The new 718 Gt4/Spyder are here!
Discussion
TB303 said:
Yep. The way you get real value from a car is to use it as intended. It’s not a Carrera GT and you’re right, you will lose a few k in value due to the miles, but isn’t that what we are paying for? These cars are designed to be driven and have miles on them. They aren’t fragile.
Reading between the lines and seeing various reviews, it seems 718 owners are a bit underwhelmed overall. Guess it’s largely soundtrack and even JCR doesn’t fully sort it. There will be some who prefer a quieter car too.
Now the fuss of launch is over, the truth is creeping out. I do know of one owner on here who sold his 718 and kept his 981 which is saying something. It also bothers me that it’s heavier than the 981 (which in turn is of course heavier than the purer 987).
None of them are perfect, but I think the 987 is the one for the purests / weekenders, and the 981 the sweet spot overall in terms of price/soundtrack/useability etc, but would need to drive a 718 to confirm.
Little can beat the enjoyment of driving a 981 spyder up a mountain pass in my experience with the exhaust/intake sound reverberating off the rocks. Many comment on the exhaust, but the intake sound is equally brilliant on these cars as well when you’re driving next to something to reflect it off in particular.
I had both and have recently sold my 718 (981 sold a couple of years ago) So I have no axe to grind here - it's very simple a 718 Spyder with a JCR back box fitted is a much better car than the 981- significantly improved chassis / steering feel, prettier, much more power low down, clutch weight is so much more user friendly; however is it worth the extra £k25/30 price delta. no not really. The 718 Spyder / GT4's are expensive cars now the 981's were an absolute bargain at list.Reading between the lines and seeing various reviews, it seems 718 owners are a bit underwhelmed overall. Guess it’s largely soundtrack and even JCR doesn’t fully sort it. There will be some who prefer a quieter car too.
Now the fuss of launch is over, the truth is creeping out. I do know of one owner on here who sold his 718 and kept his 981 which is saying something. It also bothers me that it’s heavier than the 981 (which in turn is of course heavier than the purer 987).
None of them are perfect, but I think the 987 is the one for the purests / weekenders, and the 981 the sweet spot overall in terms of price/soundtrack/useability etc, but would need to drive a 718 to confirm.
Little can beat the enjoyment of driving a 981 spyder up a mountain pass in my experience with the exhaust/intake sound reverberating off the rocks. Many comment on the exhaust, but the intake sound is equally brilliant on these cars as well when you’re driving next to something to reflect it off in particular.
It's very simple; money no object get the 718 with the JCR - it is a better car. However, being sensible, the 981 works perfectly & is still a really great car - I would happily have another and if I found a decent spec, low milage one in Agate, I think I'd go for it
Edited by RSVP911 on Sunday 12th July 18:54
RSVP911 said:
I had both and have recently sold my 718 (981 sold a couple of years ago) So I have no axe to grind here - it's very simple a 718 Spyder with a JCR back box fitted is a much better car than the 981- significantly improved chassis / steering feel, prettier, much more power low down, clutch weight is so much more user friendly; however is it worth the extra £k25/30 price delta. no not really. The 718 Spyder / GT4's are expensive cars now the 981's were an absolute bargain at list.
It's very simple; money no object get the 718 with the JCR - it is a better car. However, being sensible, the 981 works perfectly & is still a really great car - I would happily have another and if I found a decent spec, low milage one in Agate, I think I'd go for it
Pretty much my thoughts exactly!It's very simple; money no object get the 718 with the JCR - it is a better car. However, being sensible, the 981 works perfectly & is still a really great car - I would happily have another and if I found a decent spec, low milage one in Agate, I think I'd go for it
Twinfan said:
I don't think this has been posted here on PH, although it's been discussed on Rennlist and PCGB:
It shows perfectly why the new 4.0 engine feels so much better under your right foot than the old 3.8...
Shame Porsche didn't perfect the sound track to match what's under your right foot It shows perfectly why the new 4.0 engine feels so much better under your right foot than the old 3.8...
daro911 said:
Shame Porsche didn't perfect the sound track to match what's under your right foot
Nothing to do with Porsche, it's EU noise regs that affect everyone. Fixable with a JCR or SuperSprint etc if you're that bothered.The engine performance improvement is substantial, even with the enforced handicap of lower exhaust noise.
Twinfan said:
Nothing to do with Porsche, it's EU noise regs that affect everyone. Fixable with a JCR or SuperSprint etc if you're that bothered.
The engine performance improvement is substantial, even with the enforced handicap of lower exhaust noise.
What about power / weight differences. Don't the official stats show the performance is very similar to the 981 engines?The engine performance improvement is substantial, even with the enforced handicap of lower exhaust noise.
manand38 said:
What about power / weight differences. Don't the official stats show the performance is very similar to the 981 engines?
Yep, but Porsche are never fully accurate with their official performance stats. They sandbag to fit things into the hierarchy etc. Weight calculations have changed between iterations, like for like a 718 is approx 30kg heavier. Car and Driver did real world tests of each:981 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15105981/201...
We measured a zero-to-60 time of 4.1 seconds
In the quarter-mile, the GT4 posts 12.3 seconds at 117 mph.
718 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a32417763/202...
The Cayman hits 60 in 3.7 seconds, shortly after the shift into second gear.
And whereas 11-second quarter-miles were once solely the domain of the all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo, this rear-driver trips the lights in 11.9 at 120 mph.
So the 718 GT4 is quicker than the 981, but not by much, which is what you'd expect with only a slight BHP and weight increase.
Twinfan said:
Yep, but Porsche are never fully accurate with their official performance stats. They sandbag to fit things into the hierarchy etc. Weight calculations have changed between iterations, like for like a 718 is approx 30kg heavier. Car and Driver did real world tests of each:
981 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15105981/201...
We measured a zero-to-60 time of 4.1 seconds
In the quarter-mile, the GT4 posts 12.3 seconds at 117 mph.
718 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a32417763/202...
The Cayman hits 60 in 3.7 seconds, shortly after the shift into second gear.
And whereas 11-second quarter-miles were once solely the domain of the all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo, this rear-driver trips the lights in 11.9 at 120 mph.
So the 718 GT4 is quicker than the 981, but not by much, which is what you'd expect with only a slight BHP and weight increase.
FWIW my718 Spyder (vs 981) felt noticeably quicker to me - especially low down 981 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15105981/201...
We measured a zero-to-60 time of 4.1 seconds
In the quarter-mile, the GT4 posts 12.3 seconds at 117 mph.
718 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a32417763/202...
The Cayman hits 60 in 3.7 seconds, shortly after the shift into second gear.
And whereas 11-second quarter-miles were once solely the domain of the all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo, this rear-driver trips the lights in 11.9 at 120 mph.
So the 718 GT4 is quicker than the 981, but not by much, which is what you'd expect with only a slight BHP and weight increase.
Twinfan said:
Yep, but Porsche are never fully accurate with their official performance stats. They sandbag to fit things into the hierarchy etc. Weight calculations have changed between iterations, like for like a 718 is approx 30kg heavier. Car and Driver did real world tests of each:
981 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15105981/201...
We measured a zero-to-60 time of 4.1 seconds
In the quarter-mile, the GT4 posts 12.3 seconds at 117 mph.
718 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a32417763/202...
The Cayman hits 60 in 3.7 seconds, shortly after the shift into second gear.
And whereas 11-second quarter-miles were once solely the domain of the all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo, this rear-driver trips the lights in 11.9 at 120 mph.
So the 718 GT4 is quicker than the 981, but not by much, which is what you'd expect with only a slight BHP and weight increase.
Not sure the Spyders are much different though..981 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15105981/201...
We measured a zero-to-60 time of 4.1 seconds
In the quarter-mile, the GT4 posts 12.3 seconds at 117 mph.
718 GT4: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a32417763/202...
The Cayman hits 60 in 3.7 seconds, shortly after the shift into second gear.
And whereas 11-second quarter-miles were once solely the domain of the all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo, this rear-driver trips the lights in 11.9 at 120 mph.
So the 718 GT4 is quicker than the 981, but not by much, which is what you'd expect with only a slight BHP and weight increase.
Twinfan said:
I think it'll be similar. The Spyders have gained a touch more weight, mostly due to larger brakes, but they have more of a power increase.
Best comparison I could find in terms of same auto magazine for reasonably similar measurements. No 0-60 test on 981 on this for some strange reason. Sub 4 for 718 and I would think similar for 981. But rolling starts similar, 718 quicker to 100 and 1/4 mile. Sub 4 for a manual car is quick. Braking, skid pad, etc also included for comparison. Agree not much in it, but neither are a numbers car. Both brilliant cars IMHO. 
414 Mechanical HP (420ps) vs 369 Mechanical HP (375ps)
As per the power plots - you see that the 4.0 brings in more of the available torque in earlier, meaning that is will be delivering more power to the road at those given points.. this brings a cumulative effect to acceleration.
As per the power plots - you see that the 4.0 brings in more of the available torque in earlier, meaning that is will be delivering more power to the road at those given points.. this brings a cumulative effect to acceleration.
Edited by TDT on Thursday 16th July 15:04
Twinfan said:
Weight calculations have changed between iterations, like for like a 718 is approx 30kg heavier.
I don't believe that actually is the case. the 718 has gained quite a lot of weight it seems. SportAuto supertest 981 gt4 weighed in at 1380kg, the 718 gt4 I believe was 1445kg. There or abouts anyway I don't think I'm much more than 5kg out either way. iirc though the engine dyno plots of the 718 looked far better up the rev range which would be exactly what one would have been hoping for over the 981.
isaldiri said:
I don't believe that actually is the case. the 718 has gained quite a lot of weight it seems. SportAuto supertest 981 gt4 weighed in at 1380kg, the 718 gt4 I believe was 1445kg. There or abouts anyway I don't think I'm much more than 5kg out either way.
iirc though the engine dyno plots of the 718 looked far better up the rev range which would be exactly what one would have been hoping for over the 981.
The SportAuto article actually lists all the differences in specification so the like for like weights can be determined.iirc though the engine dyno plots of the 718 looked far better up the rev range which would be exactly what one would have been hoping for over the 981.
gtsralph said:
isaldiri said:
I don't believe that actually is the case. the 718 has gained quite a lot of weight it seems. SportAuto supertest 981 gt4 weighed in at 1380kg, the 718 gt4 I believe was 1445kg. There or abouts anyway I don't think I'm much more than 5kg out either way.
iirc though the engine dyno plots of the 718 looked far better up the rev range which would be exactly what one would have been hoping for over the 981.
The SportAuto article actually lists all the differences in specification so the like for like weights can be determined.iirc though the engine dyno plots of the 718 looked far better up the rev range which would be exactly what one would have been hoping for over the 981.
isaldiri said:
Was the spec very different? I don't have a copy at hand but typically the sportauto test cars are specced for minimum weight/max performance, ie ceramics, no lift, no radio if possible etc.
IIRC the Sportauto 981GT4 test car weighed 1379Kg with LWBS,PCCBs but no Clubsport making it pretty light spec.gtsralph said:
I posted all the differences on the PCGB Cayman forum somewhere.
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