08-03-2025
10,000 miles in the best $100K sports car you can buy.
Porsche's GT4 means different things to different people. For some enthusiasts, it's the car you buy when you can't afford (or can't get an allocation for) a GT3. For me, it was simply my dream car. 414 horsepower of flat-six, four-liter, mid-engined, manual-transmission bliss. I wanted nothing more, nothing less.
The Porsche GT4 first debuted at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show as a 2016 model. Based on the 981 Cayman, it made 385 HP from a 3.8 liter engine and was available exclusively with a manual transmission. It was a wonderful car in every way but worldwide demand far outpaced its limited run of just 2,500 first GT4 came toward the end of the 981 Cayman's model run, with the standard Cayman 982 (the 718, if you're nasty) and its four-cylinder turbo power already on the horizon. Divisive as it was for its forced injection and 'missing' cylinders, I still bought one, and thought it was fantastic.
But when Porsche revealed the new 718 Cayman-based GT4 just two years later, with its naturally-aspirated four-liter engine, I was smitten. Porsche had made the perfect car in my eyes and I had to have one. While I always liked the look of the 981 GT4, I absolutely LOVED the appearance and stance of the 718 version, which dialed up the aggression and seemed to wear a finely-tailored suit in comparison.
The fact that it now had an 8k redline and was twelve seconds faster around the Nürburgring wasn't exactly working against it, either. Not that I was keeping score.
So, on Halloween of that year, I took delivery of my own new, manual transmission (a PDK option would come later) 718 GT4 at Porsche Colorado Springs. Beggars like me can't be Paint to Sample choosers so my GT4 arrived looking magnificent just the same in GT Silver, along with an MSRP of $99,200 (those were the days…) and just a handful of options—including said paint—for a grand total of $105,610.
And while I was one of the lucky ones who got away with paying sticker for their new GT4, a hundred grand was (and is) serious money for me. But it's also about as cheap as Porsche GT car ownership can be had, and, my GT4 has proven to be an incredibly economical car to own and operate, as well. What's more, it provides one of the most engaging and exhilarating driving experiences available, for any price.
And, now four years and 10,000 miles into my GT4 stewardship, here are my to begin? It's almost all good. There's the raspy sound of the flat-six as it builds to redline. It's a potent powerplant—the four-liter—one that manages to be plenty stout around town but really comes into its own when fully rung out. The handling is exceptional, rewarding late braking and keeping the car planted until its Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s gradually and predictably give up the ghost, inspiring a huge amount of confidence and coaxing you to push the car a little more with each turn.
The car looks fantastic, of course, though I sometimes wish I'd had the chance to spec it in Porsche's stunning Meerblau or rich Brewster Green. I genuinely believe the GT4, in both its iterations, ranks among the best Porsches ever made. And when you consider the price? The 718 GT4 has nearly all the essential goodness (and even more performance) of a more expensive and more costly to maintain 997.2 GT3, which is a car I adore. There, I said 718 GT4 scrapes its front end. Everywhere. With just 3.1 inches of ground clearance (and even less with my middle-aged frame behind the wheel), the 718 GT4's nose is about as low as it gets in a modern car. The scraping is not a nice sound, but the car can take it, and, luckily, replacement splitters are only about $350. You will become extraordinarily proficient, however, at navigating up driveway aprons at a 45° angle, in reverse.
And, there are times, especially here on Colorado's high-altitude mountain roads, when a bit more power (or forced induction) would be nice. But with the latter, you'd lose that incredible sound through the exhaust—and that's a tradeoff I'm more than willing to make.
That's it. Sure, there are times when I wish my car had Porsche's gorgeous carbon buckets but, to be honest, there are just as many times when I'm glad it doesn't.
Good question. In fact, at the time I bought my GT4, the Spyder could be had for even a little bit less than my hardtop. While it's mechanically identical to my car (and with a ride that's slightly more compliant), I never even considered one. I guess I'm just not really a convertible guy, and, the sun here in Colorado is no joke. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a good wing.
In retrospect, I'm sure I would've been just as happy had I gone with the Spyder. Unlike the 981 equivalent, the 718 Spyder is a true GT car. My pal Dan's got one and his love for it is clear in the more than 86,000 miles he's put on it in less than three years. His is almost certainly the highest-mileage Spyder in the country, if not the world. Prove me wrong. Smiles for no secret that the 718 GT4 is an amazing and capable car. All modern Porsche sports cars are. What's truly impressive, though, is that even after over four years of ownership and 10,000 miles on the clock, I could list my car on Bring a Trailer tomorrow and sell it for exactly what I paid. Maybe more. The thing's a damn value proposition. Aside from fuel, annual services (mostly oil changes), and a new set of Cup 2 tires every few thousand miles, the car has cost me virtually nothing, even beyond warranty. It's bulletproof.
The Porsche 718 GT4 was my dream car. Four years in, it still is.
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