The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2022-04-24)

out there swooned and cooed
and wanted to sit in it. One girl,
who has a shop selling linen
with little flowers on it, asked
whether it had Pirelli Cup tyres.
Another who does nothing all
day, so far as I can tell, except
grow and plait her armpit hair
wondered why it wasn’t
four-wheel drive.
It was strange, but then it
turned out that all of these
people have spent the past few
weeks watching Drive to
Survive on Netflix and they’re
all now fully paid-up petrolheads.
Greta Thunberg so nearly had
them but they’ve been whisked
away at the last minute by a
documentary about Formula
One, and all of them now want a
hot car that goes like a Saturn V,
stops like it’s hit a wall and turns
like a hunted antelope.
The GT4 RS is weird because
in essence what Porsche has
done is taken the naturally
aspirated — I can use words like
that nowadays — flat six four-
litre engine from the bigger and
more expensive 911 GT3 and
plonked it in the smaller 718.
It wasn’t that simple,
obviously. It needed a new
exhaust system that would fit
round the rear suspension, for
example, and that’s why it’s not
quite as powerful as it is in a
GT3. But you end up with very
nearly 500 horsepower in a car
that is lighter and smaller, and
therefore more nimble.
I liked the sound of this
because, in recent years, the 911
has been getting a bit big. It was
becoming more of a supercar
really, and that’s not what it’s
supposed to be. It’s supposed to
be a sports car. And sports cars
are little. Think MG. Think
Spitfire. Think Mazda MX5.
And now think Porsche GT4 RS.
Actually you can’t think
GT4 RS because when you’re in
it, it’s so loud you can’t hear
what’s happening in your own
head. You can’t hear anything at
all, except the engine. It is
phenomenally loud even before
you push a little button on the
centre console that makes it
louder still.
But oh, my sweet lord, what
a sound. I was told the other day
by a neighbouring farmer that
the best music is made by a
colliery brass band. He used to
be in Groove Armada, so he
knows what he’s on about. And

carbon fibre ears, which are

located where the rear side

windows used to be. The

downside is that you can’t see

what’s coming at oblique

junctions, but the death or

serious injury that may result

from this is a small price to pay.

A lot of enthusiasts will no

doubt moan that it’s not

available with a manual gearbox,

but I didn’t mind at all. In fact

I just happily tugged away at

those flappy paddles as I was

going along. Not because I

wanted to change gear

especially, I was simply using

them like organ stops.

Now at this point you might

imagine this car was designed

mainly for track days. Not so. It’s

stiff, for sure, and it has all the

carbon fibre and downforce

talking points that are necessary

among track-day people, which,

thanks to Drive to Survive, is

now everyone, but it’s

surprisingly compliant on the

road, even in Oxfordshire, where

the roads only just meet the

dictionary definition these days.

It may not have the GT3’s

double-wishbone front

suspension, but it doesn’t really

matter. You can literally fling

the GT4 RS around the place

and, like all good sports cars, it

reacts like an excited puppy.

Squealing and wagging its tail

and making barky noises. In a

GT3 you nod sagely when it

does something well. In its baby

brother you burst out laughing.

Price? It’s £23,000 less than a

GT3, which means it’s £108,000.

And that sounds like good value,

but of course this is Porsche. So

you’ll be expected to pay extra

for the seats and the paint and

“Oh, you want a key as well?”

Look on the bright side,

though. You won’t have to worry

about where you’re going to

park it because you’ll never

want to get out of it. I came

home from the local pub in it

last Saturday, via Exeter. And I

deliberately left my wallet there

so I’d have to go back n

Engine

3996cc, naturally

aspirated, flat six

Power

493bhp @ 8400rpm

Torque

332 lb ft @ 6750rpm

Acceleration

0-62mph: 3.4sec

Top speed

196mph

Fuel / CO 2

21.4mpg / 299g/km

Weight

1,415kg

Price

£108,370

Release date

On sale now

Jeremy’s rating

The Clarksometer

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS

1,267mm

4,456mm 1,994mm

yet he’s wrong. The best music

is made by this flat six. And

when you take it up to

9,000rpm it’s the loudest as

well. Not on the outside, mind.

Only for those who are in it.

Take note Jaguar, who do it,

wrongly, the other way around.

It’s not what I call a “cheat”

noise either. It’s not created by

moving flaps around in the

exhaust pipes or amplifying the

noise through the stereo

speakers. It’s the sound of this

car breathing in through its

Price

Power

0-62mph

Top speed

Head

to head

Porsche 718 Cayman

GT4 RS v Aston

Martin Vantage

£108,370

493bhp

3.4sec

196mph

£127,600

503bhp

3.6sec

195mph

The engine is phenomenally

loud even before you push a little

button that makes it louder still

The Sunday Times Magazine • 67