IGNITION
grams here and there, the impact and knock-on effects of this kind of stuff
must break your heart. Especiallywhenthe rules surroundinghow you
quote a car’s weight have also been changed. Now, instead of quotingthe
lightest possible car based on fi tmentof lightweight optionsand weight-
saving delete options,a manufacturer has to quote the homologated
weight of a standard car.
‘We have to spec the car as it comes,’ explainsPreuninger. ‘No boxes
ticked. And there’s so many boxes to tick that make the car lighter. So this
car [the GT4] nominallyis about80 kilos heavier on paper [1420kg versus
around1340kg for a lesser 718 Cayman],but it’s only around30 kilos heavier
in the real world. Why? Because the new diffuser weighs aboutsix or
seven kilos, and the exhaust is different to accommodate the diffuser. The
particulate fi lters are 12kg, plus everythingyou need for emissions,like the
bigger starter, bigger battery. We can’t put in a super, supersmallbattery
again because we have a bigger starter. We have to have the start-stop
thing,for the fi rst timein a GT car. Can’t help it. It’s emissions,it’s the law,
we have to do it. But, I can absolutely assure you it doesn’t feel half a gram
heavier thanthe car before. You will see.’
The upside of the WLTP work is that this naturally aspirated engineis now
future-proofed for years and can be assembled on the regularengineline,
unlike the specialist motor in the GT3 – an enginewhichPreuninger reckons
is amongst the most expensive series produced units around.
It’s always a pleasure chatting to Preuninger, for althoughhe has a
company line to deliver – and does so very well – there’s no question he’s
one of us. Especiallywhenhe explainsthe objective for the GT4 was to
preserve and refi ne the purist ethos and rounded capabilities of the original,
and not to fall into the temptationof chasinga more hardcore goal: ‘We
tried not to change too muchbecause these cars have an inherent rightness
to them.We didn’twant to go too far away from the sweet spotthat we
managed to hit fi rst timearound.This is like a crossover car for Porsche.
A driver’s car and a track tool at the same time,but a car everybodycan
exploit, and a car that makes you grin all the time.’
Don’t confuse the emphasison fun withany lack of teeth, though,for
whilethe GT4 is not intended to be a mid-engined GT3 rival (at least not
in character, delivery or pricing),it clearly remainsan exceptionallycapable
car on track, as its Nürburgringlap timesuggests. How fast? ‘At least ten
seconds quicker thanthe old model,’ says Preuninger, whichequates to a
sub-7min30sec lap. And unlike his more hardcore products, the GT4 doesn’t
rely on extreme track-biased rubberto deliver that time:‘They’re new-spec
tyres of the same size as before, but they’re not ultra-rated supertrack
tyres. More like an ultra high-performance
all-rounder, so it can live withthe difficultwet
weatherconditionsas well. This is a car to take
out and enjoy on the back roads in Wales.’
Praise for the originalGT4 was universal,
but if there was a criticismit centred on the
gear ratios. According to Preuninger there’s
Above left:behind their
20in alloys, the Spyder
and GT4 share 380mm
discs with six-piston
front and four-piston
rear calipers; ceramics
are a £5597 option
‘THENEW GT4 IS AT
LEAST TEN SECONDS
QUICKER AROUND THE
NÜRBURGRING THAN
THE OLD MODEL’