT4 and GT350 may have an advantage. Weight and handling also factor in the "enjoyment". That's why the M3, Miata, and NSX wins so many "drivers car" awards in the past.

IMO, GT4 has many things in its favor for winning the award over 991RS, GT350, and other higher end performance cars...lightweight, awesome manual transmission, go-kart handling, and semi-daily drivability. The "best driver's car" is a vague award. I like the NBA MVP analogy. It should be the most balanced car that brings the most driving enjoyment. It's not necessarily the best athlete/highest performance car.

Maverick1

The best drivers car is the car that puts the biggest smile on your face.
So the GT4 ticks a lot of those "smile" boxes, manual transmission, mid engine go kart handling, stability at speed, relative comfort, intoxicating exhaust note, daily practicality with the 2 boots, etc.
I've seen many videos complementing the Cayman GTS, and the GT4 is that much better in performance so it should have a great chance of winning, not that I'll loose any sleep if it doesn't.

DeerHunter

On the other hand, it feels so good to have one's choice vindicated by others, especially those "on high".

PSYKDUP

Motortrend may likely name the gt4 drivers car of the year. They named the 2009 cayman s drivers car of the year. They also ranked the cayman r 4th in 2011 ahead of cars like the lfa, zo6, Audi r8gt, bmw 1m, evora s, and sls amg. The cars that finished higher were the 458, gtr and gt3rs. Link is below. Awesome read. Motortrend uses a great deal of hard data in the selection process and base decisions on input from many drivers including Randy Pobst.

http://m.motortrend.com/features/per...t_drivers_car/