TBP88
Well-known member
So, after having been without a car for nearly a year now (maybe 8mo?) I've finally taken delivery of my new car, a 2023 Porsche 718GT4. A few members predicted this for me! I don't know if it's good or bad that my car tastes are *THAT* transparent, but anyway. Here we are.
Spec wise, relatively simple (well, still north of R100k worth, fun), Gentian blue, colour matched interior, reverse camera+sensors, extended leather, silver wheels, steel brakes, sportchrono (this shit is so dumb but apparently to retain it's value I have nearly no choice and it's relatively inexpensive) leather gearknob and steering wheel and bose sound.
Why a 718GT4? In 2020, around July after the worst of covid restrictions lifted Porsche Cape Town had a yellow demonstrator model 718GT4 that I came along to have a look at, sit in etc. I was smitten. The size was perfect, the car was manual, naturally aspirated and 2 door, 2 seat. All things that were (nearly) non negotiable in my next car. At the time though, the reality was, even with low rates, the car was outside of my affordability (I could probably have just about managed the finance but it'd have meant massively sacrificing other interests of mine - something I wasn't happy or comfortable with).
Roll around 2022, Covid had ended. I had 2 years more saving done and Z4M prices had steadied so I let my car go and placed the deposit for a 718GT4.
Prior to all this I considered a *LOT* of cars:
996 C4S and 996 Turbo
997.1 C2S, C4S and GT3
997.2 C2S, C4S and GTS
Yaris GR
Supra
M2Comp
A45/CLA45
TTRS
and of course just keeping the Z4M.
Of the above the only two I actually got to test drive was a 997.1C4S and an M2Comp (last gen). Audi, Merc and Toyota all said I couldn't test drive their cars - something I considered non-negotiable on spending upwards of R700k on a car. I'm doing decently financially but I simply can't afford to spend half a mil (or more, as it turns out) on a car I haven't driven and just trust reviewers and youtubers.
What turned me was having the chance to test a 2nd hand GT4 around mid-22. After that I did my sums and finally pulled the trigger.
The Porsche order process is painful and expensive. You spec a car, and essentially spend R200k to join the queue for an allocation. This money sits in Porsche's bank account and accrues no interest for you. If you are not given an allocation, you are refunded the R200k.
Around last November (so +-5mo) my allocation was confirmed for a build date mid February this year and I had around 4-5days to confirm and sign on. This is your 2nd last exit point at best. At this point you sign on for a price and if the car arrives for that price or less you are compelled to buy it, or forfeit your R200k.
As the car was on a boat, in early March, a price increase was confirmed. Again I had 3-4 days to work out if I was still happy (if I was unhappy with the new price I then had the allowance to walk away and recieve my R200k back - though I suspect this also essentially terminates any willingness Porsche SA will have to deal with you in future).
Finally this last week the car arrived in Cape Town and I collected this morning. I think the spec came out great, the final decider to pull the trigger was going to Porsche CT and seeing a convertible 992 in Gentian Blue. The colour pops something crazy and I love the silver rims against it.
The car will head off for some front + partial side PPF as well as a full paint correction, and then off on a running-in road trip towards the end of the month. I'll post a proper driving assessment at that moment.
I suppose most people will say "why" and "is this worth it" and the truth is that, objectively, no. Spending the thick end of R2m more than my Z4M was worth will *never* give that much more driving experience. Even now as the good Z4Ms start tipping into the R400k mark I think they're the best smiles+performance per R car you can get. But since I was a teenager I had dreamt of a Porsche GT car. The 996GT3RS was my mid-teens dream car, and as I've aged, learnt to drive and enjoyed some cars the Porsche brand has worked it's way into my mind in a way that perhaps only BMW has as well. I've put here that this is my last car, and I intend on that, failing some massive career upswing, some lotto wins or some other unlikely event that lands me 10s of millions of rands, this is my intended final car. The next one will be some boring towncar when my partners Jimny gives out. So, yeah. I had the opportunity to do so and did and to be honest, as much of a mission as it's been, as much as this will be a depreciating car over the next 5 or 10 or 20 years I own it. This is the *exact* spec I wanted, in the exact car I wanted - we all work hard and to be honest I'm fortunate enough that I've been able to save and this is one of *the* material desires I had dreamt of. To satisfy it is immensely gratifying, and at the end of the day - we all buy cars to make us smile, beyond a few hundred grand it's all just a question of what makes you smile - and this makes me smile plenty.
Sole downer is the dunlop delivery tyres - I knew it *MIGHT* come with these instead of Michelins (Porsche essentially picks whatever is cheapest and more available at the time of construction), it's fine. When replacement time comes I'll switch to a brand of tyres I prefer.
Pics below (note my difficulty pulling in! Fortunately reversing and going slowly using some scrap wood we had managed to make it up the drive with no scrapes, though I am certain that plastic lip will eventually get eaten!):
Spec wise, relatively simple (well, still north of R100k worth, fun), Gentian blue, colour matched interior, reverse camera+sensors, extended leather, silver wheels, steel brakes, sportchrono (this shit is so dumb but apparently to retain it's value I have nearly no choice and it's relatively inexpensive) leather gearknob and steering wheel and bose sound.
Why a 718GT4? In 2020, around July after the worst of covid restrictions lifted Porsche Cape Town had a yellow demonstrator model 718GT4 that I came along to have a look at, sit in etc. I was smitten. The size was perfect, the car was manual, naturally aspirated and 2 door, 2 seat. All things that were (nearly) non negotiable in my next car. At the time though, the reality was, even with low rates, the car was outside of my affordability (I could probably have just about managed the finance but it'd have meant massively sacrificing other interests of mine - something I wasn't happy or comfortable with).
Roll around 2022, Covid had ended. I had 2 years more saving done and Z4M prices had steadied so I let my car go and placed the deposit for a 718GT4.
Prior to all this I considered a *LOT* of cars:
996 C4S and 996 Turbo
997.1 C2S, C4S and GT3
997.2 C2S, C4S and GTS
Yaris GR
Supra
M2Comp
A45/CLA45
TTRS
and of course just keeping the Z4M.
Of the above the only two I actually got to test drive was a 997.1C4S and an M2Comp (last gen). Audi, Merc and Toyota all said I couldn't test drive their cars - something I considered non-negotiable on spending upwards of R700k on a car. I'm doing decently financially but I simply can't afford to spend half a mil (or more, as it turns out) on a car I haven't driven and just trust reviewers and youtubers.
What turned me was having the chance to test a 2nd hand GT4 around mid-22. After that I did my sums and finally pulled the trigger.
The Porsche order process is painful and expensive. You spec a car, and essentially spend R200k to join the queue for an allocation. This money sits in Porsche's bank account and accrues no interest for you. If you are not given an allocation, you are refunded the R200k.
Around last November (so +-5mo) my allocation was confirmed for a build date mid February this year and I had around 4-5days to confirm and sign on. This is your 2nd last exit point at best. At this point you sign on for a price and if the car arrives for that price or less you are compelled to buy it, or forfeit your R200k.
As the car was on a boat, in early March, a price increase was confirmed. Again I had 3-4 days to work out if I was still happy (if I was unhappy with the new price I then had the allowance to walk away and recieve my R200k back - though I suspect this also essentially terminates any willingness Porsche SA will have to deal with you in future).
Finally this last week the car arrived in Cape Town and I collected this morning. I think the spec came out great, the final decider to pull the trigger was going to Porsche CT and seeing a convertible 992 in Gentian Blue. The colour pops something crazy and I love the silver rims against it.
The car will head off for some front + partial side PPF as well as a full paint correction, and then off on a running-in road trip towards the end of the month. I'll post a proper driving assessment at that moment.
I suppose most people will say "why" and "is this worth it" and the truth is that, objectively, no. Spending the thick end of R2m more than my Z4M was worth will *never* give that much more driving experience. Even now as the good Z4Ms start tipping into the R400k mark I think they're the best smiles+performance per R car you can get. But since I was a teenager I had dreamt of a Porsche GT car. The 996GT3RS was my mid-teens dream car, and as I've aged, learnt to drive and enjoyed some cars the Porsche brand has worked it's way into my mind in a way that perhaps only BMW has as well. I've put here that this is my last car, and I intend on that, failing some massive career upswing, some lotto wins or some other unlikely event that lands me 10s of millions of rands, this is my intended final car. The next one will be some boring towncar when my partners Jimny gives out. So, yeah. I had the opportunity to do so and did and to be honest, as much of a mission as it's been, as much as this will be a depreciating car over the next 5 or 10 or 20 years I own it. This is the *exact* spec I wanted, in the exact car I wanted - we all work hard and to be honest I'm fortunate enough that I've been able to save and this is one of *the* material desires I had dreamt of. To satisfy it is immensely gratifying, and at the end of the day - we all buy cars to make us smile, beyond a few hundred grand it's all just a question of what makes you smile - and this makes me smile plenty.
Sole downer is the dunlop delivery tyres - I knew it *MIGHT* come with these instead of Michelins (Porsche essentially picks whatever is cheapest and more available at the time of construction), it's fine. When replacement time comes I'll switch to a brand of tyres I prefer.
Pics below (note my difficulty pulling in! Fortunately reversing and going slowly using some scrap wood we had managed to make it up the drive with no scrapes, though I am certain that plastic lip will eventually get eaten!):
