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718 Cayman GT4 is here – at long last.!

Ralph,

I think you mentioned some time ago that you're high on the list at your PC for a PDK car? I assume that you're Porscheless at the moment, so some time to wait for the new car. Hopefully it'll be worth it, and having been involved myself in vehicle development work I'd always be reluctant to buy a newly released car of any make. Best to wait a year so that any early development/production bugs, etc. will have been sorted.

Jeff

 
Ralph,

I entirely support your logic of moving on your 3.8 981 CS now, and biding time for the release of the PDK 982 4.0 GT4. By the time the PDK comes along, and I'll wager it'll not be too long a wait, the early bugs will be rectified and it'll be a better car overall than the early manual versions. PDK will address many of the criticisms from those such as Chris Harris who complain of long gearing. A PDK GT4 will facilitate the release of more power and torque from the engine, and also lower the intermediate gearing.

Thus equipped, a PDK 982 GT4 should comfortably retain its rightful place as the most accelerative Cayman available. Currently that honour sits with my car, the 2019 718 GTS PDK, and surely that can't be right.

Were my circumstances different, I also would be making stringent efforts with my preferred OPC for a build slot for a PDK 982 GT4. It'll be a cracker.

Brian

 
Does anyone know if the rumoured shortly to be announced GTS-6 will be sitting alongside the current 4cylinder GTS, (presumably priced between it and the GT4), or whether the GTS-6 will be a replacement for the 4cylinder GTS which would therefore be discontinued?

 
My understanding from talking to a sales rep a couple of weeks ago is that it will be an additional car positioned between the current GTS and the GT4 and labelled GTS-6.

Jeff

 
Assuming the video wasn't staged after the running-in period, quite clearly he's not bothered about running-in then Ralph - lots of rev-limiter evident.! Looks and sounds good to me though.

On another tack, this new Cayman GT4 UK race series has come in rather under the radar:

https://www.autosport.com/national/news/145918/new-porsche-series-to-support-btcc-and-british-gt

Sounds as though it could be a good entry point to the Carrera Cup GB series, and Porsche has positioned it in front of key audiences for maximum exposure. Who says the Porsche mid-engined car range is dead?

Jeff

 
This new Porsche Sprint Challenge GB to give it its official title, is an excellent development. Based on the 982 GT4 Clubsport with the 3.8 flat-six from the previous generation GT3 with 420bhp and mated to a 6 speed track spec PDK, this should be a stunning race series to watch. I'm hoping one of the championship races can be incorporated into ITV4's excellent BTCC live TV coverage.

I had a brief preview of the car in action at the recent Oulton Park track day given by the 2019 Carrera Cup Champion Dan Harper. During a brief chat in the pit lane he reaffirmed the case for the GT4 being a better balanced race car than the tricky GT3 Cup car. I'll be very interested to see how lap times compare with the Cup cars on shorter technical tracks such as Oulton park and Knockhill. The 75bhp power deficit of the GT4 Clubsport should be neutralised by the higher corner entry speeds and quick change of direction agility compered to the bulkier GT3 Cup cars.

Interesting times.

Brian



 
Anticipated cost of the season ...the price of the car (£131,100 + vat) plus £80k if the driver does everything themselves ... or plus £125k fully supported.

2 x Silverstone and 2 x Donnington plus a Croft and a ? from memory ....

This budget is around half that of the Carrera Cup ....

That sounds very rich for almost everybody I know and it assumes no bodily contact.

If it pans out as the new Classic Boxster Cup did this season, there will be plenty of contact and plenty of add-on cost.

It's quite possible to spank seven figures over a few years of Carrera Cup with an aggressive driver.

The worst thing is that for the young blades spending somebody else's money if ram raiding is what it takes to win, ram raiding is what they will do. As an example I site the final lap in this 2019 series at Oulton Park where P2 punted P1 onto the infield overtaking on the inside at the bottom of cascades.

1. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have made it around the corner without the required energy transfer ... and

2. It destroyed one complete side each of the P1 and P2 cars ... even if they were still rolling !

Still the winner is lauded ...

There were quite a few re-shelled Boxsters this year ... and it's supposed to be affordable racing. I also hate to think how many new engines ... roll-on the Gen 2's into this series ... ??

 
So this special edition is purely cosmetic with the possible exception of PASM re-mapped to be more track focussed ? Or the same as all GT4's which are already track focussed ?

 
Chris,

My understanding is that the series is for the stock 982/718 GT4 Clubsport.

As you point out, it's not exactly your average clubman's series ... unless they have very deep pockets..! I think the organisers are expecting (hoping??) to spike interest from the Carrera Cup teams.

Jeff

 
I have the opinion that the Porsche Sprint Challenge GB series (GT4 Clubsport), is aimed at the already amply sponsored professional driver seeking to make a name for himself/herself on the national stage with the added appeal of national TV exposure. Costing less to kick-start than the Carrera Cup GB series, albeit not by much, this GT4 championship will become an important stepping stone for young and youngish, aspirational pro-am drivers. Rather than, as is currently the case, making the giant leap from Ginetta Juniors or Clio Cup cars to Carrera Cup or BTCC. Younger drivers with proven ability now have the goal of making it into the Porsche mid-engined cars as a realistic goal. Other contenders are the current Ginetta GT4 championship drivers who fancy something a bit more sophisticated than the raw, and somewhat crude, G55's.

This GT4 Clubsport championship is probably not for the self-financed privateer, unless the product of rich parents with bottomless pockets, been a Euromillions winner, or is from an oil-rich state-backed sponsored family. A well sponsored privateer may yet take the risk, mindful of damage limitation constraints.

It will be interesting to see if talented, proven champions from the Classic Boxster race series such as Ben McLoughlin, a tutor at PEC who has previously tutored myself in the Cayman R and 997 GT3 RS 4.0. It would be a great stepping stone towards motorsport career advancement and national recognition if serious talent such as Ben were to venture into the GT4 Clubsport series. Sadly, it'll all depend on money, not just talent.

I'm looking to following the progress of this new championship during 2020.

Brian

 
Brian,

I reckon your first sentence sums up admirably the aims of the new series and its target drivers. Competitive motor racing has always been expensive and although it may have started as an activity for "gentleman drivers" it soon became a highly professional sport, no less than it is today in an age of advertising campaigns and sponsorship deals.

As enthusiastic Cayman owners let's hope that the new series is both competitive and exciting to watch.

Jeff

 
PCA have run regional Porsche GT4 race series since 2016, it is surprising that it has taken 4 years for Porsche GB to introduce a UK equivalent.

 
Just got the call, need to lock down my specification by Wednesday with a completion date of early Jan

so many decisions to make in such a short space of time

 
Yes it will be very interesting to see if there are enough competitors for this without diluting the GT3 Cup series ...

The main advantage being that there is no life-ing of components.

I guess -50 years and in another life `I would have been hunting sponsorship. Good luck to them.

 
ChrisW said:
Yes it will be very interesting to see if there are enough competitors for this without diluting the GT3 Cup series ...

The main advantage being that there is no life-ing of components.

I guess -50 years and in another life `I would have been hunting sponsorship. Good luck to them.
Click to expand...

Chris,

Your last sentence chimes with my sentiments exactly!

Brian

 
I am looking forward to the introduction in 2020 of the 718 RGT Rally version that was introduced at the ADAC Rallye of Deutschland earlier this year where a prototype based on the 981 Clubsport ran at demonstration pace on a few stages.

 
It's encouraging to see that Porsche finally are beginning to recognise the potential of the mid-engined sports cars in motorsport after years of concentrating their effort solely on the precious 911.

Watch the car racing at the weekend ... place your order on the Monday? Except of course you can't - it's a GT car..! [;)]

Jeff

 
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