I’ve been set on a GT3 for decades and I’ve been unwavering until recently. Would a GT4.5 be more rewarding/exciting??
In my opinion, the only people qualified to “upgrade” a GT car are Manthey. I don’t think they released a kit for the 981, and started with the 718.
Would it be more rewarding an exciting? Honestly I’m biased towards cayman platform more than 911 platforms, and as a GTS 4.0 owner, I’d go with a GT4.5. The shorter gearing makes it a very very rewarding experience and to me that’s what the GT4 / RS should’ve been.
Consider this too: GT3 prices are returning to normal / non crazy prices, meaning you might find a good GT3 in a few months for less price than now.
I do agree reselling the GT4.5 would be more difficult than a GT3, and I think you’d be happy with whichever one you go with. Just keep in mind of the price adjustments so you don’t lose out on value!
It’s going to be tough to unload that gt4. Porsche community doesn’t really go for heavily modded stuff like that. You’re going go have to find a buyer that has experience with the product.
Not necessarily, there’s pretty healthy demand, and while it does take the right kind of buyer, I wouldn’t necessarily say they need to have prior experience with Rick’s engines; you might need to do some educating, but chances are any potential purchaser will have done their homework. When I sold mine last year, I fielded about 4-5 serious buyers.
It’s hard to argue with such a rational argument. That makes sense.
How many come up for sale?
The deman cars sell quickly and at value + 80-90% of the deman mod cost. A 981 GT4.5 sells for 140/150 easy
Do test drives and see if you prefer mid engine or rear engine and then go from there. The Deman will just be an improvement over a factory GT4 so factor that in since a test drive of an actual Deman might be hard to come by. You can’t go wrong with either, buy what you prefer.
Owned a 981 GT4 4.5L for nearly 3 years (sent the car to Rick in 2020 to get everything done up). The 4.5 is an absolute riot of an engine. Tons of torque all across the power band, pulls like a rocket ship, screams with the right exhaust setup, and eats GT3s on track as a light snack. By far the most engaging and thrilling Porsche I’ve ever driven / been a passenger in (outside of a Cup car).
All that said, I think a lot depends on your goals. Are you planning on tracking it? I see you said in another comment that it’ll be driven 10 months out of the year; does that mean it’ll be a daily, or just that it’ll be the fun car that gets out on regular drives? Are you ok with a little extra care and feeding? (I’m sure you’ve read about the need for an octane booster to bring the fuel up to 98 R+M/2—oil change intervals are also recommended every 5k mi.)
I had to sell my 4.5 for various reasons and got a stock 718 GT4, and while the new car is competent and obviously fun, it doesn’t hold a candle to the 4.5. (I swapped out the gears for shorter ratios in the 718, which definitely helps some, but it’s just not the same, you know?)
The GT3 would be an easier ownership experience, but the 4.5 would be a more rewarding one, in my book. It’s an engine that never ceased to put a smile on my face.
(OR—food for thought here—have your cake and eat it too: get the GT3, drive it stock for a while, get what you’d like out of it, then consider sending that down for the 4.5 treatment. I’ve ridden along shotgun with Rick on GT3s that he’s dropped 4.5s into—including a 991.2 GT3RS—and they’re blisteringly maniacal machines, absolutely bonkers in every way that’s good)
Thanks for the info! I assumed a GT4.5 would be more bang for the buck over a GT3 (4.5). And the differences between the two final products would be beyond my ability to utilize anyway. It would be a secondary car but driven as often as possible. I would daily it if I could. It would be brought to the track a few times a year. The additional maintenance I could live with, but that is a plus for a stock GT3. Decisions decisions!!
GT4.5 will outperform the GT3. You have to add octane booster to every tank of gas. DeMan is making the Porsche Porsche should be producing….